Disney’s latest live-action reimagining of one of its animated classics is twirling into theaters this weekend in Snow White, directed by Marc Webb (500 Days of Summer, The Amazing Spider-Man) and starring Rachel Zegler as the titular Disney Princess and Gal Gadot as the Evil Queen. This version paints Snow White as a capable young woman ready to take back her father’s throne from her wicked stepmother, with the help of a plucky outlaw (Tony Award winner Andrew Burnap).
The movie hasn’t truly enchanted critics, with a lackluster 45% on Rotten Tomatoes from 165 reviews and 50 points on MetaCritic from 47 reviews. Opinions are sharply divided. Some reviewers label Snow White as “one of the better” of the live-action remakes from the Mouse House (although which others occupy this tier varies from critic to critic), with particular praise for its vision, script, fresh songs (courtesy of The Greatest Showman duo Benj Pasek and Justin Paul) and stellar performance by Zegler (despite the racialized controversy over her casting). Others find it formulaic, and point out inconsistencies in the visual coherency as well as the “creepy” CGI dwarfs inserted in an attempt to avoid exploitative casting.
Snow White made $3.5 million from preview screenings this week, and is anticipated to earn between $45-55 million at the domestic box office in its opening weekend (plus around $50M from international markets), in line with Disney’s 2019 live-action Dumbo launch.
Here’s what some of the critics are saying:
“[Snow White] is lighter, more frolicsome, less lead-footed than such clomping live-action Disney remakes as Alice in Wonderland, Beauty and the Beast, Dumbo or Mulan. Rachel Zegler, as Snow White, has a pertly appealing glow, and Gal Gadot, as the Evil Queen, glares divinely in her darkly purplish cloaked finery (stained-glass crown, nails like daggers, matching black lips and eyes), like the world’s most furious dominatrix.”
— Owen Gleiberman, Variety
“Snow White comes ice cold on the heels of two other big live-action adaptations of the classic fairy tale. It’s been 13 years since Snow White and the Huntsman and Mirror Mirror drank this movie’s milkshake. Neither of those other films are great but they both have a consistency of tone, a memorable villain, and creative choices worth celebrating. Disney’s new Snow White has none of these qualities. All it has is Zegler and a bunch of actors who are trying, with uneven success, to keep up with her.”
— William Bibbiani, The Wrap
“[A]lthough the talented voice cast gives [the Seven Dwarfs] humor and distinctive personalities, their CGI renderings are, well, a bit creepy, and less photorealistic than many of the cute woodland creatures that flock around Snow White …
[Director Marc] Webb proves equally adept at romantic interludes, attack scenes and production numbers, notably the joyous finale, ‘Good Things Grow,’ with the entire cast outfitted by Powell in resplendent white. Sure, those poorly integrated CG little people take some getting used to, but this is the type of wholesome and uplifting family entertainment that comes directly from old-school Disney DNA.”
— David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter
“Director Marc Webb and cinematographer Mandy Walker struggle to impose any visual coherence between scenes shot on location and inside a studio. Characters will suddenly emerge from a color-drained, flatly lit bit of woodland into a caramelized, abrasively artificial recreation of (supposedly) that same woodland. The Evil Queen is dripping in sequins and costume jewelry, which would suggest the anticipation of a camp performance, only to receive not a drop of that in return (Gadot’s involvement in organizing screenings of an IDF-produced film about 7 October has led to calls from activists to boycott the film).
The film’s prince, played by Andrew Burnap and, for some reason, called Jonathan, is essentially Disney cannibalizing itself, as he has the same thief backstory and curtain bangs as Tangled’s Flynn Rider. There’s self-cannibalisation at work, too, in Sandy Powell’s costumes, which are dour replicas of their animated counterparts. At times, Zegler’s bob leans dangerously close to ‘little Dutch boy.’ What’s most disheartening about it all is how predictable Disney’s choices have become. With Snow White, they’ve finessed their formula – do the bare minimum to make a film, then simply slap a bunch of cutesy CGI animals all over it and hope no one notices.”
— Clarisse Loughrey, The Independent (U.K.)
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