This live action remakes tries to find new depths to the story and in some respects works but in others tries too hard to convince.
Disney’s live action remake has prompted a lot of debate ever since it was announced for a huge variety of reasons and now that it has been released it has been clear why.
Although it for the most part sticks to the original plot, this new version of the story by Erin Cressida Wilson places a definite emphasis on the female characters – offering a different perspective of Snow White herself adding strength to her personality, while incorporating a bigger part for the Evil Queen. It seems to suggest throughout that finding your inner strength and to fight for what you believe in are two of the most important qualities which is fine but there are moments in which it tries too hard to hammer the point home.
Meanwhile, some of the changes that have been made (for me anyway), didn’t quite work. The removal of ‘Someday My Prince Will Come’ although makes sense in terms the storyline now involving Jonathan a civilian who Snow White saves from the clutches of the Evil Queen doesn’t feel adequately replaced by new song ‘I Want’ which doesn’t feel sufficiently dreamy like – although it does suit Zegler’s vocals perfectly. But I did enjoy the longer renditions of ‘Heigh-Ho’ and ‘Whistle While You Work’ which adds a sense of fun that can be lacking elsewhere.
The main issue of this adaptation of the classic is that it seems stuck between wanting to add new depth to the story (offering a bit more background to why Snow White is called Snow White and the relationship with the Evil Queen disintegrating) while trying to maintain as much as possible of the original take on the fairytale. It is frustrating as you can see what those involved with the film were trying to do but it doesn’t always work, particularly in the central relationship of Snow White and the new character Jonathan.
It is also slightly confusing that while the dwarves that Snow White encounters in the forest are animated, but then in Jonathan’s gang of bandits sees that people with Dwarfism represented – why not just use real life people for the seven dwarves that Snow White befriends to make it easier and offer opportunities for them?
It does have to be said that the build up to the climatic scenes does have a nice sense of theatricality to it and feels a little more satisfying to the original, with everything being tied up extremely neatly.
The performances from the cast do well with what they have to work with. Rachel Zegler as Snow White does try to bring charm and depth to the character to make the character her own but the script doesn’t work in her favour – even if she does offer wonderful emotion through her expressions and reactions. Gal Gadot as the Evil Queen is suitably villainous, with razor sharp delivery and it is interesting to see what she does with the role. Andrew Burnap as Jonathan has plenty of passion and charm to carry out the role – but again it feels as though the script lets the character down.
Overall, there was so much more that Disney could have done with this remake – but it feels like it is torn between traditional and bringing the story in the 21st century, constantly fighting with itself and what it wants to be.
By Emma Clarendon
Snow White is available to watch on Disney Plus now.
Rating: ❤️❤️