“Disney’s Snow White” is the latest live action remake/re-imagining to hit the big screen. This magical music adventure journeys back to the timeless story with beloved characters Bashful, Doc, Dopey, Grumpy, Happy, Sleepy and Sneezy.
The animated Disney classic “Snow White” is an animated Disney feature and is one of the most beloved classics out there and always will be. So, the question is — will this live action re-imagining be as cherished as the animated classic? Not quite.
The opening sequence of this remake is actually a nice way to start the film off. During this opening we see Snow White as a child with her parents, the King and Queen. Despite the change of why she was named Snow White (which I had a feeling would happen), we see how the King and Queen cared for their kingdom and how they interacted with the people living throughout the kingdom.
It was a nice touch for the film and shows us how Snow White begins to love her kingdom and care for them as well. And once the opening moments end as we see the Evil Queen enter the picture, this re-imagining does sort of start to go flat.
I’m not going to go into the whole controversy of the actress who portrays the iconic Disney princess, Rachel Zegler. But, though her acting in this film can be just okay in a few scenes, Zegler does have a good singing voice. In a few of the songs she performs throughout the film, Zegler does add a bit of emotion to some of them. Gal Gadot’s portrayal as the Evil Queen could have been a lot better, yet the Evil Queen’s live action look is actually pretty good.
If you enjoyed all of the memorable songs that were featured in the original Disney classic, you may be slightly disappointed since there are only a couple of the original songs that are featured in this iteration. The original songs that are in the movie aren’t too bad, but aren’t nearly as memorable as the classic film’s soundtrack.
The CG dwarves (or in this case magical creatures) also have a couple humorous moments scattered throughout but not nearly as much as the original. And, the designs of the “magical creatures” could have been better. This iteration of the beloved story does have quite a few changes from the original film – which only a couple of them are all right.
I have enjoyed most of the live-action remakes that Disney has been making over the years and I’m sure that families will still likely catch “Snow White” on the big screen. But, this iteration of the timeless Disney classic just didn’t quite land as much as the other live-action remakes/re-imaginings that have been released.
Cast: Rachel Zegler (Snow White); Gal Gadot (Evil Queen); Andrew Burnap (Jonathan); Andrew Barth Feldman (Dopey) (slight spoiler – Dopey does talk a bit); Tituss Burgess (Bashful); Martin Klebba (Grumpy); Jason Kravits (Sneezy); George Salazar (Happy); Andy Grotelveschen (Sleepy); Ansu Kabia (Huntsman); Patrick Page (Magic Mirror)
Writer/director: Erin Cressida Wilson (writer) (The Girl on the Train; Men, Women & Children; Chloe); Marc Webb (director) (Gifted; The Amazing Spider-Man 1 and 2)
Trivia: The architecture of the townhouses near the castle resembles that of the architectural styles of the Hesse region in Germany, which is where The Brothers Grimm (who published one of the famous versions of the story) were from. Benj Pasek and Justin Paul of “La La Land,” “The Greatest Showman”, and the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical “Dear Evan Hansen” wrote the original songs for this film.
MPA rating: PG for violence, some peril, thematic elements and brief rude humor (running time 109 minutes)
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