Throughout the last decade, we have seen a never-ending wave of live-action remakes of Disney’s beloved animated features. While there is a small handful of these adaptations being successful in forging their own identity, many will agree that most of these films are part of Disney’s current mission of grabbing hold of your nostalgia. Star Wars and even the MCU follow this trend in some extent. And so, it was only a matter of time that we would get the live-action remake of the film that started it all.
Released in 1937, Snow White and the Seven Drawfs is a groundbreaking achievement from being the first cel animated feature film, as well as being the template that would pave the way for many Disney animations that would mix fairy tale adaptations, technical innovation and musical numbers. While recent Disney flicks and even franchises like Shrek are more self-aware and poke fun at the formula that originated in 1937, the original Snow White stands the test time, though the same can’t be said about its 2025 live-action remake.
Whereas the animated original is 83 minutes long, the remake directed by Marc Webb adds an extra half-hour, but still follows the broad strokes of the story that all know. Having lost both of her parents at a young age, Snow White (Rachel Zegler) is a princess living with her wicked and cold-hearted stepmother, the Queen (Gal Gadot). Fearing that Snow White’s beauty will outshine her own, the Queen forces her to work as a scullery maid and asks her Magic Mirror daily “who is the fairest one of all.” When the mirror deems Snow White as the fairest, the Queen plans to kill her, only for Snow White to escape into the forest where she finds a cottage that is the home of seven dwarfs.
With its short running time, the 1937 original had a very bare-bone narrative that is rooted in the Grimms fairy tale, which had both wonder and horror that the animated film embraced. In this age of the live-action remake that tries to give more plot than it should, this new Snow White tries to be more political in how the Queen’s tyranny across the land inspires a resistance against her, in which the titular protagonist takes part in. That said, Rupert Sanders did the same thing with 2012’s Snow White and the Huntsman, which climaxed with a big battle sequence, something that it never really delivers.
With a script by Secretary’s Erin Cressida Wilson, director Marc Webb’s Snow White is trying to do a similar approach to Kenneth Branagh’s 2015 rendition of Cinderella, which was more successful at putting dramatic weight that updated while maintaining the classical nature of its fairy tale source material and archetypical characters. There is the attempt of showing more motivation in Snow White’s arc, especially when it comes to the subplot about the bandits, which is never given the development, because of the bland Andrew Burnap as the jacket-wearing Jonathan – replacing the unnamed Prince from the original – as well as the main conflict herself.
Despite the extravagantly sinister costuming and the prosthetic makeup to make her look old and decrepit in one key sequence, Gal Gadot is fundamentally miscast as she can never deliver that cold-hearted evilness that defines the Queen. As for her co-star, who may have attracted criticism over statements expressing disapproval with aspects of the original film, Rachel Zegler shines as Snow White who balances that innocence and belting out those singing vocals, whether it is the classic songs that we all know or the catchy new songs.
If anything, the film is at its best when it reenacts scenes from the original, such as “Heigh-Ho” and “Whistle While You Work”, which are still wonderful tracks. Sure, the amount of visual noise is too much – a recurring theme of the live-action Disney remakes – and thus you lose the edge of sequences like the initial terrifying entry into the forest, but Webb doesn’t let the spectacle go over his head. That said, in trying to replicate the animated look in CG form, the dwarfs are in the realm of Uncanny Valley.
