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By Keith Walther | Rose Law Group Reporter
The amount of hate this film has received is legendary and not all of it is fair. “Snow White” is yet another Disney live action remake, this time of their 1937 animated classic that put Disney’s film studio on the map. With polarizing controversy and external noise surrounding this family movie deafeningly loud, it makes it difficult to sift through all the nonsense to assess the actual quality of the film and answer the question, is it good? Unfortunately, the short answer is no, the quality is lacking in a number of areas, but let’s take a look at the seven most glaring shortcomings.
- Perhaps the most obvious mistake is the representation of the seven dwarves in the movie. Inexplicably, director Marc Webb and Disney chose to have these iconic characters portrayed by CGI instead of real actors. While the CGI was pretty decent and detailed for the animals in this movie, the CGI dwarves are hideous. Their disproportionately large heads and bulbous noses are off-putting. It’s almost as if a caricature artist got together with a bobblehead maker to create these weird little monstrosities. Despite many little people actors wishing to play the dwarves, Disney, who is more concerned with their woke image, seemed to be swayed by actor Peter Dinklage’s inaccurate comments. As a result, there is a complete lack of emotional connectivity to these characters.
- There has been no shortage of debate about the “Snow White” casting choices. Rachel Zegler, who plays the titular role in this remake, did not do herself any favors with her overly critical comments of the original film, thereby alienating many Disney traditionalists. However, the beautiful voice she demonstrated in the “West Side Story” remake is on full display here, making every song she sings, both new and old, a captivating moment. When she isn’t singing, her reactions and movements are flamboyantly over-the-top, making her performance more suitable for a Broadway stage than the silver screen. In addition, she seems ill-at-ease interacting with CGI creatures and characters, leading to emotionally despondent exchanges.
- There have also been plenty of negative reactions to Gal Gadot as the Evil Queen, and they are well warranted. She has never been accused of being a good actress, and her poor performance here is a testament to that fact. Her singing is dreadfully bad with a flat delivery that no amount of editing in post can hide. Gadot also had no believable connection to her character, making her attempts at being evil meek and mild. She may have successfully captured the look of the Evil Queen, but she certainly couldn’t capture the personality.
- With a budget of around $250 million, it is fair to expect expensively elaborate costumes and set design, but director Marc Webb fails to deliver. The costumes look like they were obtained from the clearance rack of a party store, while the set design looks like something viewers would see at a community theater. Even the colorful gemstones look like cheap baubles from a dollar store. This gives the whole production an artificial feel to it, rather than transporting the audience to a magical land of awe and wonder like the original movie was able to do.
- The cheap look extends to the camera work. Webb incorporates very basic cinematography with an excessive amount of jump cuts, reminiscent of his background experience in music videos. This staccato break-up of camera shots disrupts the flow of the film, especially during the musical numbers. In musicals, the camera plays an integral role that shouldn’t be overlooked. For example, films like “La La Land,” “A Better Man,” and “Wicked” are visually stunning because of the graceful elegance of the cinematography their directors employ.
- As for the musical numbers themselves, only “Heigh-Ho,” “Whistle While You Work,” and “The Silly Song” return from the animated classic. These songs were wonderful in the original with their upbeat nature, but their impact is mitigated in this remake due to the distractingly bad CGI. There are also a number of new songs, but only “Waiting on a Wish” is well-written and memorably sung by Rachel Zegler. The rest are lyrically lazy and poorly performed by the cast.
- Finally, and perhaps the biggest mistake of all, is Disney’s misguided, single-minded focus on being woke. They place this importance above even quality of product, desperately trying to appease all groups, but only end up making everyone mad. With that in mind, they make changes to this storyline to “modernize” it, and some are bigger than others, like changing the Prince Charming character into a thieving, homeless outlaw to diminish his importance. Disney was built on the magic of their storytelling, and shifting their attention to selling ideals effectively snuffs out that magic. While these changes may further Disney’s agenda, they certainly do not further the story, leaving fans of the original feeling grumpy.
While it may not be the worst film like many would have you think, “Snow White” is another poisoned apple from the corporate machine that is Disney. With an opening weekend box office haul of $43 million and a steady stream of negative reviews from critics and audiences constantly pouring in, this is shaping up to be Disney’s biggest remake failure yet. You’re better off watching the 1937 classic over this soulless, forgettable remake.
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