Hello everybody and welcome to a brand new review! For this one, I will be taking a look at a new re imagining of a classic story, that has attracted a weird amount of controversy. Yes, Snow White has finally hit the big screen after being delayed an entire year due to the strikes. It feels like so much has been written about the movie from the discussion on whether the seven dwarves would appear or Rachel Zegler’s comments about the original, that this feels like it already came out earlier! However, it has now released and putting aside all of the discourse, I can’t say I was too excited for this. I’ve personally haven’t been the biggest fan of these live action Disney remakes as they tend to have things I enjoy, but not do much for me on the whole. That being said, I can see the potential for a new take on the Snow White story as while the original is a monumental achievement that is justifiably praised as a classic, there are definitely things one can do to update the material and expand on the story. Was this able to accomplish that? Let’s jump right in and whistle while we review to see what this take had to offer!
The film kicks off with a story book opening where we learn of a benevolent King and Queen who give birth their daughter, whom they name Snow White. Through her parents, she learns the meaning of kindness and how to be a good ruler. Tragedy strikes however, when the Queen falls ill and dies, leading the King to re marry a second wife who seems nice at first, but then soon comes to take over the kingdom when the King leaves to fight a threat, only to never return. This leaves Snow White to work as a scullery maid for the Queen’s services, with the outside presuming she is dead and suffering oppression under the Queen. One day when the Queen’s magic mirror that usually declares her as the “fairest one of all”, does the opposite and declares Snow White to fit that description, she decides to send her loyal huntsman to kill her and return the heart. Unable to do it, he lets Snow White go where she gets lost in the forest. From there she meets new allies and must find a way to save the Kingdom she calls home.
I will give this film credit in that not only does director, Marc Webb, and writer, Erin Cressida Wilson, try to change things up in regard to the story, but I think the changes, conceptually, are valid and have a lot of potential. They do a decent job fleshing out the kingdom a bit and I like how the script deals with themes of living under an oppressive regime, and how a ruler’s duty should be to one’s people. It’s all interesting stuff and is the film is at its most interesting when exploring them. I even quite like how the conflict is resolved in relation to these messages with the climax going in a way that I wasn’t expecting but in a way that I thought worked in tandem with what the movie was trying to say. Plus there is enough charm present throughout to at least make the proceedings watchable as this is ultimately fairly harmless on the whole.
That being said, the feature does struggle in a number of areas. While the film wants to tell a new story, it also wants to incorporate elements and story beats from the original as well for iconography sakes. This wouldn’t be AS big of a problem if they flowed naturally within the story, but instead they feel forced in and end up slowing the movie down in its tracks in a way that seriously hurts the pacing. It just comes off like the film wanting to have its cake and eating it too and it just doesn’t work all that well. Even putting aside all of that, while I do admire the new stuff added in, the story is honestly not that interesting for most of the runtime as I found myself largely unengaged for the middle section, some moments of amusement notwithstanding. It mostly treads standard fairytale fantasy waters and it failed to elicit much from me, which is disappointing considering the set up and even the ending are done decently.
Considering the obscenely high price tag this movie carries (over $250 million, largely due to re shoots and covid related complications), one would hope that the money is on the screen. It mostly is as the production is appropriately grand with solid set design and colorful costumes that pop off the screen. While I wouldn’t say his style is all over the place, Marc Webb, is at least able to handle things decently and even does a good job with the musical sequences which are lively and have some solid chorography as well as the action that is here. Now visually, things are rather hit or miss. There are some scenes that look quite nice and have a solid presentation and the production designs are handled well, but then there are other times where the green screen is apparent and things just look off, like it doesn’t come off as real. I also just don’t think most of the elements from the original were translated that well into live action as the most of the scenes lifting from there just look inferior to the animated versions. The various CGI animals, while not the most convincing look cute though, the same can’t be said about the Dwarfs who have this uncanny valley look to them that makes them look straight out of a CG Robert Zemeckis picture. I guess it adds some unintentional camp value, but it just doesn’t work as they look off and don’t mesh well when with actual humans.
