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Written by Jade Hauber, 04/21/2025
I’ve been an avid Disney fan my whole life, but I had forgotten most of the original film. Keep in mind while reading this article that I rewatched it one day before reading this.
I went to see the movie in theatres and - unsurprisingly due to bad reviews - was the only person in the theatre. Now, this may also be attributed to the late showing at which I went. The film is aimed at much younger audiences, ones with bedtimes. But I was slightly shocked to see that the movie itself was more than halfway decent. I can only describe it as a great experience, but a horrible adaptation that feels longer than it is. And it was promised to be an adaptation.
This review is going to go in-depth into what made it so. Starting with all the news from before its release.
Controversies
I’m not going to delve into my own political beliefs, I just think that an art form should not be associated with the views of its creators. As a Jew I couldn’t care less whether Rachel Zegler supports Palestine or Israel - I just want to watch a good movie. I know that this opinion may be considered shallow, but it’s the truth. I am sorry specific members of the cast who were less outspoken received hate. I do think some of Zegler’s comments were offensive, but she is a twenty-something-year-old who recently came into fame and a platform to reach millions of people all over the world. She’s going to make some mistakes, just like any other human would. Celebrities are people, too. This movie actually did a good job of de-religionizing itself. The scene from the original where Snow White prays is gone.
On the dwarfs: I don’t believe I’m qualified to give an opinion on whether or not they should have used real actors - I’ll leave that to the dwarf community. However, I will say that the CGI used for the dwarfs and animals in this movie looked… low-budget, to say the very least.
On the dwarfs: I don’t believe I’m qualified to give an opinion on whether or not they should have used real actors - I’ll leave that to the dwarf community. However, I will say that the CGI used for the dwarfs and animals in this movie looked… low-budget, to say the very least.
Finally, on Rachel Zegler, a Latina actress, portraying Snow White: I don’t really care? For me, the name “Snow White” is described as her skin colour, sure, but more so represents her personality - soft and gentle like the snow. For such a common fable that has spread so rapidly across the globe in its time, especially since the 1937 Disney release, the story belongs to everyone at this point, not just those of European descent.
Visuals
Okay, the actual visuals of the movie! I took a lot of notes but the theatre was dark, so I’ll try my best to read them. Overall I give the visuals a 5.5/10.
First of all, I absolutely LOVED the sets. They were a huge highlight for me. The palace courtyard and wishing well were incredibly accurate to the original, while incorporating this movie’s symbol of flowers representing Snow White’s delicateness and kindness. These flowers were pink, not yet red as they were when she got older in the film. The dwarfs’ house was amazing too, although it could have been messier as per the original. The only set I didn’t like was the Evil Queen’s potion-mixing lair. It didn’t have a window, so she couldn’t use lightning to stir it, which is one of my favorite moments from the original.
On to the cinematography, which was lacking. It didn’t feel like a musical to me - the movements captured were too slow in comparison to the songs while there were better shots in the background of many dance numbers. Some of the camera angles were strange, like looking up at Snow White from the wishing well. In my experience this angle is usually used to make a character seem stronger or more intimidating which is kind of the opposite of the princess, at least in the beginning of the story. I did like how some of the angles mimicked Disney’s animation style in the original Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Disney often picks one angle and sticks to it when animating, so it feels like you’re watching a play or sitcom. The constant panning and zooming of the camera during every scene was a little much for me, and the editing sometimes emphasized the wrong parts of a shot - it seemed like they were editing for the sake of editing. And sometimes the camera was on one person while the other person was talking, which would have been better if it seemed more deliberate. Overall I give it a 6/10.
CGI. What you’ve all been waiting for. It was… not very good. The dwarfs looked very fake, especially since there was an actor with dwarfism - a very good one, might I add - who was not playing a dwarf. He was playing a bandit. At least the dwarfs were a consistent height throughout the movie. The animals were also not realistic, and there was one scene with a couple shots over a lake that looked like just about the fakest lake I’ve ever seen. Slightly AI generated. I don’t know, maybe someone in the editing room had just had a long day. The Evil Queen’s old disguise was also CGI and not scary enough. When I watch the original film I am literally terrified of that woman’s face at a window. A lot of old fairy tales and mythologies, while not politically correct, carry the belief that how physically ugly or beautiful a person is is a manifestation of their personality. The symbolism of this in the original film is clear - Snow White trusts everyone and is kind to everyone, despite how they look/how evil they are, and it gets her into trouble. The audience is supposed to know better. This doesn’t work if the witch looks like Dobby’s glow up in the last Harry Potter movie when they wanted him to be cuter so audiences would be sad when he died.
Costumes, Makeup and Hair
I know there’s been a lot of buzz surrounding Zegler’s bob in this movie and I can confirm after seeing it that her hairstyle is supposed to be ugly. It is a desperate act made by the queen to ensure her spot as “fairest of them all,” yet it is ineffective (for reasons I’ll describe later). There is a new love interest, though, named Jonathan, whose hair I do not like. He’s the “bad boy” and bad boys need to have messy hair. Plus it’s too long at the back.
