By Alex Gilston - March 22, 2025
The Disney Live-action remake machine keeps chugging along and they’ve finally hit the film that started it all. The almost universal creative bankruptcy of these films cannot be understated, it’s the equivalent of a snake eating its own tail; and with Snow White, Walt Disney Studios has finally swallowed itself whole.
The uninspiring visuals, uncanny valley CGI, certain performances, and flat original songs are a far cry from the magic that originally put Disney on the map. Despite its effort to strike the same balance that Cinderella (2015) does, the path it forges away from the original is shaky at best.
You should know the story but if you don’t, Snow White (Rachel Zegler) is the princess of a far away kingdom, and she lives happily with her father and mother. But when her mother passes away, her father is seduced by an Evil Queen (Gal Gadot). The Evil Queen sends Snow White’s father to die and takes over the kingdom, forcing Snow White into a life of servitude. But when Snow White becomes a threat to her crown she orders her to be killed. Snow White manages to escape her fate however and runs into the woods where she is met with seven dwarfs, who take her in.
It is certainly respectable that from this point onwards Snow White tries to forge its own
path, a privilege that escaped the remakes of the likes of The Lion King and Pinocchio, however the narrative it tries to weave from scratch isn’t noteworthy enough to sing about from the rooftops. It’s made clear from the opening of the film how important Snow White is, the future leader of her father’s kingdom, and her role in the film’s final act is a lot more active. But the way she defeats the queen lands like a lead balloon. To make it worse, given the current political climate and who is playing the villain, it highlights how shallow it all is. Even attempts to add depth to her relationship with John come up short, leaving the iconic true love’s kiss scene with little emotional weight.
The issues don’t end there either. Snow White looks as washed out and flat as its remake predecessors. The technicolour dream of the animation is sapped away, and in its place is dry cinematography and costumes and props that look like they’re from party city. The CGI on the dwarfs ruins any kind of immersion one might feel to the world portrayed on screen. Their generic look makes them almost indistinguishable from each other. Some salt is added to the wound though as the animal design feels fresh. They are in no way photorealistic, which adds a certain level of magic to the scenes they’re in. But it leaves one wondering, if they can do it here why they didn’t in The Lion King?
Despite the lacking material around her Rachel Zegler remains entirely innocent. She sinks herself into the role with ease, and her vocals are positively dreamy. It’s true that not many people can say they’ve played both Maria from West Side Story and Snow White by 23. But the Rachel Zegler dominance is more than welcomed, and long may she reign.
Gal Gadot on the other hand is woefully miscast. The Evil Queen is one of Disney’s most iconic villains, her dual identity, switching between regal menace and unhinged hag, keeps her in the hall of fame. But Gadot’s unwillingness to play with this historical nuance leaves her dead in the water. Her presence is awkward and stilted, line delivery is bafflingly bad, and let’s not even get started on her musical numbers. She’s such a wholly misjudged addition to the film, that every part of it she touches, she ruins.
The hope moving forward is that Disney might see sense and stop making these films. No one wants them, they’re not needed beyond making the studio a pretty buck when it needs it, and they’re sucking any semblance of creative integrity from the studio system. But as that’s not going to happen, we can only wish, like Snow White does over her well, that future remakes will be made with more love than it seems this one was.
Out now in cinemas
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