Alternate Versions

Remove sounds of screaming and sight of clutching hands from the forest sequence.

Reduce sound effects in the Queen's transformation sequence.

Remove the sight of a skeleton in the poison apple sequence.

Remove the sound of the witch screaming as she falls from the rocks.

It has a complicated censorship history in the UK and was once censored. In 1938, it was passed A uncut, meaning it was restricted to viewers aged 16 and over unless accompanied by an adult. In 1953, RKO resubmitted the film in the hope of lowering the original decision to a U for a 1954 re-release. The BBFC refused to do so unless the following cuts were made:RKO declined to make the cuts so appealed the decision to the local authorities where the film was to be shown - councils have the power to overturn the BBFC's theatrical decisions (which very rarely happens). The results were mixed - some lowered it to a U and others stuck with the BBFC's A decision. For the 1964 re-release, RKO relented and made the cuts, as it would be less confusing for the film to play with the same certificate nationwide. Only in 1987 was it finally passed uncut at U, for the 50th anniversary cinema re-release. Examiners noted that each scare was either followed by a joke within the same scene or a reassuring scene immediately afterwards (e.g. "Thirsty? Have a drink!" when the witch spots the skeleton and kicks a bucket of water at him, or the animals comforting Snow White after her ordeal in the forest). The uncut U decision has been upheld for video submissions in 1994, 1996 and 2009, as well as for cinema in 2016. The current 'insight' (official content description) states it contains "very mild scary scenes, threat". See more