Evil Queen (Disney)

Lore & Background

The Evil Queen's royal position and backstory are not established in the film. She owned a magical mirror with which she could look upon whatever she wished. The Magic Mirror shows a haunted, smokey face which replies to the Queen's requests. She regularly asks the mirror who is the fairest in the realm and the mirror would always reply that she is. The extent of the Queen's magical power is not specified in the film. One day, the mirror tells her that there is a new fairest woman in the land, her stepdaughter, Princess Snow White. She became obsessively jealous of the princess' emerging beauty, therefore turning her into a scullery maid in her own home. After the mirror first names Snow White as fairest, the proud Queen falls in a jealous rage. She commands her faithful Huntsman to take the princess deep into the woods and kill her, but the Huntsman cannot bear to kill her and tells Snow White to run away. The Queen later discovers the deception and decides that Snow White shall die by her own hand. She goes down to her secret room and uses her spellbook and cauldron to make a potion that transforms her into a hag. She then conjures a poison apple, which will cause 'the Sleeping Death', and leaves the castle. The Queen comes to the cottage and tricks Snow White into eating the bewitched apple, putting her in a deep sleep. The Queen is discovered by the angry Seven Dwarfs and attempts to escape. She climbs into the mountains, where she is trapped upon a precipice. Just before she can push down a large boulder to crush the Dwarfs, a lightning bolt strikes, destroying the precipice and sending the Queen down the cliff to her death. A 1936 pre-release novelization affirms that the Queen in fact dies: 'Far below, in a chasm as dark as her own wicked soul, lay the body of the hateful Queen. No magic would ever bring her to life again.'

Reader's Guide

The Evil Queen is considered one of Disney's most iconic and menacing villains. She has been very well received by film critics and the public. The film's version of the Queen was created by Walt Disney and Joe Grant, and originally animated by Art Babbitt and voiced by Lucille La Verne. Inspiration for her facial features came from Joan Crawford, Greta Garbo, and Marlene Dietrich. Her wardrobe design came from the characters of Queen Hash-a-Motep from She and Princess Kriemhild from Die Nibelungen. The Queen has since been voiced by numerous actresses and portrayed live by several performers. Besides the film, the Evil Queen has made numerous appearances in Disney attractions and productions, including Fantasmic!, The Kingdom Keepers and Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep, sometimes appearing alongside Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty. The film's version of the Queen has also become a popular archetype that influenced a number of artists and non-Disney works. The Queen dies in the film, but lives on in a variety of non-canonical Disney works.

Did You Know?

• The Queen's appearance in her disguised form is commonly referred to as the Wicked Witch, the Old Hag, or just the Witch.
• The film's version of the Queen uses her dark magic powers to actually transform herself into an old woman instead of just taking a disguise like in the Grimms' story.
• The Queen's facial features were inspired by Joan Crawford, Greta Garbo, and Marlene Dietrich.
• The Queen's wardrobe design came from the characters of Queen Hash-a-Motep from She and Princess Kriemhild from Die Nibelungen.