Snow White movie review: Rachel Zegler, Gal Gadot cannot save this vanilla iteration of the fairy tale -OxBig News Network

Rachel Zegler in ‘Snow White’

There have been all sorts of clamour against this live-action remake of Disney’s 1937 animated film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, based on the Grimm fairy tale, Snow White. There were angry reactions to casting Rachel Zegler as the titular character and then her pro-Palestine comments created a furore as did Gal Gadot’s (who plays the wicked stepmother) pro-Israel ones.

And then there were the CGI dwarves — not called dwarves but magical creatures, but they are still named Doc, Bashful and the rest and angered actors with dwarfism no end. After all the sound and the fury, however, the bottom-line is that this latest iteration of the beloved fairytale is quite a boring affair. That is what the magic mirror would say if it could be awoken from its slumber at this cynical, opportunistic retelling.  

Dopey’s (Andrew Barth Feldman) passing resemblance to MAD magazine’s Alfred E. Neuman and the pun on gruel are the only things that inspire a chuckle in this snooze fest. The stepmother’s stained-glass inspired cloak, crown and gown are fun distractions and just about all that one can remember from this vanilla woke rendition of the fairytale.

A queen pricking her finger while sewing by the window with a drop of blood falling on the snow inspiring her to wish for a baby whose lips are red as blood, skin is white as snow (one can almost hear the skin-whitening cream companies rubbing their hands in glee) and hair as dark as ebony, is done away with. Here the King (Hadley Fraser) and Queen (Lorena Andrea) name their daughter after the raging snowstorm when she was born.

The queen dies of an inexplicable illness and the king remarries a beautiful but evil woman (look ma, no names!) who sends him off to fight some mysterious enemies and Snow White is demoted from princess to scullery maid while the wicked stepmother passes the time of the day with her magic mirror after turning all the farmers into mean warriors.

Jonathan (Andrew Burnap), a charming thief, breaks into the palace (lax security is only to be expected) to steal food and the queen throws a hissy fit. Her mood is worsened when the mirror goes off script to say Snow White is prettier than her. Off with her head, the queen screeches and tells a huntsman to do the dirty work while giving him a pretty box to bring Snow White’s heart in.

The huntsman is bought over by the offer of an apple (how many have been tempted by that fruit!) and tells Snow White to run away, which she does promptly. Snow White chats with sundry cute animals and falls asleep in a cottage owned by the dwarves/magical creatures. They agree to let her stay, without the proviso of her cooking and cleaning for them (in fact, she gets them to clean by whistling to them).

She meets Jonathan again, the queen preps the apple, there is a big fight and all comes right in the end with Snow White being a wise and just ruler just like her parents. And no, the evil queen does not dance in red hot iron shoes till she dies.  

Zegler gives it her all as Snow White while Gadot has a fair bit of fun chewing the scenery as the evil stepmother. The faux medieval fairytale palate grates and the songs are as eminently forgettable as the movie.

Snow White is currently running in theatres