For the past decade, Disney has slowly released live action adaptations, and reinterpretations, of classic Disney Princess films. Doing these are an incredibly challenge, but most of them do a relatively good job maintaining the magic and keeping up with the status of the original. The latest of them all is “Snow White¸” which was recently released in theaters March 21. This is easily the worst film adaptation of classic Disney yet.
The film’s plot is relatively the same but extends beyond the traditional story. The audience sees background on Snow White and her family before her father’s marriage to the Evil Queen, which we don’t see in the original film. We get a whole scene on the idyllic relation of the family that was ruined by Snow White’s mother’s death and the unfortunate marriage that follows.
Similarly to the original film, her stepmother plots the killing of the princess when the Magic Mirror claims her fairest of them all.
She then meets the title characters of the original film. Unlike the classic “Snow White and the Seven Dwarves,” the seven iconic characters have a much smaller role in this film. With significantly less screen time, their main function is to provide shelter to Snow White and serve as comedic relief.
Unlike the dwarves, the love interest Jonathan has more screentime, but the character is of an entirely different lifestyle and adds to the conflict of the film itself.
The film also gives more of a clarification of life after true love’s kiss. However, Snow White’s reliance on a lover is lessened. A rare positive of the film is the agency the writers gave the princess in her life. She is empowered to make decisions and takes a large role in saving the day.
The film itself, though magical, looks fake, ill-thought-out, and plain old bad. The CGI is distracting, not only in the background and the setting, but with the characters. The dwarves are one of the few, if not the only, humanoid characters that are not live action. Not only are they made up of CGI, but bad CGI. They look unrealistic, unfinished, and are improperly blended in with the live action parts of the movie. The film should’ve tried to give the roles to a group that don’t have a lot of options in the industry instead of replacing them with technology.
The film’s soundtrack is also much more embellished than the original film. It keeps classics like “Whistle While You Work” and “Heigh-Ho,” but completely reimagines the rest of the music. Some of the songs work decently with the tone of the film, but it is incredibly challenging to call the new soundtrack successful. The song used in most promotions, “Waiting on a Wish,” though showcases vocal talents of Rachel Zegler, doesn’t feel like a song that belongs to a Disney princess movie.
To continue the topic of Rachel Zegler, who is best known for her work, and breakout role, as Maria in Steven Spielberg’s adaptation of “West Side Story.” Her vocals are undeniably one of the best parts of this movie. Her singing prowess is showcased at its highest potential. Unfortunately, her acting is not at that same level. Her princess-like gestures seem forced, and her persona as Snow White seems unnatural and inconsistent. Her wonderful singing sadly does not make up for her unimpressive, lackluster performance.
Gal Gadot took on the role of Evil Queen, the vein, obsessive villain of the movie. Where Rachel Zegler contributes to the positives of the film, Gadot fails miserably. On top of the bad, unauthentic performance, Gadot cannot sing. Especially compared to Zegler’s Broadway worthy singing, Gadot doesn’t anywhere near keep up. Gadot easily gives the worst performance of the film.
The cast is also aided by Andrew Burnap (Jonathan, Snow White’s love interest) and Ansu Kabia (The Huntsman) who, though not brilliant or standout in their roles, do a decent job. Burnap, who also sings in the film, does a good job keeping up with Zegler’s vocals. He maintains good chemistry with her as well, which proves the romance to be somewhat worthy of a viewing.
The cinematography of this movie fails in aiding the emotion of the characters. There are random close ups that almost exclude the viewer from the action happening outside the face of the actor. Additionally, the flavorless camerawork doesn’t properly introduce the audience to the setting.
The costuming also adds to distressing visuals. Snow White’s costume is disappointing to fans of the original because not only does the fabric look like it came from a cheap prom dress, but the sleeves feel like an unnecessary addition to a timeless piece. Additionally, Snow White’s hair looks, to put it plainly, strange. Gal Gadot’s Evil Queen costume is also covered with sequins, resembling the adornment of a children’s t-shirt. Luckily for this film, the makeup work, especially for the Evil Queen, is done quite well.
Due to the culmination of the inadequate filmmaking choices, Disney’s 2025 adaptation of “Snow White” is a disappointing film that dubs itself the potential to be the worst of the year.
