Disney walks a thin line whenever it makes live-action remakes/retellings of their animated classics. If they stay too close to the source material, it is looked upon as lazy, if they did not put any effort into making the movie fresh and new for today’s audience. If the studio decides to change a few things and make it more modern, it is either looked upon as “woke” or “it is not the classic that people love and therefore they will hate it”. What is Disney to do?
Snow White is an amalgamation of the two. The story has been tweaked to appeal to a younger audience, but also keeps some of the aspects from the original to satiate fans of the classic. Making Snow White (Rachel Zegler) a stronger character is great for younger kids to see. In the original, she was more of a damsel in distress and relied on the dwarves and the prince to save her. In this version, she is taught from a young age to be kind, have empathy, and be strong by her parents. The audience is shown this at the beginning of the movie through images and the opening song. This is not a bad thing, it is a great thing for kids to see that it is good to be these things in your life.
As the story unfolds we learn what happens to her mother and how the King meets a fair maiden (Gal Gadot) and marries her. This lady becomes the Evil Queen and slowly changes the landscape of the kingdom. Just like the animated movie the Evil Queen has Snow White doing house chores and staying inside the kingdom. The Queen completly changes the kingdom by making the farmers soldiers and the color of the land reflects the darker world that they now live in.
Since we get more time of Snow White and her evil stepmother living together, the viewer gets a better understanding of why the Queen has a dislike for Snow White. This time around we see how the Queen is able to hear how the people tak about Snow White and what a good person she is. These little interactions build up and break the Queen’s patience after Snow discovers Jonathan (Andrew Burnap) in the kitchen, stealing food and helps him to escape.
From here we go through the familiar paces of Snow White being sent to her death in the woods with a huntsman (Ansu Kabia). The hunstman can not go through with killing her and tells her to run and never come back again. Snow ends up in the home of the dwarves thanks to some help from the various forest animals. The dwarves were a choice that Disney made and while they do not look too scary they do look interesting. I will admit that they grew on me as the movie progressed but I kept thinking why not hire actors for these roles instead of using CGI?
In terms of songs, Snow White has a few that are catchy and highlight the voice of Zegler. Hearing some of the classics like “Heigh-Ho” and “Whistle while you work” is a lot of fun and the performances to those songs are great. Sadly, when it’s time for the Queen to give us a song, it’s a little lacking. The ferocity that would be expected is not there and in a way makes the Queen less scary. Gadot could have given us a real evil performance as the queen but at times it felt a bit too reserved. Zegler is the stand out in this movie and gives new humanity to the character.
I will add that the costumes in this movie were phenomenal and the Evil Queen’s crown was just a thing of beauty! The movie looks amazing and the set designs are incredible. The dwarves working in the mine was pretty cool and the carts racing on the tracks reminded me of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. It is crazy how much CGI has improved because the animals look just amazing. Snow White is a fun time at the movies and carries the magic of previous Disney films.
Final Thought: Snow White is a charming movie that takes some big swings and it is brave for doing that. The look of the dwarves may be offputting to some but tend to grow on you as the film moves along. Rachel Zegler is brilliant and proves she is worthy of the role. There is one choice that may be upsetting to some but it was needed for the movie. Overall, it is a fun time at the theaters.
Kid-Friendly: This is a Disney movie and is very kid-friendly. The final moments with the Evil Queen may be a little scary for younger kids but at our screening there were kids of all ages there.
Violence: The amount of violence in the movie is similar to most animated movies. There are a few fight scenes but nothing that is too intense for younger viewers.
“Disney’s Snow White,” a live-action musical reimagining of the classic 1937 film. Starring Rachel Zegler (“West Side Story”) in the title role and Gal Gadot (“Wonder Woman”) as her Stepmother, the Evil Queen, the magical music adventure journeys back to the timeless story with beloved characters Bashful, Doc, Dopey, Grumpy, Happy, Sleepy, and Sneezy. “Disney’s Snow White” is directed by Marc Webb (“The Amazing Spider-Man”) and produced by Marc Platt (“The Little Mermaid”) and Jared LeBoff (“The Girl on the Train”), with Callum McDougall (“Mary Poppins Returns”) serving as executive producer, and features all-new original songs from Benj Pasek and Justin Paul (“Dear Evan Hansen”).