Back then, live actors were often used to mimic the scenes that carried a lot of complex movement. This allowed the animators to physically trace over the cartoon's counterpart, ensuring an exact, realistic representation of our natural movement. More than anything, though, it's fascinating to see some of our favorite characters portrayed as their living, breathing human counterparts. You can check out all of the composite images here.
Chances are the live-action counterpart in this scene from Snow White didn't actually use stacked dwarves.
Even though they took great pains to make perfect human replicas, scenery was left much more to the artists' imaginations.
But just because the surrounding scenery didn't need to be elaborate doesn't mean the same went for the characters' costumes.
Or the props. Nothing makes someone seem like they're pulling on scissors twice their size like, well... scissors twice their size.
Classic Disney Animations and Their Real Life Counterparts