The Prince is the romantic interest of the titular character in Disney's 1937 animated feature film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
Background
Physical appearance
The Prince has short, dark brown hair with a full fringe and blue eyes. His overall outfit is a royal blue sleeveless tunic with a gold trim and a cream-colored belt where he keeps his dagger in a sheath. Beneath his outfit is a white long-sleeved shirt, bluish-gray pants and cream-colored boots with light brown folded cuffs. He also wears a dark red cape that reaches to his knees with a black strap at the front which is connected to his cape.
In its initial appearance and his first meeting with Snow White who works as a scullery maid, he wears a matching royal blue beret with a large white feather at the right side to match his primary outfit before it was discarded to search for her whereabouts.
In the present artworks and merchandise, the Prince's hair became lighter brown, his sleeveless tunic became blue and his pants are medium blue turning his outfit into shades of blue.
Appearances
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
The Evil Queen, jealous of her stepdaughter's beauty, forces her to work as a servant in her castle. As Snow White works, she sings "I'm Wishing", attracting the attention of the Prince, who's passing by on his horse. As she sings into the well, performing a duet with her echo, she's startled as the Prince suddenly joins in. She runs into the castle, and watches as he sings "One Song". The two fall in love with each other. Watching from above is the Queen, who angrily closes the curtains of her window in jealousy.
When the Queen arrives, disguised as an old hag, to poison Snow White, she, knowing of the romance between the girl and the Prince, fools her into believing that the Poisoned Apple is a magic wishing apple, capable of making her greatest desire a reality. Snow White wishes to live with the Prince and, taking a bite, falls to the floor, taken by the Sleeping Death. Though the seven dwarfs succeed in chasing the Witch to her doom, Snow White remains uncured; the dwarfs place her in a glass coffin and take her to a clearing in the forest.
Meanwhile, the Prince had been searching for Snow White following her mysterious disappearance from the castle. During his travels, he learns of a maiden that lies in a glass coffin, and visits the vigil's location in the forest. He recognizes the maiden as Snow White and sorrowfully sings a reprise of "One Song" as he places one last kiss on his seemingly deceased love. To the surprise of the Prince, and surrounding seven dwarfs, Snow White awakens from her curse through "true love's kiss" and warmly embraces her prince. Reunited, the Prince and Snow White ride off to the former's castle to finally begin their lives together.
Other appearances
In the live-action film, Flubber, the Prince made a cameo appearance on the monitor of Weebo the Robot.
Like other Disney characters, the Prince received many cameos in House of Mouse, but for him, they were always non-speaking. He was usually seen at a table with Snow White.
Trivia
- In the comic version by Hank Porter, when the Prince surprises Snow White it is from behind a dummy she made. When she asks who he is and where did he come from; he responds, "Where I came from doesn't matter! The only thing that does matter is that I am here. As for my name, I like the one you gave me―Prince Buckethead―though perhaps it is more honest than flattering." This embarrasses Snow White since she did not know he was hiding behind the dummy she named "Prince Buckethead".
- At the 1938 Oscars, Shirley Temple mentions the name "Ferdinand" among others while presenting Walt Disney his awards. Many have interpreted that she was referring to the Prince, saying that Ferdinand is his name. However, she was not referring to the Prince, but rather to Ferdinand the Bull. As confirmed by Dave Smith, Historian of the Walt Disney Studio Archives, the Prince (along with fellow prince Prince Charming) was never given a name in the film and "Ferdinand" has never been used as one by the company.
- Despite this, many Disney fans still believe that the Prince's name is Ferdinand.
- Disney Latino revealed through a video of Top 10 Romantic Moments the name of the Prince is "Fernando",[1] the Spanish translation of the name Fernidand.
- Disney France once revealed in a TV-spot that his real name is Florian. That same TV-spot also gives Prince Charming's real name is Henry (or "Henri," as it would be in French), although Disney on Parade called him "Prince Alto August Ferdinand".
- The name "Florian" originates from this article. It was allegedly used by Disney when it started the Disney Princess franchise.[2]
- There's a story that artwork and documents exist in the Walt Disney Studio Archives that call the Prince "Frederick".[3]
- The Enchanted Stables collection reveals his white horse is a mare named "Astor".[4] This is re-confirmed in the Disney Princess book "Special Horses."
- Disney sometimes markets the Prince as Prince Florian for Disney on Ice.[5][6]
- While the Prince has a dagger, he never uses it.
- The Prince was intended to be the deuteragonist, but the difficulty found in animating him forced Disney to reduce his part significantly. As a result, he has a small role as the majority of Snow White's scenes focus on her with the dwarfs, or The Evil Queen.
- The cancelled prequel game Dwarfs that was to be made by Obsidian Entertainment was originally going to have a darker element to the Prince's backstory, where it was revealed that he had committed matricide due to thinking she was a monster at night. It would have been left ambiguous as to whether his mom was attacking her son deliberately or if he panicked.[7][8][9]
References
- ↑ YouTube
- ↑ Internet Archive Source
- ↑ Source
- ↑ Source
- ↑ Source: Disney On Ice! Dare to Dream
- ↑ Source
- ↑ http://www.formspring.me/ksaun/q/406849680471781178
- ↑ http://kotaku.com/5968952/the-knights-of-new-vegas-how-obsidian-survived-countless-catastrophes-and-made-some-of-the-coolest-role+playing-games-ever
- ↑ http://www.gamebanshee.com/news/110385-obsidians-cancelled-dwarves-project-detailed.html