Snow White was always inevitable. Joining the ranks of recent live-action adaptations such as The Little Mermaid, The Lion King, and this summer’s upcoming Lilo & Stitch, Disney has at last set their sights on their OG animated feature, 1937’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Curiously, there have actually been quite a few live-action versions of the Brothers Grimm fairy tale in recent memory. In 2012, there was Tarsem Singh’s characteristically shiny Mirror Mirror, and that same year also produced the Kristen Stewart-led Snow White & The Huntsman, kickstarting a short-lived franchise that continued with The Huntsman: Winter’s War, a sequel that boldly jettisoned its heroine in favor of capitalizing on Chris Hemsworth’s rising star. But for now, the property is back under the management of the Mouse House, tasking director Marc Webb ((500) Days of Summer, The Amazing Spider-Man films) to reimagine the story yet again for theatrical audiences. Mercifully, 2025’s Snow White is not quite as dire as Disney’s other live-action work, but the feature is still a wholly and predictably unnecessary one, transforming an animated classic into an overlong adventure, increasing the quotient of musical numbers, shellacking the proceedings with a healthy coating of digital gloss, and casting Gal Gadot as the Evil Queen. This is not progress.
Born during the midst of a snowstorm to the Good King (Hadley Fraser) and Good Queen (Lorena Andrea), a happy couple who rule over a harmonious kingdom, Snow White (played by Emilia Faucher as a child, Rachel Zegler as an older teen) is raised to be fearless, fair, brave, and true, carrying out a familial mission to spread kindness and empathy to all underneath her. When the Good Queen falls ill and dies, the icy and opportunistic Evil Queen (Gal Gadot) swoops in and marries the Good King. Tragedy strikes twice when the Good King is called away to a crusade, and his failure to return home leaves the Evil Queen in charge, bringing oppression to a once optimistic realm after the dreadful woman seizes all power, relegating Snow White to a sullen life of servitude in the process. When the Evil Queen’s Magic Mirror reveals Snow White to be the fairest of them all, the Evil Queen orders the Huntsman (Ansu Kabia) to cut out her heart. Barely escaping with her life, Snow White meets and befriends the Seven Dwarfs, a gaggle of diamond miners who vow to help the fallen princess get back on her feet and retake the kingdom. Also in the mix is Prince Charming, now called Jonathan (Andrew Burnap), who plays ringleader for a Robin Hood-esque band of thieves and throws his own hat in the ring to help Snow White bring down the Evil Queen.
Counting the Magic Mirror, 1937’s Snow White featured only a dozen onscreen characters and a litany of woodland critters. 2025’s Snow White opens up the world considerably, introducing us to a kingdom teeming with denizens who live happily under the rule of the Good King and Queen. There’s a heavier musical element too, with songwriters Benj Pasek and Justin Paul (La La Land, The Great Showman, and, of course, Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile) contributing new tunes to the soundtrack, the townspeople regularly engaging in choreographed song and dance. The film’s atmosphere is more akin to Frozen than the original Seven Dwarfs, with Zegler even gifted her own “Let It Go” moment to belt out “Waiting on a Wish,” a new song written for the film. Since breaking out in 2021’s West Side Story, Zegler’s merited rise has been quick, and she is easily the best part about Snow White, slotting nicely into the role with appealing charm and zeal. Even while working in blatantly artificial environments, Zegler never loses her way, maintaining a beaming smile and keeping her head above water, even if she’s often the sole human element in the frame. Snow White has many issues, but Zegler isn’t one of them.
Gal Gadot, on the other hand, is all wrong for the Evil Queen. Already looking uncomfortable gallivanting about in the villain’s elaborate costuming, Gadot leans heavily on a shit-eating smirk to convey her wicked nature, trying and failing to add some campy allure to an otherwise straight-laced feature. But once she speaks, the illusion is shattered, hastily revealing her limitations as an actress and undermining the Evil Queen’s imposing figure. That she is also allowed to sing multiple musical numbers is doubly unfortunate: nothing the Evil Queen does in the film is as nefarious as Gadot’s cat-strangling. Also questionable are the Seven Dwarfs themselves, with Disney eschewing little people actors in favor of purely CGI fabrications, grotesquely realized with over-shaped heads. The result is awkwardly proportioned figures who resemble miniature trolls, and despite their distinguishing monikers, they are all largely indiscernible from one another. Worst of all is Dopey’s rendering, who is given a full head of hair and boyish good looks that make him oddly resemble Alfred E. Neuman. The effect is far more eerie than cute.
Webb and screenwriter Erin Cressida Wilson — who also penned Secretary, of all things — are careful not to stray too far outside the lines of the original film. The storybook framing device, a nightmarish forest of spooky trees, cuddly anthropomorphic wildlife who assist with cooking and cleaning — all familiar elements are retained, keeping diehard fans at ease. Perhaps the most notable new development, then, is the expansion of Jonathan, now granted a name and personality that extends beyond “Creepy-kissing Prince Charming.” (Alas, the life-saving kiss is still present.) There’s also no climactic showdown on the peak of a precarious rockface, finding Webb and Wilson opting for a “Kindness conquers all” route and encouraging viewers to realize that the only way to defeat true evil in the world is to simply stand up to it. It’s an idea that’s more insipid than inspired, but then again, so are many things about Snow White (as well as Disney’s overarching strategy of regurgitation and self-cannibalization). Webb and co. at least seem to be making a genuine effort here to aim for greatness, but the feature ultimately remains stifled by the staginess of its set design, entirely caught in the web of its own artificiality. 1937’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs remains a triumph of animation and a high watermark for the Disney brand, an entry that 90 years later is as rightly beloved and celebrated as it was on opening day. 2025’s Snow White feels like it was aging poorly the moment it hit theaters.
DIRECTOR: Marc Webb; CAST: Rachel Zegler, Gal Gadot, Andrew Burnap, Andrew Barth Feldman; DISTRIBUTOR: Walt Disney Pictures; IN THEATERS: March 21; RUNTIME: ddd
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