Snow White

Continuing the seemingly never-ending strategy of remaking every classic animated film in their arsenal, Disney’s latest update of a classic story goes all the way back to the beginning. Not only Disney’s first fully animated feature film, but the first ever to be released. The 1937 classic Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was a game-changer for cinema and you would hope that the inevitable live-action remake would carry on some of the original’s staying power. However, despite its countless controversies from every corner, the final result is too flat to warrant anything strong feelings one way or another.

Courtesy Disney

Snow White (Rachel Zegler) is a young princess raised by her loving parents, the King and Queen, who taught her what it means to be fair. When Snow White’s mother dies from illness, her father remarries another woman who becomes The Evil Queen (Gal Gadot) and quickly removes her husband to rule by herself. The Evil Queen shuns Snow White, locking her in her castle and forcing her to carry out maid duties while ruling with an iron fist. When her trusted Magic Mirror tells her that Snow White is indeed the fairest in the land, The Evil Queen sends out a Huntsman (Ansu Kabia) to kill Snow White. When the Huntsman is unable to carry out the job, Snow White flees into the woods where she meets seven dwarfs who will show her the kindness and familial bonding she hasn’t felt in years.

Although it’s not as slavish a retelling as the recent Lion King and Little Mermaid remakes, the latest Snow White is still an enormously dull picture. Director Marc Webb, known for indies such as 500 Days of Summer and Gifted, and blockbusters such as The Amazing Spider-Man 1 & 2, shows a basic understanding of running an expensive production and not fully embarrassing himself, yet as competent as he may be, Snow White‘s biggest weakness come from its weak direction. 

Marc Webb’s direction feels flat with little pzazz or flair in his camera setups or staging. It’s admirable that Webb doesn’t merely recreate the same beats from the 1937 classic, but his new update has little excitement or wow factor. Of the original songs added, only “Waiting On A Wish” comes the closest to memorability. You can chalk most of the enjoyment of the musical numbers up to Rachel Zegler’s sheer magnetism. The West Side Story star has an overwhelmingly charismatic aura to her, but even she can’t save this stale adaptation. Zegler conveys the classic poise of a Disney Princess and her voice is expectedly tremendous, however the character doesn’t have the rich definition of other, better Disney Princesses.

Courtesy Disney

Gal Gadot is certainly hamming it up in an intentionally campy performance, but even as some who has defended her past work as Wonder Woman, I cannot act like this is a fun performance to watch. There’s nothing to her Evil Queen that can’t be seen better in person at Disney World. Gadot’s register and line deliveries are stiff and devoid of any authentic emotion. She even has not one, but TWO dire musical numbers. It’s not an exaggeration to say these numbers are flat-out embarrassing.

For such an expensive production, the sets and cinematography are occasionally lavish. Some of the storybook forest sets feel very Terry Gilliam-esque and do have a heightened sense of fantasy. The visual effects work is top quality, but the character designs leave a ton of questions. Frankly, the new Seven Dwarves are hideous eye sores. Existing in the world uncanny valley of de-aged actors and the characters from Cats, the new half-human/half-cartoon hybrids of the beloved characters is a total miscalculation. Their humor is never that funny, any charm they may have is erased by their hideous appearances and the characters rarely feels distinct from one another. Andrew Burnap’s heartthrob love interest Jonathan is another bland addition that feels like an afterthought.

Courtesy Disney

Snow White is far from the worst Disney live-action remake, but only because the bar is so low. This is an aggressively mediocre film that fails to capture any of Disney Magic it so desperately is aiming for. Star Rachel Zegler is the ideal Disney Princess, but she’s stuck in a dull adaptation that doesn’t do her performance justice.

Snow White is now playing in theaters.