Walt Disney Tried To Sabotage The Career Of Snow White's Voice Actress

Quick! Who directed the 1950 animated version of "Cinderella?" Did they direct any other movies? Who played the voice of Peter Pan in Disney's 1953 film version? Who played Alice in "Alice in Wonderland?" Or Prince Philip in "Sleeping Beauty?" Who wrote "One Hundred and One Dalmatians?" 

Some readers may have been able to recall that famed children's book author Bill Peet wrote "Dalmatians," and other hardcore Disney Nerds might know that famed child star Bobby Driscoll played Peter Pan, but many of the actual filmmakers of early Disney-released animated features have remained obscure. One would have to look up that Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson, and Hamilton Luske served as the supervising directors of "Cinderella," and that they also helmed "Alice in Wonderland," "Peter Pan," and "Lady and the Tramp." Heck, they should be better known, as "Cinderella" kind of saved the company.

These people are, of course, all celebrities in the animation world, but to the general public, they are esoteric figures. This is largely because the Disney corporation — and Walt Disney in particular — was insistent on an overwhelming amount of company branding. "Cinderella" wasn't a Geromini/Jackson/Luske film, but a Disney film. To this day, most of the company's animated films are seen as "the Disney version" in conversation, rather than credited to their directors and writers. It wouldn't be until the 1990s that cineastes would win out, and the directors of certain Disney-manufactured animated films became better known. 

Disney branding is also the main reason that voice actress Adriana Castelotti had trouble finding work after playing the title character in David Hand's 1937 feature "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs." According to a 1993 report in the newspaper The Day, Castelotti, then 77, admitted she wasn't credited for her "Snow White" work as — as Walt Disney put it — he didn't want to "spoil the illusion."

According to the Day article, Castelotti was paid $970 for her work on "Snow White" which was merely the industry standard at the time. That translates to just over $21,000 in 2025 dollars. "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" was, of course, a gigantic hit, and marked a sea change for the Disney company; it was the studio's first feature-length animated film. "Snow White" was so popular, in fact, that it was re-released often. By the time Castelotti spoke with the Day, "Snow White" was enjoying its eighth nationwide release.

Castelotti, however, never got any royalties for the role, and didn't even have a voice credit. She considered suing Disney for back royalties, but didn't want to go through "what Peggy Lee went through." Lee played a voice in the Disney animated feature "Lady and the Tramp," and successfully took the company to court over their failure to pay her on the back end (time will tell if that legal drama will play itself out in the once-planned Peggy Lee biopic). 

At the time of the Day article, "Snow White" hadn't yet been released on home video, and Castelotti knew that the home video release might be a good time to amicably ask Disney for some royalties. 

Castelotti recalled that she had trouble getting work after "Snow White," and didn't learn until later that Walt Disney had actually been actively preventing her from using her voice to land gigs. It seems that Jack Benny, the toweringly popular radio personality, wanted to hire Castelotti for a bit on "The Jack Benny Show," but that Disney had prevented it. She was told, by Disney himself, that "That voice can't be used anywhere. I don't want to spoil the illusion of Snow White." In blocking Castelotti from using her voice to make a living, Disney essentially tried to sabotage her career. 

Castelotti didn't even know that she was working on a feature film (a huge risk for Disney at the time), and assumed that "Snow White" was just another one of Disney's famous shorts. She said:

"They had told me that it was going to be a little longer than their shorts, which were 10 to 12 minutes. [...] So I thought it would be 20 minutes long or so. I didn't realize that had happened until I went to the premiere. I saw all these movie stars; Marlene Dietrich, Carole Lomabard, Gary Cooper. Everybody was there. I discovered that this was an hour and 23 minutes."

Castelotti did manage to get a few small roles after "Snow White." In the "If I Only Had a Heart" song in Victor Fleming's "The Wizard of Oz," she was the voice of Juliet, reciting "Wherefore art thou Romeo?" She also landed a background singing gig in Frank Capra's "It's a Wonderful Life," although she wasn't credited for that role either. 

Shortly after the Day article was published, Castelotti did indeed sue Disney, as did her "Snow White" co-star Harry Stockwell, who played Prince Charming. According to an article in Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Castelotti demanded $200,000, while Stockwell asked for $100,000. The case was, sadly, unsuccessful. However, "Snow White" finally made its way to VHS in 1994, and one might optimistically assume that Castelotti finally cut some sort of royalties deal.

Eventually, Castelotti was asked back into the Disney fold to record a Snow White audio track for the Wishing Well attraction as Disneyland. This was, however, over 50 years since her "Snow White" gig in 1937. She also received an award from the company in 1994, declaring her a Disney Legend. She passed in 1997 at the age of 80.