Did you know that Lewis and Tolkien went to the movie theater together to watch the original 1937 first full length animated film “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs”? I had a teacher tell me this story. Tolkien went off about the dwarfs afterwards. It’s all wrong. They are not comic relief! They are The Church! They are Gimli!
All Lewis said about the movie was “It was a great technical achievement”.
I can picture Lewis walking into a movie theater complete with popcorn, drinks, and a Good and Plenty box. Tolkien is walking behind, very stoic and silent.
It is referenced in the “J.R.R Tolkien Companion and Guide” books. Also in the book “Light Shining in a Dark Place: Discovering Theology through Film” by Jeff Sellers has a chapter on Lewis and Cinema. He quotes a letter Lewis wrote to A.K. Hamilton about this movie experience.
Hi friends! 👋🏼 I found a copy of the letter to AK Hamilton Jenkin in the “Books, Broadcasts, and the War” Collected Letters. I did a phone scan, if you’d like to see a PDF. I would upload it here, but I don’t think Substack allows it in the comments.
Did you know that Lewis and Tolkien went to the movie theater together to watch the original 1937 first full length animated film “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs”? I had a teacher tell me this story. Tolkien went off about the dwarfs afterwards. It’s all wrong. They are not comic relief! They are The Church! They are Gimli!
All Lewis said about the movie was “It was a great technical achievement”.
I can picture Lewis walking into a movie theater complete with popcorn, drinks, and a Good and Plenty box. Tolkien is walking behind, very stoic and silent.
Amazing. Do you have a source for this?
It is referenced in the “J.R.R Tolkien Companion and Guide” books. Also in the book “Light Shining in a Dark Place: Discovering Theology through Film” by Jeff Sellers has a chapter on Lewis and Cinema. He quotes a letter Lewis wrote to A.K. Hamilton about this movie experience.
Hi friends! 👋🏼 I found a copy of the letter to AK Hamilton Jenkin in the “Books, Broadcasts, and the War” Collected Letters. I did a phone scan, if you’d like to see a PDF. I would upload it here, but I don’t think Substack allows it in the comments.
Do send it to me!