What was the first feature-length animated film released by the Fortune 500 company Walt Disney Productions?

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Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was Walt Disney Productions' first feature-length animated film.

The film premiered on December 21, 1937, and received a wide theatrical release in 1937 and 1938. It adapted the Brothers Grimm fairy tale about a princess pursued by a jealous queen and sheltered by seven dwarfs.

Animation insiders initially doubted the project, calling the ambitious production a risky undertaking. Walt Disney nevertheless expanded the studio's staff and production methods to complete it. The movie used Technicolor and combined character animation with detailed backgrounds and musical storytelling.

Snow White is sometimes confused with Pinocchio, Fantasia, or Cinderella because all are major early Disney animated features. Pinocchio followed in 1940, while Fantasia was also released in 1940. Cinderella arrived later, in 1950, so none was Disney's first animated feature.

Source: Wikipedia · fact-checked Sept. 2026

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