Dwarf Woodlands

Dwarf Woodlands is a world that is featured in Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep. It is based on Disney's .

Settings and Areas
Part of the world is the dwarfs' cottage based on the 1937 Disney film, , which was Disney's first animated movie. Thus, it is the oldest animated feature to be incorporated as a world in the series. However, it is not the oldest work of Walt Disney's to have a world as it is second to the world based on Steamboat Willie's world, Timeless River.

From Kōzan: Saikutsu (鉱山:採掘場), the only exit is through the Kōzan: Iriguchi (鉱山:入口). Exiting the mine will take you to the Yamamichi (山道). Passing the trail will lead you to the Dowāfu no Ie (ドワーフの家). There is a house that the dwarfs live called Dowāfu no Heya (ドワーフの部屋). The Woods after the clearing is called Kurai Mori (暗い森). The place after the woods is the Hanabatake (花畑). After the glade, the Queen's castle is entered. There is a passage at the back of the Nakaniwa (中庭). That passage called the Chika Suiro (地下水路). There is another door leading to the Chika Hiroma (地下広間), which leads directly to the Kagami no Ma (鏡の間).

Both Terra and Aqua do battle with the Magic Mirror in a dimension within the mirror itself, known as Kagami no Naka (鏡の中).

Kingdom Hearts χ
The Player arrives in Dwarf Woodlands, where they’re swarmed by Heartless. After dispatching their foes, a resident of the world, Doc, approaches and thanks the the Player for defeating the Heartless – who had been wreaking havoc throughout their world – including the mine from which Doc and his friends had been working together. Doc voices his concern on the matter, as he hasn’t seen his friends since they decided that they needed to get rid of the Heartless, and asks the Player if he could help – suggesting that they begin their search at their cottage, as someone may have returned. Afterwards, Doc mentions that they can’t proceed because something big is in their cottage and will end up destroying it. The Player goes ahead and destroys the Large Body and other Heartless surrounding the cottage. When the coast is clear, Doc proceeds to check to see if anyone else had returned to the cottage.

Finding no one in the cottage, Doc elects to search the Ore Mine beyond the forest. Here, Doc finds another Large Body Heartless and flees the scene, but finds himself unable to get back in as a result – asking The Player to defeat the Heartless once again. Afterwards, Doc continues to search the inside of the Ore Mine in case any of this friends returned – only to find that the Heartless had destroyed the trolley – preventing him from searching in the depths of the mine. Instead, Doc wonders if there may be someone in the second mining area. Here, The Player helps Doc find Happy – who questions why Doc seems so stressed. Doc explains that it’s because no one ever came back, only for Happy to apologize and reason that he couldn’t because of the broken trolley. It’s only then that Doc realizes that the others aren’t with Happy, and so the dwarves ask The Player to continue looking for their other companions. Happy attempts to fix the trolley – though he needs The Player to get him some iron nails – only Happy can’t fix it himself and instead requires Grumpy’s help.

The Player helps Doc get some medicinal flowers and mosses in order to prepare for the possibility of his friends returning wounded, while also clearing the way of Heartless in order to allow Doc to return home. While getting water for Happy, The Player discovers a message in a bottle by the river and has to have Doc read what it says. Apparently, Sleepy got trapped in the swamp due to a flood from the rain and needs to be rescued. In the swamp, The Player finds Sleepy and Grumpy being attacked by Heartless and manages to defeat them. Though Grumpy insists that he could’ve defeated the Heartless and saved Sleepy by himself, he allows The Player to escort them all back to the cottage, where they reunite with Happy and Doc. Doc and Grumpy then go with The Player back to the mines to fix the trolley so that they can search deeper in the mines for Sneezy, Dopey and Bashful – but unfortunately, Grumpy needs screws rather than iron nails as Happy had indicated, and sends The Player off to get them. Once they do, Grumpy gets to work fixing the trolley.

Back in the forest, the Player finds Happy, who had sought out more medicinal ingredients for Doc, only to find that he can’t get to the mushrooms he needs, instead asking the Player for help. The Player then returns to the mine to find that the trolley is fixed, and so they delve deeper in search of the three remaining dwarves.

