Have you watched the animated Disney movie “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs”? Convinced the animated film would fail, many critics called it “Walt Disney’s Folly,” however, the film made history in 1937 as the first feature-length animated film in US history. It is one of the top 10 best performing movies in the North American box office (when adjusted for inflation), and as a smashing success, all the characters in the film are popular icons in pop culture.
The seven dwarfs’ names are Bashful, Doc, Dopey, Grumpy, Happy, Sleepy, and Sneezy. These seven dwarfs were initially part of the German fairy tale “Snow White” by the Brothers Grimm, and were popularized in modern media due to the 1937 Disney film “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.”
Read through the entire article to learn more about the seven dwarfs’ names and personalities, how they received their names, and other fun facts about the dwarfs and the Disney movie that made them famous to mainstream audiences.
The Origin Story of The Seven Dwarfs
In the animated film, the Seven Dwarfs are a rowdy group that lives in a cottage and work in the mines nearby. Snow White comes across their home after being told to run away from the Queen’s kingdom and does chores for the Seven Dwarfs in return for staying with them.
Later, the Queen creates a poisonous apple eaten by Snow White, and the dwarfs proclaim her dead due to her deathlike sleep, placing her in a glass coffin in a forest. When the prince visits her coffin, she is kissed, which awakens her, and she is eventually taken to his castle.
Brothers Grimm
As written in the original German fairytale by the Brothers Grimm, each of the dwarfs did not have individual names and were anonymous in the published version. Until the Broadway play in 1912 written by playwright Winthrop Ames (under the pseudonym Jessie Graham White), each dwarf was provided with different names to identify each character such as Whick, Snick, Blick, Flick, Glick, Quee, and Plick.
7 Dwarfs Names and Personalities
After watching a silent film of the Brothers Grimm fairytale in Kansas City, Walt Disney came up with the brilliant idea to bring the movie to the big screen when he was about 15 years old. His variation to the original fairy tale gave the seven dwarfs individual names and distinct personalities.
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Walt Disney Productions, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Dwarf 1 : Doc
Doc is the leading figure of the group and is the only dwarf that wears glasses. While he has an endearing bossy attitude, Doc encourages the other dwarfs to organize and be rational. He is incredibly kind to Snow White as he consistently comforts and warns her against strangers. His fatherly nature is seen when dealing with Dopey, and he often behaves as a caretaker for the dwarf.
The other dwarfs often look for guidance as he is reliable and intelligent despite the way he speaks. Doc often loses his train of thought or mixes up different words in his speech. Walt Disney himself decided that the core of Doc’s personality was that he never knows where he was without being reminded by one of his fellow dwarfs.
However, Doc is weak under pressure, sometimes collapsing into panic attacks or becoming unable to think up a plan of action under pressure. During these times, the other dwarfs rally around Doc to provide suggestions until Doc eventually steps up to retake the group’s leadership.
Dwarf 2 : Bashful
Bashful is the romantic of the seven dwarfs and is often seen coyly hiding behind his beard or blushing when he feels embarrassed. It is evident throughout the Disney film that Bashful has a crush on Snow White, and his shyness towards her makes him blush and giggle. He loves the idea of having one true love, and when Snow White offers to share a story with the dwarfs, Bashful suggests hearing a love story.
Dwarf 3 : Dopey
Dopey is the youngest and most childlike of the seven dwarfs and gets his name from his silly behavior. His immaturity is a constant annoyance to Doc and Grumpy. The other dwarfs are used to his mannerisms and behavior and ignore him.
Dopey’s notable trait is his lack of speech, but he occasionally makes various sounds such as hiccups and whimpers. Happy noted that Dopey is not aware if he can speak as the dwarf has never tried. Despite Dopey’s lack of speech, the other dwarfs can still understand him, and Doc can even translate Dopey’s sounds into a sentence when they all first met Snow White.
Dwarf 4 : Grumpy
Grumpy is the grouch of the group and is seen as a cranky dwarf with a temper. He’s often seen annoyed by the antics of the other dwarfs and is rude and negative in personality. Grumpy is additionally one of the more capable members of the group and is intelligent. Despite his exterior, he has a warm heart but never really shows it.
During the film, Grumpy denies his adoration for Snow White, and she even teases the dwarf for his evident dislike for her. However, he eventually leads the group of dwarves to rescue Snow White, which shows how much he cares for her. In the end, he does not hide his heart and instead embraces his feelings for Snow White and the other dwarves in the group.
Dwarf 5 : Happy
Happy is the most optimistic member of the group and is always seen with a smile. He loves parties, dancing, and delicious food. Happy is the most friendly out of all the dwarves and giggles often. As a very bubbly dwarf, Happy is very sociable and welcoming to Snow White. Despite Grumpy being his exact opposite in name and personality, he never clashes with Grumpy.
While Happy does not normally seem to be stressed or troubled, he is very fierce when protecting his friends as Happy is the first dwarf to come up with a plan to kill and defeat the mysterious stranger that first intruded into their home. Additionally, Happy charges and fights back angrily with the Queen and gets annoyed at Dopey’s behavior so he experiences other emotions depending on the situation.
Dwarf 6 : Sleepy
Sleepy is the drowsiest dwarf in the group and is always looking to take a nap. His eyes are always drooped in weariness, and he is seen in most scenes of the animated film trying to stay awake. Despite spending most of his time asleep or attempting to fall asleep, Sleepy is one of the more logical dwarves and is observant in his surroundings. For instance, he was the only dwarf who correctly assumed that Snow White was being attacked at the Evil Queen’s cottage.
Dwarf 7 : Sneezy
Sneezy is the one with severe allergies in the group and is always sneezing. He sounds like he has severe congestion with a stuffy nose, and his sneezes can blow away anything in the way. While Sneezy can usually predict when his sneezes will happen, the other dwarfs hold his nose to prevent his destructive sneezes.
How the 7 Dwarfs Got Their Names
The Disney film chose different names for the seven dwarves. The names were originally going to be Burpy, Stuffy, Jumpy, Wheezy, Lazy, and Deafy. Additionally, other names were also considered for the dwarf’s names, such as:
- Snoopy
- Stubby
- Thrifty
- Shifty
- Deefy
- Dirty
- Dumpy
- Gaspy
- Gabby
- Flabby
- Gloomy
- Nifty
- Blabby
- Busy
- Hosty
- Daffy
- Crabby
While some of the names would not have offended many people back in the day, a few specific ones would undoubtedly cause controversy in this day and age. Some of the names they used described physical references, while the final chosen names that were selected described more emotions and personality.
Read: What are the Names of the fingers?
Conclusion
The seven dwarfs’ names are influenced by their personality and character traits, with some being literal or physical descriptions. The animated Disney movie popularized the name of the seven dwarfs, bringing them mainstream to modern media and influencing pop culture.
Source: Disney Fandom