The Fairest Disaster of All

“Snow White” Is a Failed Attempt To Reinvent a Classic

Photo by King Lip on Unsplash

Based on the classic 1937 animated film by Disney, the live-action version of “Snow White” recently came into theaters. This new version stars Rachel Zegler as Snow White and follows a slightly different origin story. Unfortunately, while the movie is an attempted modernization to the original story, it is completely charmless and extraordinarily mediocre. Most critics and audience members agree considering it suffered a horrible box office opening. The film performed worse than the remake of  “Dumbo,” earning only $43 million at the opening and continuing to decline. Additionally, among the 300 thousand ratings on IMDb, 90% rate the film a 1/10. What should have been a nostalgic hit movie turned into a complete disaster, with Disney losing millions. The laughable acting and dialogue, poorly done socially conscious plot and poor visuals make this movie nearly unbearable and rendered with lifelessness. This truly dismal attempt of a remake leaves viewers with utter regret and disbelief, wishing they had saved their time and money.

From the beginning of the new film, the casting was entirely off. The film somehow managed to make a group of some fantastic well known actors look terrible. Starring both Rachel Zegler and Gal Gadot, the acting appears promising until the movie begins. In many interviews, Zegler harshly criticized the original film as well as Snow White, and her disdain for the original character is certainly evident in the remake. The lifeless and stiff performance by Zegler is shocking compared to many of her other amazing performances. Fortunately, Zegler’s lovely voice still remains the same, making the film slightly more bearable, however, the songs are bland and forgettable. Her acting lacks charm and warmth and she struggles to bring much emotional depth to the beloved character. Zegler hardly replicates the wide-eyed, kind-hearted princess we all know and love but rather resembles an independent woman who refuses to stop forcing her big dreams on everyone. Gadot’s performance is an absolute joke and somehow worse than Zegler’s. She comes off strongly as an Instagram Influencer with a bad attitude rather than an Evil Queen. Gadot’s poor singing only adds to this bad performance. Overall, her portrayal lacks depth and feels extremely shallow and underwhelming. Andrew Burnap, cast to play Jonathan, Snow White’s bandit lover, is cringe and does not stand out either. Overall, especially with such a large budget, this movie was terribly cast leading to an inevitably poor performance. 

The small but significant changes to the plot were a large factor in its disappointing receival. Instead of the classic damsel in distress who falls in love and is saved by the prince that we all know and love, we instead are faced with a medieval feminist who must save everyone. And, instead of a prince, we are given Jonathan, a bandit rebel who earns the feelings of Snow White and feels more like a side character. This attempt at a modern and socially correct remake feels extremely forced and is executed poorly. Snow White’s feminist transformation into a leader instead of a damsel in distress is admirable in theory, reflecting contemporary values of women being able to do more than just be in love. However, the execution is heavy-handed and the attempt to sideline the original plot feels abrupt and unnatural. The original charm of the story is entirely lost and the intention to empower Snow White instead removes chemistry between the characters and weakens the story overall. Additionally, the Evil Queen’s lack of character development contributes to the flat plot. The plot skips over the queen’s motivations and causes the villain to be less compelling and fail to deliver any dramatic tension. Lastly, the dwarves felt insignificant to the plot, differing from their large role in the original film. The plot fails to involve them beyond their presence for a small section and the CGI caricatures felt inauthentic and lacked charm. Once a source of comic relief, these somewhat creepy recreations lack personality and don’t replicate their contribution to the original story. The plot overall attempts to modernize the original film, a good idea in theory, however, it struggles to find a cohesive balance. The plot totally fails to capture the magic and nostalgic essence of the original and is a missed opportunity to honor this timeless story. 

Lastly, the visuals in this film are lacking significantly. Right from the beginning of the film, the costumes are terribly done. Snow White’s dress looks extremely cheap and unattractive. Although they were at least an attempt to recreate the original film’s outfits, the quality and execution leave the audience wishing for more. Snow White’s iconic red, yellow and blue dress is redesigned to a contemporary interpretation which lacks the expected elegance. It feels extremely cheap, generic and theatrical where it should exude the elegant regal charm of a princess. The Evil Queen’s wardrobe does not prove to be much better. The overly glamorous and elaborate gowns dazzle and distract from the evil nature of the character. The unnecessary and overdone embellishments portray the queen as a greedy influencer rather than a medieval sinister queen. Even Jonathan’s costume looks cheap and entirely too theatrical. With the large budget Disney had for this movie, the costumes were extremely disappointing and often distracted from the other parts of the film. Additionally, the CGI dwarves and poorly animated forest have been largely controversial. The creepy CGI dwarves replace all the magic with something awkward and unnatural that makes it difficult for the audience to like them. The audience is left missing the original films’ expressive and charming group. The enchanted forest also looks very artificial when it should be lush. Overall, the visual effects entirely distract from the film experience instead of enhancing it. 

Ultimately, the remake of “Snow White” lacks the charm and magic of the original and fails to bring any nostalgia. What was an attempt to modernize the original 1937 film, became a missed opportunity to produce a classic hit. The entire film was poorly done and feels completely uninspired. Instead, Disney should have stuck to the original plot rather than creating a new film. This movie felt like a checklist of forced inclusivity and included no emotional depth. If you are looking to watch a live-action version of “Snow White,” watch “Mirror Mirror,” or watch the original animated film.

<Star Ratings>

Acting: ★★★★★

Plot: ★★★★★

Visuals: ★★★★★

Overall: ★★★★★