Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs “Bluddle-Uddle-Um-Dum” (1937)

Of course, once the dwarfs get home, they quickly realize that something is amiss because their entire house is CLEAN!! (To which Grumpy retorts: “There’s dirty work afoot!!”) There follows a hilarious comedy of errors where the dwarfs become convinced that their house is inhabited by a multi-headed monster and the seven sneak inside to slay this “beast.”

Finally though, Snow White and the dwarfs formally meet and everyone takes to the princess at once (except Grumpy). The others are completely won over when Snow White promises to cook all of their favorite foods, especially gooseberry pie (“Gooseberry pie? Hooray! She stays!”) But orginally Grumpy wasn’t going to be won over that easily. If you pay close attention to the scene, you’ll notice that Grumpy is actually getting ready to say something when the scene cuts away to the pot boiling over. In a deleted scene (even Snow White had a few), Grumpy was going to go on a tirade about how ridiculous it was for them to let Snow White stay merely because of a gooseberry pie. That’s when the princess stops the argument by pretending she’s going to leave. Meanwhile, the other dwarfs remind Grumpy of how good gooseberry pie is, which leads Grumpy to allow that Snow White can stay at least until he gets the pie (this explains why Snow White is working on the pie for Grumpy after the dwarfs leave).

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Deleted Scene (1937)

The matter being settled, the dwarfs are ready to eat the soup Snow White has made. But before they can eat, the princess insists that everyone has to go wash up for dinner (since the dwarfs have only washed their hands “recently.” “The Dwarfs Washing Song” or “Bluddle-Uddle-Um-Bum” is early Disney silly at its finest. The song (led by Doc) is juxtaposed against the stubborness of Grumpy (who notably refuses to sing and speaks his lines during this sequence). Actually, compared to the other songs in the movie, this almost isn’t a “song” at all, as the dwarfs aren’t actually “singing” so much as “speak-singing” the lyrics with musical accompaniment.

Step up to the tub
‘Tain’t no disgrace
Just pull up your sleeves
And get ’em in place
Then scoop up the water
And rub it on your face
And go brrr, brrr, brrr

Pick up the soap
Now don’t try to bluff
Work up a lather
An’ when ya got enough
Get your hands full of water
Ya snort and ya snuff
And go brrr, brrr, brrr

Ya douse and douse
Ya scrub and scrub
Ya sputter and splash all over the tub
You may be cold and wet when you’re done
But ya gotta admit it’s good clean fun
So splash all ya like
‘Tain’t any trick
As soon as you’re through
You’ll feel mighty slick

This has nothing to do with music, but one of my favorite scenes is when the other dwarfs ambush Grumpy after the main song ends and drag him to the wash tub. Be honest now, at some time or other you’ve fantasized about getting to do that to someone. Once Grumpy is in the midst of being forcibly cleaned, the rest of the dwarfs sing their one final verse.

Now scrub good and hard
It can’t be denied
That he’ll look mighty cute
As soon as he’s dried

But it’s good for the soul
And it’s good for the hide
To go brrr, brrr, brrr

Poor Grumpy, I almost feel bad watching him get forcibly cleaned (but it’s so much fun to watch!) Let me know what you think about “Bluddle-Uddle-Um-Dum” in the comments below and have a great day!

See also:

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs “I’m Wishing/One Song” (1937)

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs “With a Smile and a Song” (1937)

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs “Whistle While You Work” (1937)

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs “Heigh Ho” (1937)

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs “The Silly Song” (1937)

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs “Some Day My Prince Will Come” (1937)

Disney/Dreamworks/Pixar/etc. Soundtracks A-Z

Become a Patron of the blog at patreon.com/musicgamer460

Check out the YouTube channel (and consider hitting the subscribe button)

Don’t forget to like Film Music Central on Facebook