Snow White (Disney Live-Action)

Image citation: IMDb. (2025). [Jason Kravits, Martin Klebba, Jeremy Swift, Rachel Zegler, Andrew Barth Feldman, Gal Gadot, Andy Grotelueschen, Tituss Burgess, and George Salazar in Snow White (2025)]. Retrieved 15 April, 2025, from https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6208148/mediaviewer/rm2983434498/?ref_=ext_shr_lnk.

Disney has turned many of their animated classics into live-action films over the past decade, starting with older picks such as Alice in Wonderland and Cinderella. Hence, it is no surprise that Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs recently got the treatment.

The film, simply titled Snow White, maintains several elements from the original film. These include Snow White (Rachel Zegler) running through the forest, the poisoned apple, and, of course, a few familiar songs such as "Heigh-Ho" and "Whistle While You Work."

However, unlike 2017's Beauty and the Beast and 2019's The Lion King, Snow White is far from a shot-for-shot remake. It follows a musical format much more akin to Broadway than the animated film, with an opening and closing song: "Good Things Grow." The evil queen (Gal Gadot) also has a musical number of her own, complete with well-crafted choreography. Even "Heigh-Ho" and "Whistle While You Work" have more detail and/or were given fresh twists.

As does Cinderella, Snow White begins with the titular character's childhood and her positive relationship with her parents and the kingdom. An interesting change they made here is Snow White being named in honor of a blizzard rather than after her skin color (an outdated concept of beauty).

Of course, Snow White has much more agency than her animated counterpart. Rather than merely waiting for Prince Charming to save her, she desires to make her kingdom "fair and good" but plans to find her missing father until she finds out about his death. One critique I can make here is that the revelation would have been stronger if they showed Snow White's father dying rather than merely telling it. 

Another critique I have regards the visuals. The dwarfs' cottage is more charming and colorful than the animated counterpart, and the palette gives off a mysterious fairy-tale feel. However, the lighting sometimes gets rather dim. Plus, the dwarfs look like they belong in a Dreamworks animated film. Even the animals look as if they're CGI. Is Disney too lazy to recruit real dwarfs and animals? 

There has been lots of backlash against Snow White because Rachel Zegler's comments imply the original film is outdated. Yes, I see additional areas of potential critique. For instance, Snow White is nowhere near as childlike as her animated counterpart (no squeaky voice). However, she maintains the kindness and wonder of the original character. Snow White even helps Dopey (Andrew Barth Feldman) overcome muteness. 

The dwarfs have the same names as their animated counterparts (Sneezy, Doc, Grumpy, Happy, Bashful, Sleepy, and Dopey) as well as the same mining job. While only Grumpy has a character arc in the original film, though, as described above, Dopey also has one this time. Besides, Doc (Jeremy Swift) lives up to his name when helping Snow White's love interest, Jonathan.

Jonathan (Andrew Burnap) is not a prince, but a bandit; he is like Snow White's Flynn Rider. They meet multiple times throughout the film and save each other. 

As with many modern Disney movies, Snow White has moments of mocking the brand. For instance, the dwarfs comment on each other's names. Jonathan also sings a song to Snow White called "Princess Problems" (which mocks the "Someday My Prince Will Come" trope).

Snow White is not quite perfect, but Rachel Zegler's comments should not bring down its quality. With Christian themes of justice and standing up to tyranny without violence and emotional depth, Snow White is a worthy addition to the Disney canon. 

SCORE: Good (8.5/10)

AGE RATING: 8+

Have you seen Snow White? What do you think about it?

Grimm's Fairy Tales

Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm have collected many of the world's most famous fairy tales, including "The Frog Prince," "Hansel and Grethel," "Rapunzel," "Little Red Riding Hood," "Briar-Rose" (Sleeping Beauty), and "Snow-White and the Seven Dwarfs." 

Four of the above tales feature the common combination of passive princesses and prince saviors. Disney and others have added touches to such tales that make them "pretty." For instance, in "The Frog Prince," which many associate with a princess kissing a frog, she actually slams the frog onto a wall. It stands out even more how the Grimm's Snow-White and Sleeping Beauty (unlike the kisses reviving Disney's counterparts) wake up on their own, removing consensual issues. 

Passive princesses and prince saviors are prevalent even in many of the Grimm's lesser-known tales. A common pattern involves the prince or groom accomplishing a certain task and the king giving his daughter in marriage as a prize. The princesses hardly ever have a say in the marriages, conveying the sexist idea that women's opinions don't matter; their job is merely to be with a man.

As Elizabeth Dalton notes in the introduction to the Barnes and Noble Classics version, the Grimm's tales have also been criticized for its dark subject matter. A lot of these stories involve cutting off body parts, but such violence brings crucial messages. For instance, the doves pecking the eyes out of Cinderella's stepsisters represent eternal punishment for the wicked. 

Of course, more active maidens and princesses exist in some of the other Grimm's tales. For instance, "The Robber Bridegroom" tells the story of a maiden escaping a potentially toxic marriage. Even the Grimm's "Cinderella" protagonist receives assistance from birds at a tree she plants instead of passively waiting for a fairy godmother (I wrote about why the tale is underrated here).

A few tales even challenge the conventional fairy-tale trope of having the wedding at the end. In "Clever Alice" ("Clever Elsie" in other versions), for instance, the maiden marries at the beginning of the story and escapes by the end. 

Even young girls exist in Grimm's tales beyond "Hansel and Grethel" and "Little Red Riding Hood." One of my favorites is "The Seven Crows," in which a young girl rescues her brothers. Another tale I enjoy is "Snow-White and Rose-Red," which features two clever sisters who take on an evil dwarf. I am not a fan of how the Grimm brothers portrayed dwarfs outside "Snow-White and the Seven Dwarfs," though.

One more tale that stands out is "The Juniper Tree," in which an older brother dies, becomes a bird, and resurrects (emulating Jesus). If I were to do a more Christian take on the tale, though, I'd have the brother display more Christlike behavior.

The Grimm Brothers have written a lot of tales that bore me, but also a lot that stood out. One of the charms of their fairy tales is the multiple, including Christian, subtexts. After people read the entire collection for themselves, they can, hopefully, re-popularize the Grimm's forgotten tales such as "The Robber Bridegroom" and "The Juniper Tree," and maybe even adapt them into iconic films. 

SCORE: Good (8/10)

AGE RATING: 5+

Have you read Grimm's Fairy Tales? What do you think about it?