Snow White is famous throughout the world for being the first princess of Disneystarring in the 1937 animated classic that paved the way for the success of the company founded by Walt Disney.
However, although Snow White was the first princess to star in a feature film, technically she is not the studio’s first monarch.
‘The Goddess of Spring’
Discover the story of the princess who appeared before the classic ‘Snow White’ – Photo: Disney/Reproduction
In reality, the title of Disney’s first princess belongs to Persephone, the character from Greek myth who is kidnapped by Hades. Released in November 1934 by Disney, the princess was given a short film called ‘The Goddess of Spring’.
The work is part of the ‘Silly Symphonies’ collection, a series of short films that tell fables and stories with little dialogue throughout their nine-minute duration.
Those familiar with the myth of Persephone already have an idea of what to expect from the story, but if you’ve never heard of this Princesscheck out the official synopsis below:
“There was a time, long, long ago, when there was joy and laughter everywhere, when the flowers that grew bloomed all the year round, and the world was eternally beautiful. For there lived a maiden, so kind as she was, that everyone loved her dearly, and life was then so pleasant, that joy was ever present, and the world grew lovelier every day. The flowers danced around her, formed a garland and crowned her, the Goddess of Eternal Spring.”
In the context of the myth, Persephone is recognized as the daughter of Zeus and Demeter, which makes her part of the Royals and, consequently, a princess.
Although some argue that she is not the daughter of Zeus, as she is the daughter of the Goddess of Agriculture and Harvest, she is still considered as such. So, technically, she is the first Disney princess.
See the short film ‘The Goddess of Spring’ below.
Additionally, Persephone and ‘The Goddess of Spring’ paved the way for ‘Snow White’ animation in a significant way.
During the production of the short, the artists learned and improved their techniques to recreate human characters and movements.
Although the team was skilled in creating and animation of animals, they didn’t have as much experience with more realistic movements.
‘The Goddess of Spring’ served as a test of sorts to train the team in this regard, and was one of the first shorts to feature human characters.
Thus, although only three years separate ‘The Goddess of Spring’ from ‘Snow White’, the difference in animation between the two is evident. filmsespecially in terms of fluidity in the animation.
