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interesting change they made here is Snow White being named in honor of a blizzard rather than after her skin color (an outdated concept of beauty).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There has been lots of backlash against Snow White because Rachel Zegler's comments imply the original film is outdated.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?
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