Now for costumes. While we’re talking about Jonathan, let me just say that his costume designer was likely very underpaid. The sleeves on everything he wore were too tight, his jackets too short and do not get me started on his pants. The boots were cool, kind of, but that’s pretty much it. Let me put it this way: I’m pretty sure I own his whole wardrobe. I think he should have been dressed more like Timothee Chalamet in Greta Gerwig’s Little Women. Jerkins and long, loose sleeves. I also did not like the “bandits”’ costumes. They are new additions to this remake, and it kind of looked like the costume designer walked in and went, “Okay guys, who’s great-grandpa is getting rid of his work clothes from his days as a lumberjack?” Snow White’s dress was better than the trailer made it out to be, although the colours weren’t very accurate to the original. The yellow skirt should have been much lighter and the blue much darker. And I don’t really understand why she wore a cloak for one of the scenes at the end, though I like how it incorporates the colour red, which is used to symbolize justice throughout the movie. I’ve got to say, I really enjoy how colour is used throughout the movie, Snow White walking into the dark, gloomy, toned-down kingdom with a bright dress and an army of brightly-coloured birds. I enjoyed how many of the villagers had her same unique sleeve-style. The villagers. One of them had a very strange hat. And I don’t understand why one of the guards’s uniforms was a different colour than the other guards’. But whatever. My favourite costumes were those of the Evil Queen. She is represented by jewels - indestructible and sharp but beautiful - and is coated with more and more of them as the story progresses and she becomes more evil.
Now for the makeup. I didn’t pay much attention to it, but unlike the original film where it seemed like the dwarfs were wearing fifty pounds of eyeshadow each, the Evil Queen is now covered in it. Also, I don’t think that lipstick shade looked great on Rachel Zegler, and her facial features weren’t really softened like Snow White’s are by the makeup. But I’m no expert.. Moving on!
Acting
I really liked most of the acting. Regardless of what you think of Gal Gadot, she did an amazing job as the Evil Queen. I do think she could have been a little more regal, more emotionless, like the original. But overall she was a 10/10 on all fronts. The father in the beginning was a little cliche, but a decent singer, so I’ll let it slide. The Huntsman was a touch overdramatic, but I was still glad to see him return in the movie’s third act. The new character of Jonathan was nothing like Prince Florian, and I kind of felt nostalgic for him. Jonathan was way more similar to (if not a ripoff of) Flynn Ryder from Tangled, or Westley from The Princess Bride (especially when he was imprisoned and when they were invading the castle. And both he and the Huntsman had very inconsistent characters. Anyway. A lot of cute moments from the original film were missing, such as Snow White talking to her animal friends, guessing the dwarfs names (in this she just remembers their names easily, a skill of hers which comes into play later on) and the dwarfs being scared of but slowly falling for her, the Huntsman putting a pig’s heart in the box for the Evil Queen instead of Snow White’s heart - well, maybe that last one wasn’t so cute. I wish we had seen more of the dwarfs, such as the dinner, washing and story-telling scenes from the original. They weren’t even scared of water in this one! And they didn’t kill the Evil Queen like in the original.
While we’re talking about the dwarfs - Tituss Burgess and George Salazar, two of my personal musical theatre idols, absolutely stole the show. I am going to say - Dopey was not Dopey enough and Grumpy was far too Grumpy. He’s supposed to care about Snow White by the end! And Dopey literally shouldn’t be talking! It’s a main personality trait of his in the original. I didn’t care for his sob story of being bullied by the other dwarfs or his character arc learning to speak. Hearing his voice felt… wrong. He sounds like Josh Gad, Olaf, for context. Some of the dwarfs' lines were a little out of place, but also hilarious. “Awkward,” in response to Snow White friendzoning Jonathan, was a personal favourite.
Some elements of this movie were borrowed from others. For example, Snow White gives Jonathan her heart-shaped locket as a “reason to come back to her” which is very similar to a couple of scenes from Aladdin. There were also some major missed opportunities. While holding the same heart-shaped locket, the Evil Queen says she needs to have a talk with Snow White. I think she should have said they need to have a “heart to heart,” but what do I know? They also established Dopey as the narrator, but don’t utilize that excellent plot device to explain what’s happening, which may leave some audiences confused.
The death scene wasn’t sad enough and didn’t even have the gold and glass coffin. The kiss should have been a bigger deal, too. It was very obviously a screen kiss. I also don’t understand why they would go to all the trouble of making Snow White love pies so much if she’s no longer baking them in the apple scene. And it feels so random to say she’s going to pick apples instead of flowers.
Finally, the snowstorm did not “give them a child,” guys. And the mirror is now only able to answer one question? Talk about a downgrade.
