Let's Talk About...Snow White and Those Seven Guys

OK. We have all seen the 1937 Disney animated movie “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.” Or have we? My son says he has never seen it, but I assure you, he has. I grew up going to the movie theater whenever “Snow White” was showing, with great excitement. It may not be “Avatar,” but it was a breakthrough miracle of animation in its time.

Of course, I related to Snow White, the beautiful housekeeper who happens to be a princess. She was beautiful, could sing with the birds, had an Evil Queen stepmother feeding her poisoned apples, had seven worshiping friends, got the prince and could really clean a house. Very Disney. Few of these gender stereotypes are what we want this generation of girls and boys to emulate, but back in the day, it was considered good stuff.

Today, however, I relate more to the dwarfs.

Let’s review.

There are seven dwarfs in the story. Their names are fodder for many trivia questions, but I will cut to the chase. They are:

Doc – The leader of the troop of miners, distinguished by his glasses and white short beard.

Grumpy – Well, he is.

Sleepy – Droopy-eyed fellow who has a proclivity for yawning and falling asleep.

Sneezy – Red-nosed guy with severe allergies.

Bashful – Sweet shy guy.

Happy – He always seems to be that way.

Dopey – The unfortunate name of the youngest member of the crew. Lovable and funny but maybe not too bright.

Grimm’s Fairy Tales and Disney can be pretty rough.

You see where I am going with this.

What’s in a name? Let’s start at the top.

We may not all be doctors but you have got to love the name “Doc.” Doc Holliday (prominent gambler, dentist, and friend to Wyatt Earp), Doc Severinsen (band leader), Doc in “Gunsmoke” (the only doctor in town), and, of course, Doc Brown from “Back to the Future” (crazy scientist). “Doc” has a ring to it. And who doesn’t want to be the leader of the pack?

You undoubtedly have never been Grumpy. But I can tell you from experience, it is unpleasant to be or to behold. But in every group, there is always a Grumpy or an about-to-be-Grumpy.

Have you ever had to study for a test or finish a project? I call that “Instant Sleepy.”

Some people sneeze like a train horn, others have a sweet little squeak of a sneeze. Either way, Sneezy has not been particularly welcome since Covid.

Did you know more people are afraid of public speaking than death? Have you ever had an opinion and not spoken up? Have you been in a room of strangers and not talked to anyone? That used to be called Bashful. Now it is called “social anxiety.”

I can barely think of a more politically incorrect name than Dopey.

I never thought I would feel more affinity to the dwarfs than Snow White, but upon reflection, being the leader of the pack is my happy place. Except when things go bad. Then I get pretty grumpy which makes me sleepy. I will often wake up sneezing from the dog hair that surrounds me. I can be bashful but always have an opinion. I say dopey things at times which comes from a long line of cliché in my veins.

Mostly, I am simply vertically challenged. But I also love a clean house.