“The world was in Darkness. But, the world where I came into being was full of a very bright Light. The person who bore me from this world was smiling and looking at me from within the Light.” – Chirithy

Deeper within the mind, the Player finds Bashful, who'd become trapped when the ground beneath his feet collapsed and a landslide cut him off from the exit, leaving him trapped within a cave.

The Player goes back to Grumpy, who reveals that Heartless had swarms all over the trolley when he went back to the station, and he requires The Player’s assistance in clearing them out. After this, Sleepy asks that The Player get him some Wormwood to keep him awake long enough that he can look after the cottage as he’s meant to. Then, the Player encounters Chirithy, who sends him after some Darkball Heartless that had appeared in Dwarf Woodlands – though he wonders where they could’ve come from following The Player’s success – suggesting that perhaps they’d come from another world.

Prior to the Player's second visit to the Dwarf Woodlands, the Queen summons forth the Magic Mirror, who asks what she wishes to know, with the Queen asking “Who is the fairest one of all?” However The Magic Mirror claims to see a young maiden other than the Queen. Enraged, the Queen demands that The Magic Mirror give her the name of this young maiden – and so The Magic Mirror responds: “Lips red as the rose, hair black as ebony, skin as white as snow…” Immediately, the Queen knows that the maiden The Magic Mirror spoke of is her step-daughter, Snow White.

In the courtyard, Snow White’s singing attracts the attention of The Prince, who joins her in song. Though frightened off at first, The Prince’s continued singing calms Snow White – who joins him once again. Meanwhile, the Queen watches enviously from a window above.

The Player seeks out Grumpy at the trolley station, who tells him that the candle’s about to go out and that the other dwarves will be in trouble if they’re left in the dark, Additionally, Grumpy mentions that Sneezy and Dopey are trapped just up ahead and that The Player should go and save them. By following the tracks, The Player is eventually able to find Sneezy and Dopey after defeating several masses of Heartless that had been blocking the way. Grumpy, having followed behind The Player, tells Sneezy and Dopey to head back and meet with the other dwarves – also ordering Sneezy to stop sneezing because he might end up causing a landslide. Once the dwarves are gone, The Player takes his leave as well, only to be stopped by Chirithy. Though Chirithy mentions that everything seems to be going well, the Light in Dwarf Woodlands may be on the road to being covered by Darkness. Chirithy tells The Player that there’s someone in need of their power and that they need to hurry into the Dark Forest in order to save them. In the Dark Forest, The Player finds Snow White crying alone in fear. Snow White mentions that she’s being haunted by Darkness, and so The Player uses their Keyblade to summon forth Light. When Snow White feels the warmth of the Light it comforts her and she states that she’s sure it must’ve come from within The Player’s heart. After introducing herself, Snow White states that she can’t stay there and bids farewell to The Player before running off to find her way out of the Dark Forest. Just then, Chirithy appears and claims that Snow White is one of the special Lights that cannot vanish from the world, the Seven Princesses of Heart, and thus it would like The Player to watch over her from now on.

The Player then follows Snow White back to the dwarves’ cottage, where she thanks The Player and proposes that she spend the night there as the sun has already begun to set. However, due to the filthiness of the cottage, Snow White asks The Player for help in cleaning it. With Snow White taken care of, The Player returns to the Ore Mine, where he finds six of the seven dwarves. The dwarves explain that they’ve dug through the fallen rocks as far as they could go, however they need The Player to use their Keyblade to finish the job. Once the path is open, Bashful emerges and the dwarves thank The Player for their services before deciding that they should all return home to their cottage to rest. Following behind the dwarves at a distance, The Player arrives at the cottage to find the dwarves gathered outside. Doc mentions that The Player had come at a good time, as they were just getting ready to chase out the monster in the cottage and it’d be better to have The Player with them. Grumpy asks just how long Doc plans on keeping The Player around for, only for the dwarves to express the need to have additional help with this monster that’s allegedly big, scary, has horns and breathes fire. After The Player agrees to help the dwarves take down the monster, they discover that it’s not actually a monster, but is in fact a girl.

When Snow White awakens, Doc voices how humbling it was to have the princess in their cottage. Doc asks what they can do for Snow White, only for Grumpy to argue that they should chase her away – but Snow White begs the dwarves to stay, knowing that if she were to leave “they” would put an end to her. When the dwarves ask who Snow White is talking about, she reveals that the Queen is after her, and Grumpy adds that the Queen is capable of changing her appearance and using magic. Snow White assures the dwarves that the Queen would never find her if she stayed there, also offering to do housework such as cooking and cleaning in return. Ultimately the dwarves accept, and The Player slips out while Snow White and the seven dwarves sing and dance around the cottage.

