Walt Disney's Gamble on 'Snow White' Nearly Bankrupted the Studio

A new book by Gabriele Niola, 'Fare film è un inferno', details the harrowing production of Walt Disney's 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs', the first animated feature film. The project was so risky and costly that Walt Disney suffered two nervous breakdowns in two years. His brother Roy forced him to take an 11-week vacation to Europe, where Disney visited castles like the Alcázar de Segovia, which inspired the queen's castle. Upon return, Roy revealed the studio was out of money; Walt had wasted resources on scenes that were later cut. To secure a loan, Disney screened unfinished footage to Joe Rosenberg, director of the Bank of America in Los Angeles, who was so impressed he granted $650,000. The film barely made its Christmas 1937 release, with animators working 15-hour days. The trailer was released only ten days before the premiere and had to be recalled due to a frame error. At the premiere, Disney was so nervous he forgot the names of the seven dwarfs. The film was a massive success, earning $8 million (six times its cost), winning a special Oscar with seven miniature Oscars, and holding the box office record until 'Gone with the Wind'. Despite the triumph, Disney had to publicly thank his animators in a preface to the film, as the concept of the auteur did not yet exist.