The newest live-action adaptation of Walt Disney’s classic, Snow White, was released on March 21. The film has garnered harsh criticisms from critics and fans alike – claiming that the film paled in comparison to Disney’s original.
If you were looking for a sweet film filled with family-fun moments and cheerful songs, this movie is for you. If you were looking for a groundbreaking classic, then expect to be disappointed. However, should groundbreaking cinema be the goal for every movie, especially a children’s film?
Something that is important to remember when seeing Snow White is that it is meant to be a children’s movie. Many of the criticisms the movie received had to do with a lack of depth in the movie or the quality of costumes and editing. While there is validity to these claims, there were many wonderful moments that were overlooked. Something Disney seemed to overlook was the critiques they were about to receive upon the release of this film.
Among many issues people were also quick to criticize the film because of Rachel Zegler, the actress who played Snow White herself. Before the film, Zegler’s interviews became widely controversial on social media. “We absolutely wrote a ‘Snow White’ that … (is) not going to be saved by the prince, and she’s not going to be dreaming about true love,” said Zegler. Many of her comments were taken the wrong way by audiences as they believe she undermined and discredited the original movie. Audiences were quick to defend the intentions of the original film and called Zegler entitled for thinking she had the authority to bash the original film. On social media pages, especially TikTok, people also claimed she was too much of a feminist for undermining the qualities of the original Snow White that are often seen as “womanly” traits- like being soft, gentle, and sweet.
Another critique of the film was the terrible quality of the CGI dwarves. Johnny Oleksinski with the New York Post reviewed the film saying, “Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the laziest of them all… The timeless classic, a groundbreaking achievement for animation, has been turned into another pointless and awkward live-action automaton.”
Further criticism and possibly the most prevalent of all was the terrible acting of Gal Gadot who played the evil queen. Videos online ranged from poking fun at her acting and singing, to scathing reviews and hate comments comparing her to other actresses who could have played the role better.
Still, not every review was awful and some critics were able to come away from the movie with more lighthearted reviews. Some acknowledged that, yes, not every movie is going to be the best film Disney has created, but it was far from the terrible mess people said.
Ross Bonaime with Collider said, “This is an admirable new take that certainly is one of the better live-action remakes from Disney.”
The movie definitely had some redeeming qualities such as its emphasis on empowering Snow White, while still emphasizing all of her typical qualities and scenes from the movie from the original beloved film. The typical heart and magic displayed in most Disney movies still shone through. If you want to watch a movie that is fun for the whole family, Snow White maybe for you. Just don’t expect it to knock your socks off.
