‘Snow White’ Exposes Disney’s Identity Crisis │ Exclaim!

It’s no secret that Disney is having an identity crisis that has trickled down to its ability to update its best-loved fairy tales into modern remakes. Director Marc Webb’s live-action Snow White remake, unfortunately, falls victim much like its predecessors.

Both the film and its protagonist are directionless and emotionless. When the cruel Evil Queen (Gal Gadot) takes away Snow White’s (Rachel Zegler) kingdom, the titular Disney princess is sad. When the Evil Queen threatens Jonathan (Andrew Burnap), a young man stealing to help feed his friends, Snow White is upset. I know this because she looks sad and upset. She doesn’t put up a fight and barely sheds a tear, which the movie assures audiences is fine, because her father gave her a necklace telling her to be brave. So, this will be her character arc: bravery. After all, that’s what this era of Disney Princess ought to be, right?

Luckily for Snow White, her nemesis is just as dull. Just like in the original 1937 film, Snow White upsets the Evil Queen by being prettier than her. It’s a strange concept not to update, given that our princess is supposed to be loved for her courage, not her beauty. Gal Gadot gives the Evil Queen a lacklustre performance, awkwardly delivered lines and half-hearted singing, overall looking like she doesn’t want to be on set at all.

Then there are the Seven Dwarfs themselves, and Jonathan’s ragtag crew of thieves — by far the most entertaining parts of the movie. Their funny, sincere and goofy presences serves as a reminder that Snow White is supposed to be entertaining.

Unfortunately though, the no-longer-titular Seven Dwarfs look creepy, and leave audiences wondering if there would have been a better, more inclusive way to include them. The film uses CGI for the creatures of the film, so animating the people of short stature in the same way — and not even doing a very good job of it — comes off as tone deaf.

Snow White isn’t feast for the eyes — more like concept vomit without a notable colour scheme. The computer-generated flowers clash with the tones of grass. The sets look like they were made by people who never agreed on a look for the town. Snow White’s token dress seems silly, overly bright, and out of date compared to the other, more drab costumes.

The songs, a combination of new compositions and the tunes we grew up with, aren’t memorable, but they aren’t terrible either. “Waiting on a Wish” is catchy enough, and “Princess Problems” offers the film a charming song, though this is likely because the scene-stealing Andrew Burnap sings in it.

For all this, the climax is strangely enjoyable, paying off a lot of what was set up and giving justice to all the characters audiences will root for and, of course, Snow White herself. But a rewarding finale to a subpar film only functions as a staunch reminder that Disney knows how to make good stories, but doesn’t know how to make them for the right reasons. Telling girls to be brave because that’s what every other studio says isn’t the same as genuinely wanting to make a brave female protagonist.

What could have been an important update to a beloved but aged story ends up being contrived nothingness. Snow White is a clash of colours and concepts that would be quickly forgotten if not for how memorably strange most of the creative decisions are.