Chirithy appears once again, happy to see that everyone seems to be having fun, but concerned when he sees that The Player seems to be lonely. When Chirithy suggests that The Player must have some friends, he remembers that he’d not yet told them about that. Chirithy elaborates that even if The Player were apart from their friends, they’ll never need to feel lonely, as their hearts are connected to one-another – and while they don’t know it now they’ll understand one day. Chirithy then leaves The Player to continue the celebration with the dwarves. In the days that follow, Dopey loses the key to the mine, and The Player helps the dwarves by locating the key so that they can all get back to work together. Only, afterwards Grumpy mentions that they need to compensate for the time that they’d lost, asking The Player to get 15 emeralds from the mines for them.

Thinking that Snow White has been killed, the Queen once again asks The Magic Mirror “Who’s the fairest one of all?” The Magic Mirror proclaims that Snow White is still the fairest of them all, living in a small cottage in the middle of the forest. Confused and outraged, the Queen asks how this could be possible when she’d sent The Huntsman out to kill Snow White, only for The Magic Mirror to state that her Huntsman had failed her, as Snow White lives. Accepting this, the Queen vows to kill Snow White herself, intending on using her magic to disguise herself as an old peddler woman. That night, the Queen sets out in her disguise with the intent of giving Snow White a poisoned apple that will kill her in an eternal sleep.

The next day, while in the mine the dwarves ask The Player to check in on Snow White. At the cottage, Snow White voices her concern for Dopey, as he’d ventured into the Dark Forest alone, asking The Player to see if they can find Dopey, only to discover that Dopey is safe within the Ore Mine with the other dwarves. Later, when the dwarves don’t come back from the mine, The Player goes to check on them – finding that another Heartless had appeared in the tunnel and prevented them from getting out. After defeating the Heartless, The Player heads out of the mine to find Chirithy waiting for them. Chirithy states that they have a huge problem, as the Light –Snow White – is being threatened by the Darkness. Hearing the dwarves coming, Chirithy vanishes and the dwarves question what the Player’s doing – as the Queen has captured Snow White and they need to hurry back to the cottage. As they leave, Chirithy reappears and watches the group as they disappear into the forest.

In the cottage, the Queen tells Snow White that the apple she’s offering isn’t an ordinary apple, as it grants wishes, just one bite and any wish will come true. The Queen places the apple in Snow White’s hands, and Snow White reluctantly wishes for The Prince to take her to his castle so that they could live happily ever after together. The Queen then hurries Snow White, telling her to take her bite before the wish fades away. When the effect takes and Snow White falls, the Queen proclaims herself to be the fairest of them all before leaving the cottage. The Player and the seven dwarves rush to the cottage, coming face-to-face with the Queen, who escapes as Heartless appear on the scene. The Player takes on the Heartless while the dwarves chase after The Queen – taking down anything that stands in their way. The group catches up to the Queen on the mountains, where she attempts to dislodge a large rock to drop a landslide on the dwarves – though before she can lightning strikes and the cliff crumbles beneath her feet, sending her falling to her doom.

The next day, the dwarves have a funeral for Snow White, encasing her in a glass coffin, while The Player watches from a far. Chirithy joins The Player and solemnly states that it’s fortunate that Snow White hadn’t been swallowed by darkness, but she has fallen into a deep sleep. Momentarily, Chirithy wonders if the Player would be able to wake her up, though he quickly denies this as a possibility, as The Player lacks that kind of power. As someone approaches Chirithy disappears, surprisingly it is the Prince who’s arrived at the funeral, where he kisses Snow White and wakes her from her eternal slumber. Chirithy reappears, stating that the fact that the Prince’s and Snow White’s hearts had been connected that he was lead to her and could awaken her with true love’s kiss. In the end, Chirithy says this was just an example of the bonds of the heart, which can be very powerful – ending by suggesting that maybe The Player already has that power within themselves.

Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep
Terra is the first Keyblade wielder to visit this world. As he arrives in the Queen's castle, he overhears the Queen consulting her Magic Mirror. She asks who is the fairest of them all, but is horrified when the Mirror names Snow White, a maiden with a heart of pure light. At this point, Terra whispers to himself whether Master Xehanort has visited this land in his search for the light. When Terra interrogates the Queen over Xehanort's whereabouts, she tasks him with killing Snow White and bringing back her heart as proof, and in return, he may ask the Magic Mirror for answers.

Meanwhile, Ventus arrives in the world as the Seven Dwarfs are going to work in the mine. He follows in after them, but they mistake him for a thief and hide in crates and ore cars. He tries to ask them if they know Terra, but they refuse to talk to him.

Later, Terra goes off to find Snow White, figuring she may have met Xehanort. He meets her in a meadow picking flowers, and he senses the kindness and purity in her heart. However, before he can get any information, Unversed appear and scare her off into the woods.

As Ventus passes by the dwarfs' cottage, he hears a scream from the woods. He enters to find Snow White terrified of the dark forest, and he agrees to escort her take her somewhere safe, escorting her through swarms of Unversed to the cottage. She goes upstairs to rest just as the dwarfs return from work while Ventus scouts the area. Snow White explains her encounter with Terra, and the dwarfs conclude Terra sent a horde of evil monsters after her. Ven defends Terra, but the dwarfs refuse to believe the "thief", prompting Ven to storm out to prove his friend's innocence. As Ven wanders through the woods, he is attacked by the giant Unversed, the Mad Treant.

Terra returns to the Queen, who is insulted that he returned without Snow White's heart. Terra informs her that he never planned on killing her, but the Queen is still furious. She forces the Mirror to absorb Terra into its depths, where the hero battles against the spirit within. Terra escapes, and the Queen reluctantly asks for Xehanort's location. The Mirror tells Terra that he is in a wasteland where a great battle was fought. Terra then leaves, puzzled over the Mirror's cryptic answer.

If Terra completes Dwarf Woodlands after the Castle of Dreams, he decides to consult Yen Sid for more information.

After Ventus defeats the Mad Treant, he goes to the meadow on the other side. Here he sees an old woman drop a red apple, unaware that the woman is the disguised Queen, who plans to poison Snow White with the apple. Ven hands the apple to her, and asks her if she has seen Terra. She replies that he had threatened her to tell him the whereabouts of Master Xehanort, leaving Ven worried about what his friend has been up to.

Aqua comes to this world just after the old hag poisons Snow White. She sees the dwarfs mourning over Snow White's glass coffin, and Aqua agrees to go to the Queen's castle to investigate any possible help. In the courtyard she meets Snow White's love, the Prince, who wonders where the princess has gone. Aqua directs him to the woods where Snow White sleeps, so he runs off to help any way he can. Aqua travels deep into the castle, to the Mirror's chamber, where she is transported into the mirror. She defeats the Magic Mirror, who says that since the Queen is dead, he has served his purpose, and disappears.

Aqua returns to the woods, where the Prince kisses Snow White, bringing her back to life. This reminds Aqua of when Ventus passed out and subsequently woke up when he first arrived at the Land of Departure. Snow White and the Prince walk off together on a journey as the dwarfs celebrate and Aqua reflects on whether Ven left home because it was his time.

Some time after Xehanort's defeat at the Keyblade Graveyard, the dwarfs, Snow White, and the Prince frolic in the flower meadows.

Between Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep and Kingdom Hearts
Dwarf Woodlands eventually fell under attack by the Heartless. Commanded by the sorceress Maleficent, they captured Snow White, one of the seven Princesses of Heart needed to open the Final Keyhole. With Snow White captured, the Heartless proceeded to consume the heart of Dwarf Woodlands, plunging the world into the Realm of Darkness.

Trapped in the Dark Realm herself, Aqua would eventually come across the remains of Dwarf Woodlands in her endless quest to escape. Pulled into the Magic Mirror by her own reflection, Aqua found herself in the World Within, where her own reflection became her enemy. Defeating the numerous copies of Phantom Aqua allowed her to escape and proceed on her journey.

Kingdom Hearts
When the Door to Darkness was sealed, End of the World came apart, restoring all the lost world, including the Dwarf Woodlands.

Trivia

 * Gameplay demos and trailers showed Terra battling Unversed outside the dwarfs' house, yet this location is inaccessible for Terra in the actual game.