Watching the live-action “Snow White” left one long-standing question in my mind: Who wanted this movie? Because I sure as hell didn’t and neither did anyone I know.
By now, you’ve probably seen all the controversy surrounding “Snow White,” with the casting of Rachel Zegler and the CGI seven dwarfs.
Throughout every step of production, it felt like every article released would criticize the decisions being made, which left me skeptical of the film before even seeing a trailer.
Based on the 1937 film “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” the new movie follows the princess—Snow White—and her journey of taking back her kingdom the Evil Queen stole from her.
I understand wanting a more updated princess who isn’t dependent on a love story, but this movie, quite frankly sucked and failed in that department.
What worked
While I will get into why I didn’t like this film, I happened to REALLY love one of the key changes made. Dopey, one of the dwarfs, never speaks in the original film. However, SPOILER, in “Snow White,” Dopey speaks up and voices his thoughts toward the end of the movie—and the audience later finds out he’s the one narrating the film.
I admire this change because the point of it was to show Snow White encouraged and fostered a welcoming environment for Dopey to feel comfortable enough to speak. That spoke to my inner shy kid who growing up yearned for the bravery to speak up.
While I enjoyed that change, I’m thrilled “Heigh-Ho” remained untouched because that’s the supreme sequence in the original AND the live-action. That tune makes me want to whistle all day—despite my inability to muster up a whistle.
While there aren’t a whole lot of positives I can say about this film, I will say the emotionally intense scenes remained charged with despair, like when Snow White dies after eating the poisonous apple or when the seven dwarfs are gathered around her dead body. I appreciate the fact I wasn’t too overcome with cringe and was still able to feel the sentimental moments.
What didn’t work
Like I previously mentioned, who was in the market for this? I mean really, come on, was anybody craving a live-action “Snow White?” NO. NO ONE ASKED FOR THIS.
I don’t understand why Disney would remake something and not add new information, or why they would cast someone as the princess who doesn’t even like the original film herself.
Now, I don’t want to hop on the Zegler hate train, but I will say she said it best herself when she admitted she never liked the original.
What’s unfortunate about that is her lack of love for the character shows in her performance, which was subpar at best. Nothing about her acting struck me as revolutionary or even princess-like.
In fact, no one had a quality performance and the entire movie felt like you were watching insufficient performances. I was craving passion but was delivered a film that wasn’t believable. It wasn’t convincing in the sense I wasn’t transported into their world.
Additionally, through media clips of Zegler, we were told this story was going to be different, that the prince wasn’t going to come and save Snow White.
“You know the original cartoon came out in 1937, and very evidently so,” Zegler said. “There’s a big focus on her love story with a guy who literally stalks her.”
So, I thought there wasn’t going to be a lifesaving kiss to bring Snow White back to life. Yet, that’s EXACTLY what happened. Her love interest may not have been a prince by his bloodline, but his character served the exact same purpose as a prince. Call him what you want, but the fact is nothing about the storyline changed.
If it’s the exact same movie as the 1937 film, then why was it remade? There was ZERO new information. And once again, the audience never finds out why or how the Evil Queen has magical powers in a kingdom full of ordinary people. Riddle me that.
The verdict
Despite being told this film would be different, it had the exact same elements as the original. I don’t understand the purpose it serves being made into a live-action when it remains practically the same as it did 88 years ago.
I’m not the only one who disliked this movie. A simple Google search shows out of 15,177 reviews, the audience summary is a 1.4 out of five stars. It also earned only $87.3 million at the box office when its budget was $250 million.
So, I’m rating “Snow White” a one out of five stars, and I wouldn’t pay to see this in theaters. If you feel the dire need to see this train wreck, wait for it to stream. Until then, “Heigh-Ho, Heigh-Ho,” off to better movies I go.
