Film Review: Snow White

Snow White is quite possibly the most iconic Princess in Disney’s history. She was the first character brought to life in animated form thanks to the House of Mouse way back in 1937. Snow White and the Seven Dwarves created the benchmark for every Disney film that came out afterwards. From the catchy songs, fairy tale narrative, cute animal characters and that sprinkle of magic only Disney can create, it was all there. These days Disney has been re-imagining their classic films for modern audiences within the live-action format. Most of these remakes have retained the magic of the originals such as Cinderella, Aladdin, The Jungle Book and Beauty and the Beast. Disney has now gotten round to adapting their oldest film yet with Snow White.

Snow White is a very faithful adaption of the animated film it is based on. There have been many different versions of this character in other films such as Mirror Mirror and Snow White and the Huntsman, but when audiences hear the name Snow White it is the Disney version that they think of the most and for good reason too. The film felt magical, whimsical and soaked in traditional storytelling. Much like the original, the story is about a young Snow White who must stand up to her tyrannical stepmother the Evil Queen with the help of several lovable dwarves who reside in a magical forest.

Rachel Zegler plays the title role of Snow White. Zegler’s singing and acting in West Side Story gave filmmaker Marc Webb the confidence he needed to help bring to life this iconic Princess. Gal Gadot, who has famously played Wonder Woman on the big screen, plays the Evil Queen with malice but with a performance that feels like it came from a pantomime. Gadot’s ability to play a villain does not appear to have translated very way onto the big screen. Zegler though gives a warm and magical performance which is purely evident in the songs she sings. Speaking of which, the melodic and catchy tunes of the original from “Whistle While You Work” and “Heigh-Ho” still captivate whole new tunes “Good Things Grow” and “Waiting on a Wish” manage to honour the spirit of the story and bring new life into the film as well.

There has been some changes to this version of the story from how Snow White got her name, to the romance between Snow White and the Prince. In this version there is no Prince and instead there is a small town rebel called Jonathan who is associated with a group of bandits out in the woods. The romance between Jonathan and Snow White feels very forced and the chemistry isn’t exactly there. The bandit storyline feels unnecessary and detracts from the plot a fair bit. The balance between tradition and modern updating is a little off. It would have been better to honour the original film while creating a unique style upon its own, in a similar vein to other Disney films Aladdin and Maleficent. Instead we have a mediocre version of a classic that fails to live up to its own expectations.

★★☆☆☆

2/5

Final Verdict:

Snow White and the Seven Dwarves was a benchmark for Walt Disney Animation when it created a legacy the company still values today, but updating this story for modern audiences was always going to be tricky. The songs and visuals are strong and have that same energy the original had, but the magic feels a little dissipated. Rachel Zegler captivates as the titular Princess, but Gal Gadot feels a little too panto-ish as the Evil Queen. Some new songs may make you whistle while you work but the changes in story feel a little redundant and only new fans and new audiences will gain more out of the film than faithful fans of the original.

Thanks for reading today’s blog!

Alex Murray, the Head of Eyesight Productions