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Dubbed
"Dopey" by his brothers,
this loose-limbed dwarf has never spoken a word; as Happy
explains to Snow White, "He never tried." But Dopey isn't really
dopey, he's just childlike. Is it dopey to try and steal a
second and third kiss from Snow White on your way to work, or to
make yourself tall enough to dance with her by climbing on Sneezy's shoulders?
Not at all. Dopey's a genius at fun and games. He just doesn't
mind looking silly along the way. He's simply being himself, and
that's pretty smart.
In
the early development process on the film, Dopey was the
"leftover" dwarf with no particular personality. Then one day
animator Ward Kimball discovered vaudevillian actor Eddie
Collins at a Los Angeles burlesque house. Kimball invited Mr.
Collins to the studio to perform and improvise pantomimes of Dopey's reactions on film. Thanks much to Collins' innovative
acting, Dopey assumed a very definite personality and soon
became one of the animators' favorite dwarfs. |


"-Swallows the
soap-" |