Snow White is an Enchanting Mess to Behold
Image Courtesy of Walt Disney Pictures
By Luis Zonenberg
When it comes to the immense palette of films being served to us this year, all eyes were on Disney’s Snow White and for good reason. Plagued by the bad press surrounding star Rachel Zegler and an immense backlash against the new “diverse dwarves”, the movie underwent extensive rewrites and reshoots which ballooned its budget to $270 million. Akin to Gandalf waiting for the orcs at the gates of Gondor, audiences were ready to see whatever terror Disney would unleash at the floodgates.
The movie focuses on the princess Snow White (Rachel Zegler) working as a scullery maid after the Evil Queen (Gal Gadot) takes control of the throne following the death of her father. When the Queen’s Magic Mirror (Patrick Page) suddenly claims Snow White is the fairest in all the land, the Queen orders the Huntsman (Ansu Kabia) to kill her. Snow White soon flees from the palace and takes refuge at a reclusive cottage, which unbeknownst to her is home to the seven dwarfs.
All of what was just listed prior occurs in the first act, with the rest of the movie only getting more convoluted from there. While I do laud the fact that this is not another shot-for-shot remake, it instead juggles two very different stories in one film. With one focusing on retelling the original story and the other trying to add a new perspective, the movie cannot help but fall under the weight of its own circus act.
The only thing worse than the frankenstein-like script was watching the VFX monstrosities known as the Seven Dwarfs. The designs of them are clearly ripped straight from the original 1937 film, trying to make them look more to their original counterparts. However, those designs were used to exaggerate a highly animated environment while here, it looks like several low-res NPC characters interacting with several other people in a live-action environment.
I will note that the acting overall was fairly good, with Rachel Zegler ironically being the highlight of the bunch. She has a very charming presence on screen and her singing was always a joy to listen to as well. With that said, Gal Gadot was very entertaining to watch for all the wrong reasons; she is having so much fun hamming it up that she almost feels ripped from a whole separate movie. And aside from Andrew Burnap, the rest of the cast barely left an impression and made me easily lose interest.
The cinematography, coupled with the beautiful mise-en-scene of the film, was consistently enchanting to watch. The overall staging of the musical numbers and the costumes created a very colorful environment, with the camerawork knowing full well what to focus on. At times it could be underwhelming with some of the staging falling flat of the grand musical number, but those moments were few and far between.
The movie ultimately falls flat and crumbles under the weight of its juggling narratives. It always felt at odds with itself, trying to move two steps forward while always taking one step back. The movie does remain better than some of the more recent live-action remakes, though the bar for that was not set too high to begin with. While Snow White may be dwarfed by the far superior classic, at least some catchy musical numbers and Rachel Zegler’s performance help make it a less grumpy time at the theater.
Snow White is now playing in theaters.
Rating: ★★☆☆☆
Spoilers:
As alluded to earlier, there are several new additions to the repetitive beats of the classic film here. Instead of falling in love with a charming prince, Snow White instead falls for the leader of a gang of thieves named Jonathan. And by the time he kisses her to wake her from her sleep, that’s only by the end of the second act. The finale shows Snow White teaming up with the dwarves and a band of thieves to overthrow the Evil Queen.
A huge departure to say the least, but it does highlight some of the flaws with the storytelling here. By this point, it’s evident how shoe-horned the dwarves are and aside from letting Snow White stay with them, they practically serve no purpose. They even change the Queen’s demise and instead of her falling off a high cliff, she breaks the Magic Mirror and becomes trapped inside it after doing so. Audiences are now robbed of the Evil Queen getting her deserved comeuppance and instead are left wondering what or even how that death makes any sense.
The new changes or “updates” to the traditional clash with the storytelling of the classic. It feels two different films thrown together in a blending machine, making a vibrant concoction that won’t leave you satisfied. I laud some of the worldbuilding the writers and filmmakers add that was not present in the original, but the film overall just lacks that same spark that made audiences fall in love with Snow White in the first place.
