| |
| Doc | |
|---|---|
| Filmography | Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) House of Mouse (2001-2002) |
| Supervising Animator | Vladimir Tytla Frank Thomas |
| Vocal Talent | Roy Atwell |
| Home | Cottage of the Seven Dwarfs |
| Workplace | Dwarfs' Mine |
| Friends | Snow White, Grumpy, Happy, Bashful, Sneezy, Sleepy, Dopey |
| Enemy | The Queen |
Doc is the self-appointed leader of the seven dwarfs in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. A pompous, pot-bellied fellow, Doc often bumbles and stammers, losing his way mid-sentence; however, he appears to hold complete authority over all dwarfs except for Grumpy, who often objects to his decisions.
Film and Television Appearances
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
- "Careful, men. Search every cook and nanny, er, hook and cranny, er, crooked fa - search everywhere."
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Doc and Dopey
Working at the Mine
Doc is first introduced, with his seven companions, at the Dwarfs' Mine. His job is to sort the diamonds that Grumpy, Bashful, Sneezy and Happy have unearthed. The diamonds that he throws away are swept up by Dopey. At one point Dopey pretends that two diamonds are his eyes, much to Doc's disapproval. Doc is the first to hear the alarm, and alerts the other dwarfs that it is time for them to go home. He leads the dwarfs as they sing Heigh Ho.
Finding Snow White
When the seven dwarfs reach their cottage, Doc suddenly stops (causing the six other dwarfs to pile up behind him), oticing that light is coming from the house. The dwarfs think that a monster has taken up residence in their house. They sneak into the cottage; Doc, holding a candle, tells them to search everywhere. At one point, Sleepy steps on a creaky floorboard, flustering Doc. The dwarfs note that the cottage has been cleaned. They decide that whatever is in the cottage is upstairs, and Doc declares that one of them must go upstairs to chase it out of the house. Dopey is elected, and Doc, his hand shaking, gives Dopey the candle. Dopey is so terrified upon entering the bedroom that, when he hears a noise coming from the beds, he screams and rushes downstairs. The dwarfs decide that they must get rid of this beast once and for all, and enter the bedroom, once again led by Doc. They are about to strike whatever is sleeping in their beds when they realise that it is the princess, Snow White. Grumpy begins to complain, and Doc attempts to silence him, but Snow White is woken up. She manages to match the name at the foot of each bed to the correct dwarf, identifying Doc first.
Doc sleeping
In the Cottage
Doc attempts to express his delight, but is flustered, and gets into an argument with Grumpy, who wants Snow White to leave. Eventually it is agreed that Snow White will clean and cook for the dwarfs if she is allowed to stay. She prepares soup for them, but demands that they wash first. Doc attempts to say that they have recently washed, but, after examining each dwarf's hands, the princess sends them outside to a trough. Here, the dwarfs, led by Doc, wash themselves, while singing Bluddle Uddle Um Dum. Grumpy refuses to wash, but the other dwarfs, led by Doc, manage to drag him to the water and wash him thoroughly. Later that evening, after supper, the seven dwarfs entertain Snow White with The Silly Song, while Doc plays a stringed instrument shaped like a duck. After they finish the song, the dwarfs listen to Snow White sing One Day my Prince Will Come, which sends every dwarf, except the stubborn Grumpy, into a dream-like state. Doc declares that Snow White will sleep in the bedroom upstairs, and the dwarfs must sleep downstairs. Doc sleeps in the sink.
Doc and Dopey mourning
The Finale
The next morning, Doc is the first to leave, and is seen off by Snow White, whom he warns to be wary of strangers. While the dwarfs head to the mine, the Queen, as the Witch, makes her way to the cottage, knowing that only Snow White will be at home. Upon her arrival at the cottage, the animals sense danger and, after attempting to drive her away, rush to the mine to fetch the dwarfs. When they discover that the Queen has found Snow White, the dwarfs rush home to find that the Witch has succeeded in poisoning the princess and is about to leave. The dwarfs chase the Witch into the mountains, and she reaches a cliff. She attempts to crush the dwarfs with a boulder, but a flash of lightning causes her to fall from the cliff and be crushed by the boulder herself.
The seven dwarfs mourn Snow White's death; Dopey is seen sobbing on Doc's shoulder. The dwarfs find her to be so beautiful, even in death, that they fashion a coffin from glass and place her inside. The Prince arrives, and the dwarfs part so that he can approach Snow White. He kisses her, breaking the spell of the Sleeping Death, and the dwarfs cheer. Before Snow White leaves with the Prince, she kisses each dwarf on the forehead.
