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In:The Moving Canon(s) of Slavic Children’s Literature
Edited by Mateusz Swietlicki, Dorota Michułka and Zofia Zasacka
[Children’s Literature, Culture, and Cognition 20] 2026
► pp. 218–229

Chapter 11
Reigning over the canon

Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in Poland

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Abstract
The chapter studies the canonization of Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) in the context of Polish culture and argues that the canon issue is threefold in this respect. Firstly, there is Snow White as a canonical fairy tale that is reproduced as a strong cultural image. Secondly, this fairy tale has become part of children’s literature as a contextualized and often censored story that appears in various versions on the markets worldwide. Finally, there is a film fairy tale that belongs to the Disney canon, which entangles Snow White in the expanding American film industry discourse. Since Disney has used (and continues to use) similar centralized marketing strategies in many countries, that canonization of children’s literature is likely to have followed a similar pattern internationally. However, as specific historical and cultural circumstances have impacted the process, the differences in each version may indicate key national characteristics in the canon. These developments can and should be studied for each Disney text and each country in which it was distributed. The chapter focuses on the Polish context, noting that similar canonization processes have probably occurred in many other countries.
Article outline
  • Canon in motion: Fairy tale, film, and the expanding Disney discourse
  • Snow White speaks Polish
  • Conclusion: Glocal canon formation
  • Notes
  • References
References (25)
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Filmography
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Director: David Hand. USA 1937. Walt Disney Studio.
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