Romance
Despite popular opinion, the original Snow White was never a romance. You can tell this by the fact that the prince only appeared in two scenes: the first and last. I also don’t think it was sexist - Snow White wasn’t cleaning and cooking for the dwarfs because she was a woman, but because she was a scullery maid who paid for her lodging through work, and wishing for a prince doesn’t make you any less feminist (she doesn’t clean for them in this one, acts more like a boss than a mother-figure). This is far more of a romance; they even have a romantic duet, which I’ll touch on later. I do like Jonathan, I just have a few issues with their relationship and his character.
1. He’s never really looking her in the eye. I don’t know why that bothers me, but it does. 2. He tells her to stay behind and not risk her life after LITERALLY TAKING AN ARROW FOR HER. Like do you not think she’s capable of surviving? More capable than you, apparently. 3. He looks a little too old for her, in my opinion. Snow White is supposed to be fourteen years old, in the original, and while they’ve aged her up here (a decision I disagree with, I think they both should have been cast as late teenagers and he should have still been a prince, but on the run or something) he kind of comes across as trying to smirk and failing every time he smiles. I applaud his efforts, though.
He did a good job of playing the character he was playing, it’s just Jonathan isn’t really part of the Snow White Universe for me. 4. Everyone says Prince Florian’s relationship with Snow White was too fast-paced, but at least in the original it was implied that they knew each other for a while before the movie started. Snow White and Jonathan literally know each other two days before they start dating. 5. I feel a little intrusive watching them kiss, but apparently the dwarfs and bandits don’t. 6. He calls himself Johnny Boi in private. At this point, the film is much more Snow White and Johnny Boi than Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (which, by the way, they’re never actually referred to as dwarfs in either movie).
Music
I do wish they’d kept more than four of the original eight songs. Don’t get me wrong, I love Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, they’ve written some amazing stuff. But I’m nostalgic for “Someday My Prince Will Come,” Snow White’s musical motif, which was supposedly in the movie as background music, but I didn’t hear it once. Not even when Jonathan kisses her awake from the Sleeping Death. The songs were good, but the background music they did use was iffy. There were times when I was wondering if it was written by Conan Gray.
The first song, “Where the Good Things Grow” is a 7/10, with decent choreography. Not much to say about it.
The second song, “Waiting on a Wish,” is a classic example of Pasek and Paul: fantastic melodies with meaningful lyrics. My problem with it is mainly the singing style they had Zegler use (which I’ll admit was much better in the film than the soundtrack). Snow White is supposed to be a teenage soprano, with a much higher voice than her twenty-something alto. I know Zegler can sing in the falsetto and head voice range, so why did they have her belt?
Next was “Heigh-Ho.” So much of it was cut! I was very upset.
“All Is Fair,” the new villain song, was amazing! I don’t like the way it was filmed or the choreography, but who knew Gal Gadot could sing so well? Truly fabulous songwriting, especially for a writing duo not known for their villain ballads. It was definitely giving “Be Prepared” from The Lion King.
“Whistle While You Work” was another huge highlight. The choreography was great and the whistling tips actually somewhat worked, which was very beneficial for someone like me who can’t whistle to save her life. I do miss Snow White’s soprano high note there, but what can you do?
“Princess Problems.” It doesn’t make sense with the plot, her character, or her voice. I did not like the choreo, which was mostly just her and Jonathan walking around. But I’m torn, because it’s stupid catchy. It would be a fantastic song for two other characters in a completely different context.
“The Silly Song” was great as always. It’s a classic.
“Hand Meets a Hand” really improves Snow White’s singing style; it’s a lot more accurate to the original. I like the way it’s filmed, with the two only able to see each other and idolizing each other. It’s very symbolic of their feelings. But I think the embers and Jonathan make it a little too Tangled-coded. They should have saved it for the upcoming Tangled live action remake.
Other
I like the whole concept of everyone in the kingdom sharing and being generous and all that, but it’s a little ignorant. They are technically all peasants and you are technically a princess.
I don’t like how they aged up Snow White - I think it 1. Goes against the feminist message of the story, conveying that only powerful women deserve respect and not girls as well and 2. Undermines one of the points of the original movie: How the Evil Queen is envious of Snow White’s innocence, purity and kindness. The more the queen is guilty of, the greater her potential for evil. She’s very condescending to Snow White in the original. It’s what makes her and (don’t come at me here, it’s a real thesis by a real author) all female villains so appealing - they don’t rely on brute force.
At the end the mirror says Snow White will always be fairer than the Evil Queen because her fairness and beauty comes from within. Where was this attitude all those years he was saying the exact opposite every day?
The deliberate decision to not use the colour white to represent purity and goodness in this film as it does in the original story is completely undermined by the fact that every character and extra is wearing white in the last scene.
Anyway, that was a very long article. Thank you for reading, if you’ve made it this far. I do recommend this movie, but only to those who understand that the original is 10000% better. Thank you for coming to my TED Talk and goodnight.
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