What was the first Disney animated feature to receive a mass-market soundtrack album with merchandise tie-ins?

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was the first Disney animated feature to receive a mass-market soundtrack album with merchandise tie-ins.

Released in 1937, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs created an unusually large commercial world around a feature-length animated film. Its songs, characters, storybooks, dolls, figurines, clothing, and other licensed goods helped establish the modern animated-film merchandising model.

The film’s commercial importance went beyond its box-office performance. Audiences could continue interacting with Snow White and the dwarfs through records and physical products after leaving the cinema. That connection helped Disney develop a repeatable business model linking animation, music publishing, consumer products, and character licensing.

Pinocchio, Cinderella, and Bambi also became major merchandise properties, but they followed Snow White chronologically. The film is therefore frequently described as the first feature-length animated movie to generate a large-scale merchandising phenomenon.