Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937 film) January 11 to March 9, 1980, a total of 106 performances. In the 2000s, DisneyToon Studios began development on a computer-animated prequel to "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs", titled "The Seven Dwarfs". Director Mike Disa and screenwriter Evan Spiliotopoulos pitched a story explaining how the Dwarfs met, and how the Evil Queen killed Snow White's father and took the throne. According to Disa, DisneyToon management changed the prequel to center around how Dopey lost his voice upon witnessing the death of his mother. After Disney purchased Pixar in 2006, John Lasseter, DisneyToons' new Chief Creative Officer, canceled "Dwarfs". In
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937 film) White and the Seven Dwarfs", the Disney studio had been primarily involved in the production of animated short subjects in the "Mickey Mouse" and "Silly Symphonies" series. Disney hoped to expand his studio's prestige and revenues by moving into features, and estimated that "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" could be produced for a budget of ; this was ten times the budget of an average "Silly Symphony". "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" was to be the first full-length cel animated feature in motion picture history, and as such Walt Disney had to fight to get the film produced.