Snow White Review: Rachel Zegler's Disney Remake Is Half Of A Good Movie

"Snow White" is a challenging movie to make today. It's far from a slamdunk and has too many dings against it, especially when it comes to the dwarfs. On the other hand, 1937's "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" was Disney's first animated feature and therefore ripe for a remake — perhaps more than other, more recent titles. After all, almost 90 years have passed, and little girls everywhere (and, let's be honest, their sisters and mothers) would like a "Snow White" for our times. In some ways, this movie delivers on that promise.

In this version of the Brothers Grimm story, helmed by "The Amazing Spider-Man" director Marc Webb, Snow White (Rachel Zegler) is far more independently minded than her 1937 counterpart. But her love story is still given equal weight with her quest to take back her kingdom, and the guy she falls for is a big dud. Not only that, but the dwarfs are a CGI mistake, and Gal Gadot as the Evil Queen seems to be having more fun than anyone else. In the end, it seems half of this movie works and the other half needs some serious rethinking.

The tale, of course, is familiar. When Snow White's mother dies, her father falls for the Evil Queen, who lets her true colors shine when he rides off to battle. Years pass and the Evil Queen makes Snow White a servant, until her magic mirror finally tells her that she's not the fairest of all — Snow White is. She orders her Huntsman (Ansu Kabia) to take Snow White into the woods, kill her, and put her heart in a box, but when the moment comes, he can't do it. So Snow White escapes and finds shelter in the house of the seven dwarfs.

There are a lot of homages to the original movie in this part of the film, from the dwarfs finding Snow White asleep in their beds to a revised "Whistle While You Work." But ultimately, following several adventures — some with the dwarves, some with resistance leader and love interest Jonathan (Andrew Burnap), and some with both — she is confronted by the Evil Queen disguised as an old crone, and you can guess most of the rest. There is a lengthy sequence at the end that completes the story, but in this version, true love's kiss isn't the only goal.

It seems Snow White's desire to make her kingdom kind and generous again and also find true love travel on separate tracks in the film's final sequences, when it would make more sense to take them on together rather than one after another. However, the people responsible for this film couldn't crack that and pay homage to the 1937 original, so separate they remain.

However, that isn't the most egregious thing in this version of "Snow White." That honor goes to the CGI dwarfs. There's a nod to them being magical creatures; they've lived for hundreds of years in the forest working in the mines, we're told. And, to drive the point home, there's a live-action little person who appears as part of Jonathan's gang of thieves and rebels. In fact, the dwarfs are never called "dwarfs"; they aren't called anything at all. But because this property is based on one of the most famous films in history, unfortunately, leaving their nature somewhat ambiguous just doesn't work.

And while the dwarfs have their moments, it's difficult to get over the terrible CGI that they're created with. Even when they do something charming or endearing, the digital visuals made it hard to enjoy. Disney was caught between a rock and a hard place with this one, and they weren't going to please everyone with how they decided to handle it. But if they had to make "Snow White," did they have to make the dwarfs so odd-looking?

Andrew Burnap as Jonathan has the distinction of giving the worst performance in the movie. While Burnap is a Tony Award winner with an impressive resume, and does feature in some catchy numbers with clever choreography in this film, he never seems totally part of this world. He just can't distinguish himself, especially against Rachel Zegler, who's fantastic as Snow White. Zegler not only has a gorgeous voice, but makes the role of Snow White her own, holding the screen with her formidable charm and compassionate presence.

Most surprising is Gal Gadot as the Evil Queen. While she's terrific in the "Wonder Woman" movies that brought her to prominence, those don't require much range, so it would fair to wonder if Gadot had the chops to pull off the part of the Queen. She's wonderfully campy and over-the-top in the role, clearly relishing the chance to play the villain and even delivering her solo number with panache, making it one of the best numbers in the film. The rest of the new songs by EGOT winners Benj Pasek and Justin Paul are delightful as well, fitting smoothly alongside the older numbers from the original movie while providing fresh character and story development. 

The film raises other questions: Are the dwarfs mining the Queen's jewels? Why does Snow White have to wear her yellow and blue dress for a majority of the film? And is a monarchy the best form of government to have Snow White's people experience the fairness and freedom she professes to want for them? Clearly, we're not supposed to think about these things too much, but instead sit back and enjoy the movie. And at least half this film — especially the clash between the Evil Queen and Snow White — is enjoyable enough. 

"Snow White" is out in theaters March 21.