The dwarves might seem all cheery and amiable, but I think they're a lot more sinister than they appear. Why do you think they live in the middle of nowhere? Hiding from the cops or the Mob, I expect. Where do all the profits from the mining go? Probably feeding seven little drug habits, or paying off seven little hookers with blackmail on their minds, or funding seven little lawsuits. I expect they prey on innocent-looking girls on the run from evil stepmothers - there's enough of them around, after all. Take her in, get her working for them, keep her captive, and dispose of her if she doesn't like it. There's probably dozens of virginial princesses rotting in the forest, and dozens more emotionally damaged escapees. Why do you think the evil queen is the way she is? She's actually a very damaged individual, a moral trainwreck, from having spent most of her youth captive and forced to pander to the sick desires of the seven dwarves; but she survived, and escaped, and fought her way to the top despite everything.
I always thought the evil queen (it's funny how she's so evil she was never given a name) was possibly one of the greatest animated charachters ever created. Saner than Peter Pan, cleverer than Shrek, more practical than Eeyore, tougher than Captain Scarlet, more glamorous than [The Little Mermaid's] Ursula but just as devious; she looks unnervingly like Greta Garbo (before her 'I vant to be alone' period) and could kill any simpering heroine at 30 paces with nothing but a killer stare. I have never understood why Disney heroines are perfect innocent flowers - well, I understand why they're all so boring (let's be honest, would you like your daughter growing up trying to emulate Jessica Rabbit?), but it does have the effect of making the bad guys seem like so much more fun in comparison. Keeping with the Snow White theme: would you rather play hausfrau for seven men who spend all day staring at you, but never lift a finger to help, or sleep your way to power in a fairytale kingdom and spend all day vanquishing armies of ogres and the like?
See, I can understand why the Queen got so pissed off with Snow White. Would you really like to stand in front of the mirror and have it say "I hate to say this, but....". Normal mirrors can be tricked with dim lighting and good posture, but this one is brutally honest. It's like having the editorial staff of Heat sitting in the back of your wardrobe hissing bitchy comments at you. Could there be anything more soul-destroying than standing in front of the mirror in the morning to hear it say 'Your roots need retouching....undereye bags like you're packing for a fortnight's skiing....three spots, two on left temple and one on chin....has anyone ever told you that your knees are at an odd angle?...eyes a little bloodshot ...two chips in the nail polish of left thumb nail...Oh, and by the way, your stepdaughter is now considerably hotter than you, and you'll have to content yourself with being the neighbourhood M.I.L.F.'. That kind of criticism is enough to drive anyone to lose their grip on reality. So really, I don't think she's the villain of the movie at all. I think the villain is the mirror, getting its kicks from stirring jealousy and inspiring homicide. The queen merely did what she had to do to prevent herself being usurped by a younger model.