LOS ANGELES, March 19 (UPI) -- Snow White, in theaters Friday, is less unique than other Disney live-action remakes because there were two live-action Snow White movies in 2012 alone. While it may only be the 2nd or 3rd best live-action Snow White, it is one of the better Disney live-action remakes.
Like the 1937 original, the film begins with a book opening to reveal the story inside. It establishes Snow White (Rachel Zegler) as a princess whose life is turned upside down when her mother (Lorena Andrea) dies.
Snow White's father (Hadley Fraser) remarries the Evil Queen (Gal Gadot), who gets rid of him by concocting a story about a neighboring kingdom. The Evil Queen is not only oppressive to the realm, but also personally jealous of Snow White's beauty.
The most notable changes to this Snow White are all new songs by Dear Evan Hansen and Greatest Showman composers Benj Pasek and Justin Paul. It's not just one new original song to qualify for awards -- the duo wrote six original songs, three of which reprise.
These songs are far better than the recent Disney original songs in Moana 2 and Mufasa: The Lion King. "Good Things Grow" is a rousing introduction to the kingdom, while "A Hand Meets a Hand" is a good love song. "Waiting on a Wish" is understandably the Zegler solo the studio released early.
Original Snow White and the Seven Dwarves songs "Heigh-Ho" and "Whistle While You Work" also appear. New lyrics added to those songs show how powerful the original melodies are, that new words can fit just as effectively.
In between songs the plot moves efficiently. At under two hours, Snow White is far less bloated than the live-action Little Mermaid and Lion King.
Gadot embraces the intensity of a single-minded tyrant as she vamps in front of her magic mirror asking who is the fairest of them all and performs her villain song "All is Fair." When the mirror answers Snow White, the Evil Queen orders the huntsman (Ansu Kabia) to kill her.
The huntsman ultimately lets Snow White go, and she ends up at the forest cottage of seven little people who are never referred to as dwarves. She also reunites in the woods with Jonathan (Andrew Burnap), a thief she previously encountered robbing the castle kitchen.
Realistic renditions of the animated likenesses of Happy, Sleepy, Sneezy, Bashful, Grumpy, Dopey and Doc are bizarre, although the animation is expressive and shows their characters. Dopey is a bit much -- they give him big, sad eyes and let him play for sympathy.
Other updates are clever, such as changing the explanation of Snow White's name to accommodate casting a non-White actor. In this film, Snow White was born in a snowstorm and named after that, not for her snow white skin. Likewise, the film specifies that Dopey is not an actual dope.
At the cottage, Snow White doesn't clean the house like in the original. Now she manages the chores for the seven men.
The plot moves a little too fast, but she seems to directly address their needs. For example, just acknowledging Grumpy's complaints makes him feel heard so he's not just screaming into the void.
Other interesting ideas are underdeveloped. For example, the Evil Queen essentially hypnotizes the king with her beauty. That could be a parable about changing one's behavior to impress someone, with or without magic, but the film drops that pretty quickly. Once the king is out of the picture, both the villagers and the queen's own palace agree she's evil no matter how beautiful she is.
In addition, the banter between Snow White and Jonathan falls flat. The film wants them to have snappy interplay, but the dialogue is just too simplistic.
Musical numbers alternate between sets full of actual dancers, and actors overlooking screens. The former are more rousing.
With less to prove, since there have been other live-action Snow Whites, Disney's latest remake has more added value than most. The combination of new and revamped classic songs alone makes it rewatchable.
Fred Topel, who attended film school at Ithaca College, is a UPI entertainment writer based in Los Angeles. He has been a professional film critic since 1999, a Rotten Tomatoes critic since 2001, and a member of the Television Critics Association since 2012 and the Critics Choice Association since 2023. Read more of his work in Entertainment.
