You know Snow White? That Disney movie about a princess who gets lost in the forest, flips her shit when a bunch of floating eyeballs attack her, ends up making friends with seven dwarves, eats a poison apple, low-key dies, and then wakes up thanks to being kissed by a prince? It's a classic!
But a fan theory is making its way around the internet that brings some new light to the actual meaning of the movie.
The theory – which appears to have originated in the comments section of a Buzzfeed article – states that Snow White is actually straight-up DEAD by the end of the film. And that Prince Charming is a sexy Grim Reaper who gives her the kiss of death before carting her off to heaven.
[^TFW a fan theory ruins your childhood memories.]
To quote Buzzfeed commenter/professional Snow White expert Matt Morgan: "The prince is supposed to be kind of like an angel of death, basically a happier version of a grim reaper. When Snow is being careless around the well at the beginning of the movie, the 'prince' hears her and goes to investigate.
"She gets her first glimpse at the prince when she gets her first glimpse at death; when she almost falls into the well and dies."
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As Matt notes, the Prince comes to Snow White again after her next brush with death – this time thanks to that poison apple.
"He arrives on a pale white horse (which is what Death was often portrayed riding at the time). He kisses her.
"The 'kiss of death' is a way people knew someone had passed before they knew about taking pulses. When you die, the air is expelled from your lungs. Folklore said this was death kissing you to take the 'breath of life' from you."
Like, OKAY MATT MORGAN.
But wait, it gets better. By which, we mean worse. Per our buddy Matt: "Snow and the Prince say goodbye to the dwarfs rather than bring them along because they're going somewhere the living can't follow.
"They then ride off to heaven or a heaven-facsimile afterlife, where we see the last shot of the movie: a castle-shaped cloud surrounded by golden light."
Cool, cool, cool. This is all fine and not at all traumatising.
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Mehera Bonner is a celebrity and entertainment news writer who enjoys Bravo and Antiques Roadshow with equal enthusiasm, She was previously entertainment editor at Marie Claire and has covered pop culture for over a decade.
