I went into Disney’s live-action remake of Snow White fully expecting to dislike it, and not just because of Rachel Zegler’s smarmy remarks about the 1937 animated original, but because Disney’s live action remarks are beginning to get a little long in the tooth, I couldn’t imagine Snow White offering anything fresh (or even necessary). Surprisingly, it wasn’t as bad I thought it would be, but that doesn’t mean it was all that good.
Director Marc Webb had to thread a delicate needle, honor the original’s story and legacy while making Snow White (played by Ms. Zegler) into a modern Disney princess that not only has agency, but who also learns to embrace her leadership and voice. That may sound like an impossible task to you, and you’d be right! Mr. Webb and the creative team simply couldn’t reconcile those two contradictory goals and ended up creating a Snow White that is somehow more passive than I remembered, save the last 12 minutes when she decides to lead the people in taking back her Father’s kingdom and live happily ever after.
The problem is none of what she does to take back the kingdom is in line with the Snow White we’ve spent the last hour and a half getting to know, I mean her biggest accomplishment, prior to this was teaching men (the always delightful Seven Dwarfs) how to do housework. It honestly felt like they grafted the ending of another (better) movie onto the most flawed Disney movie since “Chicken Little.” I want to see the badass Snow White movie! What happened to #Girlboss Snow White? It’s not like that would save Disney any more bad PR at this point. They should have gone all in.
Rachel Zegler, brilliantly talented as always, seemed bogged down by the rote plot, giving me the feeling this isn’t the movie she thought she’d be making. She really shines during the musical numbers however, most of which are good to great. I think we’ll be hearing Waiting on a Wish in the parks soon, possibly even as part of a castle fireworks show.
The film works best when it lets Zegler’s natural charm shine through, particularly in her interactions with Jonathan (Andrew Burnap), whose bandit cynicism give the film a much-needed serving of reality.
Ultimately, Disney’s Snow White isn’t the trainwreck haters might gleefully anticipate, nor is it the enchanting masterpiece diehard Disney fans deserve. It falls somewhere in between—visually appealing, sporadically entertaining, but ultimately unnecessary.
