Walt Disney knew he would be perfect for the role, and later cast Gilbert as Willie the Giant in Mickey and the Beanstalk. Sneezy was voiced by Billy Gilbert, a popular comedic actor (originally discovered by Stan Laurel), well known for his hilarious sneeze routines.When animating Sleepy, care was taken to ensure that one eye was always larger than the other to make Sleepy appear exhausted. A running gag throughout the film had Sleepy being constantly pestered by a fly, an example of the type of “gag” that Walt Disney felt was critical in giving the dwarfs their individual personalities. Even though Sleepy is constantly on the verge of dozing off, he’s actually the most observant of all the dwarfs. Sleepy was voiced by the legendary Sterling Holloway, perhaps best known to Disney fans as the voice of Winnie the Pooh.When Snow White offered to share a story with the dwarfs, it was Bashful who suggested that it be a love story. He is the most romantic of the dwarfs, and even has a small crush on Snow White herself. Bashful’s voice was performed by Scotty Mattraw (who also had small roles in Babes in Toyland and The Grapes of Wrath).(He showcased his fondness for food in the deleted musical sequence where the dwarfs noisily slurped up their bowls of soup.) He has a great love for food and is the chubbiest of the dwarfs. Happy was originally going to be a comically tragic character, but quickly evolved into the cheerful, bubbly dwarf that we know today. Happy was voiced by Otis Harlan (who also performed the role of Mr.Even though Grumpy seemed to be winning, he eventually acquiesced and agreed to let Snow White prepare the pie. In the scene, the two dwarfs get into a fight over a gooseberry pie that Snow White promised to make for them. Doc and Grumpy were actually the focus of a scene that was fully animated yet cut from the final film. However, it was Grumpy that lead the dwarfs on the quest to rescue Snow White. Originally voiced by Pinto Colvig (the original voice of Goofy), Grumpy had a soft spot for Snow White, though he vehemently denied it. If Dopey is the most popular dwarf, Grumpy is certainly a close second.Walt Disney commented that Doc’s flustered personality should be such that he never knew quite where he was without one of his fellow dwarfs reminding him. Doc is the leader of the seven dwarfs and was voiced by Roy Atwell.Dopey was also the only dwarf not to speak, though his few vocal effects were provided by legendary voice actor Mel Blanc, best known as the voice of Bugs Bunny. This was partly due to his distinctive appearance (he was the only dwarf without a beard), but also because of his bumbling and endearing demeanor. Even though he was the last dwarf to be named, Dopey proved to be the most popular.Sneezy was next, and it was another month before the team finally settled on Dopey as the name of the final dwarf. Doc, Grumpy, Bashful, Sleepy, and Happy were the first to be named. Potential names included Jumpy, Deafy, Dizzey, Hickey, Wheezy, Baldy, Gabby, Nifty, Sniffy, Swift, Lazy, Puffy, Stuffy, Tubby, Shorty, and Burpy.

Even as Walt Disney and his team of storywriters worked on the script for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, it took quite a while to settle on the final names for the dwarfs.And what were those names? Blick, Flick, Glick, Snick, Plick, Whick, and Quee. The first time the dwarfs were given names was in the 1912 Broadway play, produced by Winthrop Ames.In the original fairy tale (number 53 in the Grimm’s Fairy Tales collection, originally titled Sneewittchen in German), the dwarfs were unnamed. Even though the original version of Snow White was published by the Brothers Grimm in 1812, it would be another 100 years before they were named.

Sleepy dwarf