(PG) ★★★½
Director: Marc Webb.
Cast: Rachel Zegler, Gal Gadot, Andrew Burnap, Ansu Kabia, Patrick Page, Jeremy Swift, Tituss Burgess, Andrew Barth Feldman, Martin Klebba, Omari Bernard, Jason Kravits, Dominic Owen, George Salazar, Andy Grotelueschen.
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| "'Seven dwarfs', hey? And where did that nickname come from?" |
I'm going to say this slowly and clearly for the idiots up the back: it's okay to remake films. It's also okay to change things in a remake. It's even okay, 99 times out of 100, to recast roles in different races or genders.
That's because all that matters is whether the movie is any good or not. And in the case of Disney's live action remake of Snow White... guess what? It's actually good.
And you wanna know another thing? The OG 1937 animated classic is, yes, a masterpiece of animation, but it's also a highly flawed and antiquated piece of storytelling. And this remake, which admittedly has its own problems, actually improves on some of the issues in the original, mostly by making its main characters actual characters, with depth and emotion and all the things that make them engaging and interesting.
When all is said and done, this version of Snow White achieves what it sets out to achieve. It's true to the spirit, tone and look of the original, and is exactly as "Disney" as it could and should be. Walt himself wouldn't be rolling in his grave - he'd be lining up for a ticket, and beaming at the smiling faces of the young children who are going to delight in this film's magic.
The film is the story of Snow White (Zegler), the princess born into a loving royal family, but orphaned and left in the "care" of a jealous stepmother (Gadot), whose reign as the new Queen brings sadness and poverty to the land. Not content to treat Snow White as a servant, the Queen decides things would be better if Snow White was killed, and has her taken into the woods so the deed can be done.
Whatever "Disney" is, this is Disney. It positively swims in its warm and syrupy Disney-ness. It's twee and cute and charming and bashful and dopey and all the other dwarves. Cute animals abound amid the uplifting melodies that help the medicine go down. There's a hissable villain with a classic Disney villain song, undone not through violence but their own hubris. Webb nails the brief, capturing the summery magic hour look of the dwarfs world as beautifully as he does the Queen's dark transformation.
Where this version surpasses the original is in its characterisations and relationships. The 1937 original is a technical triumph and a stunning display of animation, but Snow White and her charming prince are plot devices, not people. The remake gives them depth and personality, though it doesn't go as far as giving Snow White flaws - she remains an untouchable, immaculate Disney princess.
The performances are also wonderfully Disney-ish. Zegler is perfect as the optimistic and virtuous princess, while Gadot is great as the evil Queen. Her presence is suitably chilling and vainglorious, and Gadot sinks her teeth into her big musical number with aplomb.
Sadly it's not perfect, and the biggest problem is its littlest characters. Disney was forced into a "damned if we do, damned if we don't" situation with the dwarfs - there was no right answer in the choice between CG and real-life dwarfs - but they stand-out so much that you have to make a conscious decision to ignore how they look in order to enjoy the movie. The dwarfs appear to do their mining in Uncanny Valley, and look unnerving as a result. Also, Dopey appears to have been modelled on Mad magazine's Alfred E Neuman for some reason. And, much like in the original, some of the dwarf sequences feel like padding.
The film also falls a little short in its attempt to give the film a strong thematic base. Is this a secret political parable? It tells of kindness being vanquished from the land by vanity and cruelty and the hoarding of wealth, and of generosity and the sharing of wealth being seen as a weakness, while the poor are left to scrabble for potatoes and live in the forest, It would be great if this hit a little harder, but we never get a real sense of life in the kingdom under the evil Queen, something also lacking from the 1937 version.
It could be funnier, it could be less kidsy, and its dwarfs could be less weird-looking, but this is Disney to its core. Relax into the Disney-ness and go with the hi-ho flow.
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