Despite the contention across the media surrounding Disney’s live action “Snow White,” the film delivers a strong performance rooted in classic Disney magic.
Long before the film was released in theatres, it gained traction when Snow White’s actress, Rachel Ziegler, came under fire for ripping Disney’s original cartoon. While many disliked how Zieglar called a nearly century old film outdated because it goes against “old Disney”, times have changed and this film needed revamping.
In the Brothers Grimm’s original story in 1812 and Disney’s 1937 cartoon, Snow White is a young teenager who flees her evil stepmother, completes chores around the dwarf’s cabin and awakens from death by the kiss of a man she’s never met. If that same story was pitched in today’s world, it wouldn’t be met with the same praise.
There is nothing wrong with having a calm, helpful and more feminine stature as the original Snow White encompasses, however it becomes a problem when that is the whole range of her abilities. 100 years ago, women were only seen as someone to take care of the household. Now, they are doctors, lawyers, soldiers, pilots and so much more. It makes sense to give Snow White’s character more depth than before because she deserves to be a strong, fierce and capable princess.
Aside from the controversy, the adaptation told Snow White’s story in a beautiful and new light. It provides background on Snow White’s parents, who were never present in the original and gives their family a detailed backstory. Jonathan, the new version of Prince Charming, is introduced in the beginning of the story. This gives them time to bond throughout the film. It allows for their feelings to naturally develop and gives the prince screen time for a personality. Seeing their romance blossom rather than having the prince randomly stumble upon her in the woods is a it satisfying development.
With the new characters, new songs were also introduced. “Waiting On A Wish” and “Good Things Grow” are two prime examples of the versatile new songs added to the soundtrack. Paired with these, original songs like “Heigh-Ho” and “ Whistle While You Work” bring in the same charming bits from the original film.
From a visual standpoint, the film incorporated vibrant colors in the setting and costumes, along with magnificent landscapes. Even in the live action, pure Disney magic was present. Along with the world, Disney also opted to make the iconic seven dwarfs through computer generated imagery (CGI). Although there was pushback for not casting actual actors to play these roles, the CGI and animation looked spectacular and didn’t take away from the story.
Unfortunately, along with the dwarf casting, the public also heavily disliked casting a Latina woman to play an originally pale Germanic teenager. Yet, Ziegler with the voice of a true princess, delivers such a powerful performance, her ethnicity is irrelevant to telling the story. She does a fantastic job encapsulating Snow White’s story from start to finish.
Starring alongside Ziegler as the Evil Queen, Gal Gadot, didn’t deliver nearly as strong of a performance. Her songs and lines fell flat, making it feel like she couldn’t fully embody her character. The Evil Queen is supposed to be menacing and full of hatred for Snow White, but it just felt like Gadot’s version threw a tantrum when things didn’t go her way. It became annoying, not intimidating like a villain should be.
Even with all the controversy and backlash that overshadows this film, it turned out better than expected. People need to look past the media speculation and see how this film gives personality and wits to old characters with no depth. While it may be different from the original, different doesn’t mean bad. From the talented performances to loveable characters and eye-catching details, this adaptation just may be the fairest of them all.
