'Snow White' Isn't A Poisoned Apple After All

The main issue of the recent onslaught of Disney’s live-action adaptation of their classic animated films is that they try to recreate the magic rather than add a little flavor. No matter how photorealistic the animals look in 2019’s “The Lion King” remake, it would be tough to create the tension of Scar’s betrayal of Musafa invoked in the 1994 original. Besides being avatars to show off the technology to a new generation, there’s little to gain other than warming these specific properties. But Marc Webb’s adaptation (key word here) of ‘Snow White’ does something that makes it enjoyable. It puts many of the fantastical elements from the animated film and tweaks the story just enough to make it serviceable.

A plethora (and I mean plethora) of controversial storm clouds have surrounded this film. Most of it is due to a certain few holding on to how the fairy tale was portrayed in 1812 when the Brothers Grimm initially published it. Does it serve a story to stay the same beat-for-beat (and character archetype) to call it timeless? Webb’s take argues that a little fresh paint on a story wouldn’t hurt. That’s not to say there aren’t many dangling outliers in plot threads (many questions will arise from certain choices), but if the change is too drastic for you, Disney has a streaming service to cure what ails you.

The basics are simple around a straightforward quality: the ability to be kind. It’s not necessarily known how this magical kingdom generates money/profits (yeah, that’s all semantics), but at heart are a benevolent king and queen and their daughter, the sole heir to the throne. Good King (Hadley Fraser) and Good Queen (Lorena Andrea) oversee a place where everybody has enough to eat and holds jobs that serve one another. Everything is hunky dory until the queen dies and the Evil Queen (Gal Gadot) shows up ready to take advantage of everyone’s good nature. She devises a plan to send the king off so she can rule the land with an iron fist. The Evil Queen sure loves her gems (it’s not really explained where they come from or why she has such an abundance of them). Otherwise, her time is devoted to the Magic Mirror (voiced by Patrick Page) and asking the famed question of who the fairest is. The townspeople are dour and seemingly forget that Princess Snow White (Rachel Zegler) is still amongst the many – although resigned to a life where she’s doing chores for her nefarious stepmother.

It’s not so much losing power the Evil Queen is afraid of losing; it’s good ole envy. To that effect, the Queen tasks her Huntsman (Ansu Kabia) to make a quick end of our heroine. However, he resists, and Snow White ventures off on a quest to restore the kingdom to the way it was and possibly find her father. Erin Cressida Wilson’s approach to Snow White is to give her character more agency to decide where her story goes. She doesn’t simply wait around for a prince to save her at the end. There is no prince within this story. The soon-to-be love interest is a bandit, Jonathan (Andrew Burnap), who first challenges Snow White’s sensibilities by acting against her stepmother’s tyrannical regime. He also serves the purpose of ushering in the new songs “Princess Problems” and “A Hand Meets A Hand” by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul’s songwriting team. There are a couple of new numbers within this iteration of “Snow White” from her central theme, “Waiting On A Wish,” which Zegler elevates on her own to The Evil Queen’s theme, “All Is Fair,” which Gadot tries her best with.

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Don’t worry; the hallmarks of “Whistle While You Work” and “Heigh-Ho” get the extended treatment once Snow White ventures deeper into a forest and comes around a beautiful collage inhabited by seven small men with different personalities. Is it a little jarring at first to see the Dwarves in CGI? Yes. It takes a little getting used to along with the lore around them hanging by the wayside. (What do they do with all the jewels they mine? They have some powers, but what do they do with them) This is paired with the computer-generated animals that interact with Snow White. It’s a fantastic element that doesn’t seem to fit with practical characters. In what Webb does with one specific character about how their relationship develops with Snow White, the aspect may win you over in the end.

“Snow White” has its issues, mainly concerning its main characters, who all reside within different story elements. Zegler is the most convincing; she’s charming and heartfelt in the storybook essence of this tale. Gadot plays the Evil Queen very straight and cold. This clashes with Zeglar’s character when they are on screen together. However, Webb realizes that the film’s north star radiates from the portrayal of its main character with enough tweaks to make things worthwhile.