Movie Review: Disney’s Snow White

The latest “live-action” re-imagining of an animated Disney classic, Snow White, proves to be less of the triumphant success that 2017’s Beauty and the Beast was and more of a competent and entertaining, yet flawed, adaptation along the lines of Cinderella (2015) or The Jungle Book (2015). Although it has a dynamic tandem of leads in Rachel Zegler and Gal Gadot, it is Zegler who proves the more intrinsic piece to the film’s overall success than her counterpart.

Snow White plays out as a faithful adaptation of the well-known story of an orphaned princess who, with the help of seven dwarves she befriends after escaping the clutches of her evil stepmother, attempts to bring peace and prosperity back to a kingdom that hasn’t enjoyed such since her father and mother ruled over the land side by side.

In this version, Snow White is played by Rachel Zegler and her stepmother – aka, the Evil Queen – is portrayed by Gal Gadot. Furthermore, this take on the legend is a musical. That aspect is where Zegler shines. Her character is given the weightier tunes to sing and she delivers them with style and aplomb. It is easy to believe she is the altruistic princess that she is, even as she is reduced to a role as a chamber maid by her stepmother. Unfortunately, that character development doesn’t extend to Gadot’s Evil Queen. This is a part that could easily have been one of great depth and even a bit of light-hearted camp, instead, she functions more as a foil to move the story from point A to point B and inform the audience where Snow White is at any particular time. She is a villain with no bite, and that is unforgivable.

But, despite the absence of a honest-to-goodness crowd-pleasing bad guy, the film moves along the story at a rather brisk pace and it is easy to forgive this shortcoming given just how fun the rest of the endeavor proves to be. That being said, the film’s lack of a truly despicable villain lowers the stakes for the title character quite a bit and often leaves the film hanging without a true antagonist to root against.

Rachel Zegler in “Snow White.”

Director Marc Webb – perhaps best known for helming both The Amazing Spider-Man (2012) and The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014) – gives this adaptation a grounded feeling that plays honestly, which is a hard thing to accomplish with a story like this. That being said, perhaps that is owed more to the screenplay by Greta Gerwig and Erin Cressida Wilson than anything else. Regardless, the overall result is a swiftly moving story that incorporates music by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul to breathe new life into a tale that most viewers probably have at least some knowledge of.

The cinematography provided by Mandy Walker gives Kave Quinn’s production design a storybook quality that serves the film and story well. This film truly resembles an animated film brought to life and it is all the better for that.

While the underutilization of Gal Gadot’s Evil Queen may give Snow White a less menacing villain than is required, Rachel Zegler’s portrayal of the titular character provides devotees of the story of Snow White and fans of the live-action adaptations of Disney classics something to be excited about – at least until Lilo & Stitch is released that is.

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Mike Tyrkus

Editor in Chief at CinemaNerdz.com

An independent filmmaker, co-writer and director of over a dozen short films, the Editor in Chief of CinemaNerdz.com has spent much of the last three decades as a writer and editor specializing in biographical and critical reference sources in literature and the cinema, beginning in February 1991 reviewing films for his college newspaper. He was a member of the Detroit Film Critics Society, as well as the group's webmaster and one-time President for over a decade until the group ceased to exist. His contributions to film criticism can be found in Magill's Cinema Annual, VideoHound's Golden Movie Retriever (of which he was the editor for nearly a decade until it too ceased to exist), the International Dictionary of Films and Filmmakers, and the St. James Film Directors Encyclopedia (on which he collaborated with editor Andrew Sarris). He has also appeared on the television program Critic LEE Speaking alongside Lee Thomas of FOX2 and Adam Graham, of The Detroit News. He currently lives in the Detroit area with his wife and their dogs.

@miketyrkus

Mike Tyrkus

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