As for the musical elements, well I will admit that the songs are honestly among the better aspects of the movie. Greatest Showman songwriters, Benji Pasek and Justin Paul, were responsible for the new songs present here and they get the job done for the most part. “Good Things Grow” is a decent introductory song that sets up the kingdom well even if it does sound a little too much like something from their Hugh Jackman starring breakout hit. “Waiting on a Wish” is the big “I want” song that Snow White sings and it is an effective ballad . “All is Fair” makes for a fun villain song with some neat lyrics for the Queen even if Gal Gadot’s vocals leave a bit to be desired. I’ll admit that “Princess Problems” (Jonathan’s big number) and “A Hand Meets a Hand (the romantic song) didn’t do a whole lot for me, but their serviceable enough. Funny enough though, the stand outs for me were actually the new renditions for the songs from the original. “Whistle While You Work” is updated wonderfully with a lot of energy and it is fun hearing the Dwarfs sing along with Snow White to it (a change that I thought worked). Meanwhile, “Heigh-Ho” is an absolute banger here, having the same upbeat rhythm but with more lyrics that help in introducing the Dwarfs and some great instrumentals (helps that the mining sequence is one of the better animation to live action translations here). I also thought Jeff Morrow’s score was great, utilizing all of these different songs very well throughout while having the magical feel one would hope for from a film like this.
I will give the live action remakes that at the very least more often than not, the main leads tend to be casted well and this one is no different. I’ve been a big fan of Rachel Zegler ever since seeing her in West Side Story (2021) and no surprise, she kills it as Snow White. She is able to successfully convey the kindness and determination of the character perfectly and makes for a likeable onscreen presence that elevates the proceedings. She also expectedly slays the musical moments with her incredible vocals, bringing so much passion to each line she sings. I also do like this portrayal of Snow White as it is a good update to the character, and the idea of her being this eventual symbol of hope for the people of the kingdom is a good one and I wish it was explored more. I wish I could offer the same praise for Gal Gadot as the Evil Queen, but unfortunately I felt she was miscast here. She tries to bring menace to the role, but lacks the theatricality that is required for an over the top villain like this so she comes off way more reserved than she should. It can come off as unintentionally amusing most of the time and memorable in the wrong way, not too dissimilar to Marwen Kenzari’s portrayal of Jafar in Aladdin (2019).
We also have a new addition to the story in the form of Jonathan, played by Andrew Burnap, a leader of bandits who are against the Queen’s monarchy and also a love interest to our protagonist. Burnap brings enough charm to the role to make him an okay addition even if this romance didn’t really do much for me in regards to the execution (I did like how it was gradually done though and not just love at first sight). Again, the idea of there being this group of bandits going against the Queen is a solid one, but not really given the time to be fleshed out all that much. Ansu Kabia is also decent as the Huntsman, and I do like how they gave him more to do here beyond just letting Snow White live. Then there are the Dwarves who may not be visually appealing, but are actually nailed in every other regard. Each of the vocal performers do a great job in capturing their personalities and they are responsible for a lot of the successful comedy bits in the film. The stands outs for me were Jeremy Swift as Doc, George Salazar as Happy, Martin Kleppa as Grumpy, and Andrew Barth Feldman as Dopey. The latter is actually given a sweet arc that I thought was probably the most satisfying emotional aspect of the picture. It really makes me wish they were more visually appealing and that they weren’t somewhat treated as an afterthought the more the film progresses.
Overall, Snow White is another frustrating live action Disney re imaging that has individual aspects that are promising, but it never fully works on the whole. It has interesting ideas, new updates to the story that I like, some amusing comedy, solid songs both new and old, a terrific lead performance, and its heart is in the right place. However, it struggles to balance the new story elements with the old, it doesn’t fully develop all of its themes, the visuals are a mixed bag, and the villain performance doesn’t work. I’m sure kids and families might get something out of it as it is perfectly watchable and harmless while also providing some surface level entertainment value. Still, it just didn’t quite do a whole lot for me on the whole even I’ll admit that there were some aspects that I was pleasantly surprised by. I also don’t think it’s close to being the disaster some thought it would. That being said, I would be hard pressed to say that this is the fairest of them all.
Rating: C+
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