The story of Snow White (performed here by rachel Zegler), the kind princess who consumes a poisoned apple and enters a cursed slumber, is probably well-known to virtually everyone.  From Snow's idyllic upbringing being usurped by her evil stepmother, the Evil queen (Gal Gadot), to her escape into the woods when the queen sentences her to death, screenwriter Erin Cressida Wilson mostly adheres to the well-known story beats.  Naturally, this results in her encountering seven dwarfs.  With some significant adjustments, the new Snow White seeks to update this beloved story for the present era.
 
Here, Snow isn't overly focused on her prince's coming, which is another significant difference I can't discuss for spoilers' sake.  The first part of the film focuses on laying forth the values her parents taught her at an early age, including the need always to be strong, fair, and kind—qualities that any successful leader should possess.  Snow's sweetness, which turns out to be her greatest power, endures even when her life takes a darker turn and her kingdom—small as it may be, in terms of appearance—darkens under the Queen's rule.
 
I questioned if Snow White had fully captured my interest during the film's middle section when the title character meets new people and travels beyond her castle.  The new songs by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul are catchy and entertaining, and Webb (The Amazing Spider-Man, 500 Days of Summer) adds a feeling of wonder to those middle sequences, bringing to mind vintage Disney.  (The sparring duet between Jonathan and Snow in "Princess Problems" may be my personal favorite.)  But the gaps kept growing as it went on.
The CGI-generated dwarfs have already drawn a lot of criticism, and although I wish I could claim they look good on the big screen, it only adds an unnatural gloss to the entire film.  Even though I was enchanted by Dopey's innocent, wide-eyed innocence, seeing Zegler with virtual characters removes us from the fantasy.  Many of the settings around the Snow White ensemble also have an air of fakeness, lacking the grounded reality of other of Disney's earlier live-action productions, such as Pirates of the Caribbean or The Chronicles of Narnia.
Gadot obviously enjoys exploring the Evil Queen's ugliness, as she shed her most famous role as DC's Wonder Woman to play one of the most recognizable Disney villains ever.  She is sufficiently formidable, particularly in her black, glittering costume, and she sings the Queen's musical performance well.  But in the end, this antagonist fails because she lacks the scripting to support her, and Gadot is unable to fully elevate her to full camp level.
All of this builds to a closing act that is a little too sweet and anticlimactic, even though it stays faithful to Snow White's portrayal.  Fans of Zegler will be ecstatic at her performance here, as she is a true standout.  But for those weary of Disney's CGI-heavy remakes, I'm not convinced that there's enough of a spark here to win them over.  Snow White can hardly be regarded as a failure, and it's hardly Disney's worst attempt by a long mile, but I wanted a bit more.
Overall, Snow White review - If You Are Exhausted With Disney's CGI- Heavy Live Action Remakes, Then Stay Away

Ratings: ⭐⭐
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Snow White Review

SIBY JEYYA

21/03/2025 11:52 AM