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Theme Park Appearances
Parade of Dreams
The Seven Dwarfs, played by actors in large masks, appear in Disneyland's Walt Disney's Parade of Dreams. They walk in a long line, coming before the Snow White float.
Behind the Scenes
- "DOC: (voice: Ed Holden or Billy Bletcher) Fat. Pompous and inefficient. Blustery. Nose glasses fall off at times. Leader of gang." - From the outline for October 22, 1934, for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs[1]
Doc was animated by different people, depending on the sequence. For the Heigh Ho sequence he was animated by Shamus Culhane and animation during The Silly Song is by Les Clark. At other points in the film Doc was primarily animated by Vladimir Tytla and Frank Thomas. He was voiced by Roy Atwell.
Character Creation
- "For the leader (of the dwarfs), we needed a special kind of personality... he was one of those pompous, bumbling, self-appointed leaders who tries to take command and then gets tangled up. We gave him the name of Doc, since it was a good handle for a person in authority" - Walt Disney[2]
Perce Pierce, one of the storymen working on Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, was particularly active in creating the characters of the dwarfs[3]. Walt Disney commented that Doc's flustered personality should be such that he never knew quite where he is without one of his fellow dwarfs reminding him. Disney personally suggested the sequence in which Grumpy feeds him the phrase "mad as hornets" when Doc is lost for words, causing Doc to blurt out Grumpy's words without thinking, and having to go back and correct himself, leading to even more dithering[3]. Radio comedian Roy Atwell, who used stammering in his act and specialised in mixed-up language, was appropriately chosen for the voice of Doc.
Animation
Though designing the dwarfs was relatively easy, animating them proved to be difficult, as the animators, already finding human figures difficult to animate, now had to animate 'ill-formed' human figures. Vladimir Tytla noted that the dwarfs should walk with a swing to their hips, and Fred Moore commented that the dwarfs had to move a little more quickly to keep up eith the human characters[2]. In order to establish Doc's character during the march home in Heigh Ho", George Stalling noted traits specific to the character, to be taken into account in the animation:
- "Doc is leading. He whistles and struts along, waving his hand like a baton."[2]
An armature of each dwarf was constructed as reference for the animators.
Abandoned Concepts
Doc and Grumpy's fight
A sequence which was fully animated was ultimately cut as it was felt to detract from the story. Following Snow White's promise that she will cook gooseberry pie, all dwarfs cheer and agree that she can stay. The deleted sequence begins when Grumpy disagrees and scolds his fellows for weakening at the mention of gooseberry pie. Doc confronts Grumpy and demands that he let Snow White stay, but Grumpy continues to refuse. The two dwarfs walk up to each other, eventually hurting themselves by squashing their bulbous noses against each other. As they back away from each other again, Grumpy insults Doc, who, flustered, tried to repeat the phrase but gets it wrong at every attempt. Grumpy, fed up, twists Docs nose; Doc retorts by knocking Grumpy's nose, causing it to swing from side to side. A fight ensues, which Grumpy appears to be winning until the other dwarfs try to pry him away. Snow White reminds them of how scary the forest will be for her if she has to leave, and Grumpy finally agrees that she can stay until she has made the gooseberry pie. The entire sequence can be seen on the second disc of the Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Platinum Edition DVD.
Music in Your Soup
After the song Bluddle Uddle Um Dum, in which the dwarfs wash themselves,
You're Never Too Old
You're Never too Old was originally to be sung by the dwarfs to Snow White. It was ultimately cut, because the subject of the song did not seem relevant to the story, and replaced with The Silly Song.
Building a Bed for Snow White
A scene was storyboarded and partly animated in which the dwarfs hold a meeting to decide on a gift for Snow White. Doc suggests a royal coach, with six white horses; his idea is rejected. Sleepy's idea for a bed is ultimately agreed upon, and Doc declares that he will 'fix' Snow White's name on the bed. Of course, he also oersees the bed's construction. During the bed-building sequence, Doc is seen with a chisel. Dopey, who is collecting fabric for the bed, sneaks up behind Doc and pulls his vest from under his coat. Before Doc knows what is going on, Dopey has returned to Happy with the vest, sending the jolly dwarf into hysterics.