JunkDror

Snow White’s legacy was dwindling, and Disney exacerbated it.

For better or worse, Disney’s era of live-action adaptations is purging our screens and toying with our emotions. Snow White is no exception to the incarnation of their intellectual property, but with its terrible reviews and bombing box office numbers, this production might just be for the worst. Though Disney has historically achieved great success on live-action projects like Alice in Wonderland (2010) and The Lion King (2019), every major studio needs a huge flop every now and then to stay humble. 

Graciously, writer Erin Cressida Wilson took on the grueling task of modernizing the plot of the original Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937). Instead of a glorifying maid to the seven dwarfs or a helpless princess who needs saving, Snow White (Rachel Zegler) transforms into an inspirational beacon of hope and a confident leader who can de-escalate even the most intense confrontations with her Evil Stepmother (Gal Gadot). Arguably the forgotten princess, Snow White needed the update to add a sense of relatability to today’s audience; or at the very least to keep her relevant enough for Disney to continuously exploit. The internet has been in constant debate over such changes, but with a film as old as our grandparents and a storyline as unremarkable as it is fuzzy, there cannot be enough Snow White stans to notice its new quirks. We got seven charming dwarves, a magic mirror and poisoned apple, and true love’s kiss; whatever else happens in between is no man’s land.

Where the film falters is in its underdeveloped threads, dramatized characters (aka the Evil Stepmother), and random, yet distracting details you can’t seem to disregard. For one, the seven dwarves have magical glowing hands that help them find gems in a mine they visit once? Worse is Snow White’s, in the internet’s words, “fuck-ass bob.” Why does it look glued to her head, and who green-lit the hairstyle? As for Snow White and Jonathan (Andrew Burnap), their love story feels a bit rushed between armoured fight scenes and arguments with the Evil Stepmother. The true love’s kiss to awaken Snow White from her eternal slumber is so lackluster and vanilla, it almost hurt to watch her go in for a second one. Gal Gadot brings real pain and agony into the picture with a flat (both vocally and tonally) approach to her fascist, jewel-obsessed character. It seems Disney wants to force the resurgence of yet another, villainous icon, but who is going to tell Gadot, “You are not Maleficent…”

For director Marc Webb, this project greatly differs from his indie cult-classic film 500 Days of Summer (2009)–a story about unrequited love and the complexities of relationships–a great, if not his best, contribution to cinema and an exemplary picture to showcase the quality of his work. However, he is no stranger to mainstream media production, as he is responsible for The Amazing Spider-man (2012) and The Amazing Spider-man 2 (2014)–a film series that did not do so well in the box office either and had its third film scrapped by Sony. Is it a coincidence Snow White suffered the same fate? Or does the “indie director goes Hollywood” pipeline always bear bad news?

In the thick of its troubling qualities, Snow White is still a visually vibrant and enchanting picture, with a talented Rachel Zegler to lead its way through the madness and Dopey (Andrew Feldman) the dwarf capturing all of our hearts. A natural-born singer, Zegler brings a Broadway-esque quality to the film that astounds us and is brilliantly consistent from her previous musically inclined roles in The Hunger Games: The Ballads of Songbirds and Snakes (2023) and West Side Story (2021). If her non-CGI co-stars could have matched her theatrics, it just might have saved the film. Her relationship with Dopey is all the more endearing, as is his adorable character arc to overcome his fears. 

One thing is for sure, Disney has taught countless generations to always remain hopeful and the strength of the sentiment doesn’t waver. With more live-action productions making their way to the big screen like Lilo & Stitch (release date of May 2025) and Moana (release date 2026), the enthusiastic buzz surrounding their release is palpable; letting us know Disney’s effervescent reputation cannot be dimmed by a single turbulent film, and that this Snow White, also, is forgettable.