Rachel Zegler stars as the titular Snow White in Disney’s live-action remake of its 1937 animation Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
The live-action remake of Snow White has been plagued by controversy and countless headlines – and now the wait is finally over. Is it good or a total disaster? Time to find out.
This version, directed by Marc Webb, begins before the original film’s story, with our titular princess Snow White (Rachel Zegler), her parents and their people living happily and abundantly in their kingdom.
Of course, their situation changes drastically when Snow White’s mother dies, and her father mysteriously disappears shortly after marrying his new wife.
Her stepmother, the Evil Queen (Gal Gadot), is a tyrannical ruler who deprives her people and forces Snow White to be her maid.
When her Magic Mirror dubs her stepdaughter the fairest one of all, the Evil Queen tries to have her killed, but she escapes into the forest and finds refuge with seven dwarves.
She teams up with the miners and a bunch of bandits – led by Jonathan (Andrew Burnap) – to overthrow the Queen and save the kingdom.
Snow White purists expecting a frame-by-frame repeat of the 1937 animation are going to be shocked by the significant changes in this movie.
Given that the original Snow White fairy tale is over a 100 years old, all of the updates are necessary to make the story more acceptable for a modern audience and make the characters richer and more realistic.
For example, our princess has agency and wants to fight the Evil Queen, she isn’t waiting for a prince to save her, and she doesn’t become the dwarves’ cook and cleaner.
With her love interest, he’s no longer a prince who briefly appears at the start and end; he’s a fully fleshed-out rebel who forms an alliance and relationship with Snow White organically.
Also, because the original didn’t contain that many songs, songwriters Benj Pasek and Justin Paul (of The Greatest Showman fame) came up with some more and replaced I’m Wishing with Waiting on a Wish, a rousing ballad sung beautifully by Zegler.
Overall, the new musical numbers are hit and miss and largely unmemorable. However, there are some great lyrics in Princess Problems, Gadot’s villain song All Is Fair is staged well, and the new context for Whistle While You Work makes sense.
One of the biggest debates surrounding the film is whether the dwarves should have been CGI or live-action actors.
The CGI is not bad but that felt like the wrong call. The issue is even more problematic as there is one real actor with dwarfism in the film as a bandit. Why cast one instead of eight?!
Also, Gadot may not have been the strongest choice for Evil Queen in terms of vocals and her villainous acting skills, but she really looks the part.
Her costumes, hair and make-up are stunning and she understood the assignment from a visual perspective.
Zegler was subject to backlash after being cast as Snow White given her Latin heritage. First of all, the origin of the name is different here, and secondly, Zegler is the best person for the job.
She has the poise, kindness and grace of a traditional Disney princess but is also a determined fighter ready to take a stand for her people. Most importantly, she has a gorgeous singing voice and is a delight to listen to.
Snow White is not one of the best Disney live-action remakes but it is much better than the backlash might lead you to believe.
In cinemas from Friday 21st March.
By Hannah Wales.
© Cover Media