Movies

An uncertain ‘Snow White’ holds a magic mirror up to polarized times

BBG News

The Brothers Grimm didn’t originally create “Snow White.” Instead, they gathered it from numerous bedtime tales spread across Europe. When she needed shelter, the runaway princess didn’t just find seven dwarfs but a variety of characters like giants, thieves, or dragons in places like Spain, Belgium, or Algeria. Disney made changes to the story, sometimes depicting Snow White as both a redhead and a blonde, and giving each dwarf his unique personality. At one stage, he thought about naming them Flabby, Dirty, Deafy, Thrifty, Shifty, Soulful, and Awful.

If you’re not referring to my Snow White, that’s okay. After all, they’re all essentially the same Snow White character. And Marc Webb’s “Snow White” fits right in, despite being released with caution due to the supposedly dangerous theater environment. Back when Disney first started producing live-action adaptations of their animated films a decade ago, they likely believed remakes would be an easy way to earn money and satisfy fans. However, this particular adaptation has faced criticism from all sides. Looks like it won’t end with a fairy tale conclusion for everyone involved.

It seems that the modern version of “Snow White” isn’t as captivating as one might expect. The new tunes lack memorability and the animation is overly busy, each pixel vying for attention. There are an abundance of leaves, petals, and pores on the fully animated dwarves, who enter the film with noses as large as pears. As soon as “Snow White” was announced, it faced criticism for perpetuating little-person stereotypes, leading to the replacement of the dwarves with fantastical CG creatures. Now, it’s been criticized for taking jobs from short actors instead.

In modern analysis, “Snow White” serves as an intriguing exploration of today’s complex paradoxes – a magical mirror mirroring the strains of contemporary society. Directors Webb and Erin Cressida Wilson faced a dilemma: either replicate the 1937 animation frame by frame, risking accusations of redundancy, or deviate from the original and incur fan backlash. They’ve found a middle ground. Indeed, Snow White still finds herself smooching her unconscious self’s rescuer. However, she now gets to know him before losing consciousness – and upon regaining consciousness, she actively initiates another kiss.

Hollywood Inc.

Disney’s upcoming live-action adaptation of ‘Snow White’ has been encountering obstacles on its path to release next week, as it grapples with external issues that have persistently surfaced throughout the process.

Among all the portrayals of Snow White I’ve encountered, including her sword fighting and Bollywood dancing, this particular interpretation by Rachel Zegler leaves me pondering a question I’ve never considered before: Could the princess be an effective ruler? In this adaptation, her royal parents (Hadley Fraser and Lorena Andrea) educate young Snow White (Emilia Faucher) about the kingdom’s economy, teaching her about its resources ranging from fruits to mineral ores. The castle’s inhabitants bustle around the grounds with deep-dish apple pies in hand. I jotted down ‘happy peasants’ in the dimness, but that old-fashioned tone seemed off. Feeling a pang of guilt, I corrected it to read ‘happy workers.’

The language in this movie is sharp and deliberate. The word “fair” used here represents both beauty and fairness. Gal Gadot’s evil queen, dressed in gowns made from obsidian shards that create a sound with every step, emphasizes the phrase “all is fair where you wear the crown,” suggesting a manipulative and cunning character. The queen portrayed by Gadot is stereotypically cold and lacks emotional depth, but she delivers an impressive performance in her villain’s anthem, which showcases multiple shifts in tempo and tone. Those who criticized her rendition of “Imagine” during the pandemic may now admit that she is capable.

Gadot’s character accumulates riches; Snow White can’t comprehend why a leader would allow people to suffer from hunger. A princess, full of the pureness of perhaps a modern-day Disney publicist who wants to portray a fairy tale without facing backlash from either side of the Israeli-Palestinian dispute, expresses her hope that if she understood the gravity of the situation, she would be eager to distribute her wealth. When this queen plots to eliminate her rival by sending her off to meet a huntsman’s deadly blow, the significance transcends a petty squabble — it resembles a calculated political assassination.

Snow White is practical in nature. When asked about the magic wishing well, she simply says, “It’s water.” Later, songwriters Benj Pasek and Justin Paul modify the original sweet but cloying plea for love into a more impatient song titled “Waiting on a Wish,” which grows more intense with each verse as Zegler’s Snow White questions how long she must wait before asserting her own self-empowerment. The rather unremarkable romantic interest of Snow White, a bandit named Jonathan (Tony winner Andrew Burnap), encourages her to “stop thinking and start doing.

Zegler possesses the traits that make a star shine brightly. Her vocal delivery is assertive, as if challenging anyone to confront her, and she skillfully illuminates additional emotion in Snow White’s eyes when she pleads for help. In Disney’s era, a studio would have nurtured her persona and potential over multiple films, gradually preparing her to handle the spotlight. Today, however, she’s often thrust into major productions like “West Side Story” and “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes,” with studios banking on this promising talent to carry their box office successes.

The young actor has faced criticism for implying that the animated Snow White character was somewhat weak or submissive. Some people also complained that Zegler, who has Colombian heritage, is considered too dark-skinned. The storyline offers a justification: This version of Snow White received her name because she was born in a snowstorm. However, other minor changes won’t significantly impact viewers’ childhood memories. In this adaptation, instead of cleaning with birds, squirrels, and rabbits during “Whistle While You Work,” Zegler makes the dwarfs clean their own floors themselves.

Inside the cabin, it’s quite dark and has a lot of brown tones, a questionable decision for natural lighting that seems even more peculiar since other parts of the movie are filled with vibrant, expressionistic elements like fireflies that flash when night scenes require additional sparkle. Contrastingly, Snow White’s iconic outfit is incredibly vivid, almost blinding; it looks particularly odd when she walks through the forest with Jonathan and his group of Brooklyn bicycle messengers dressed in hoodies.

In this musical performance, I find myself expressing that the situation appears grim as I sing alongside her who embodies altruism in stark contrast to my self-centeredness, all set against a rhythmic drumbeat reminiscent of a battlefield. The tune teeters on the edge of how much social inequality discussion this revamp can endure – especially considering its financial issues intertwine with nostalgic nods to Walt’s cherished whimsy. By the point Snow White ponders a rebellion to even out the kingdom’s wealth distribution, I found myself reflecting on an earlier scene depicting the dwarfs frolicking in a cave filled with sparkling jewels, almost like a ball pit. Couldn’t a few diamonds tucked away in Dopey’s pockets be the solution to our predicament?

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2025-03-19 22:31

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