Walt Disney Pictures
- Actors: Rachel Zegler, Gal Gadot, Andrew Burnap, Andrew Barth Feldman, Tituss Burgess, Martin Klebba, Jason Kravits, George Salazar, Jeremy Swift, Andy Grotelueschen, Ansu Kabia, Patrick Page
- Music: Jeff Morrow, Benj Pasek, Justin Paul Cinematography: Mandy Walker
- Producers: Marc Platt, Jared LeBoff Running Time: 109 Minutes Screenplay: Erin Cressida Wilson
- Direction: Marc Webb
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We have been saturated with franchises, reboots, and new versions (live-action) of animated classics, and within this last section, a new member has been added: Snow White (2025). Hollywood continues to suffer from the good intentions of new stories and fresh ideas to continue on the sure path of obtaining a generous box office.
The question, inevitably: what does Snow White have to offer this time that we haven't seen before?
The DNA remains the special Oscar winning film along with 7 miniature Oscars; Snow White (Golden Globe Musical/Comedy winner Rachel Zegler) becomes that young girl full of virtue and hope in the face of the evil Queen (Gal Gadot) who manipulates the masses of the kingdom by depriving them of the resources she accumulates to satisfy her vanity which consumes her, and after her magic mirror proclaims that she is no longer the fairest in the land, she orders Snow White to be killed. The young girl flees to the forest where she will meet the little animals that live there and the 7 dwarf miners that will make her journey easier. Snow White wants to restore faith and hope to his people.
Against all odds, Rachel Zegler succeeds in doing the same with the character. The structure remains the same, but this time, she has a backstory to make her dramatic arc grow and give the Disney Princess three-dimensionality. Zegler did his job while respecting the essence of the animated film and at the same time connecting with today's audience. She overflows charisma/empathy in her scenes without forgetting her strongest point (as we saw in “West Side Story” 2021), which is singing.
The production design and costumes are impeccable; of course, Disney spares no expense in these areas. The new songs, in general I don't feel they add too much to the plot, they become excessive and prevent better character development as for example the new arc for the handsome prince who provided the kiss of true love now becomes a peasant named Jonathan (Andrew Burnap), who is against the ruling class, but also a loyal to Snow White's father and a believer in good monarchs. The actor manages good communication with Zegler, but there is no more to work with than that; it remains sketchy. The dwarves this time are neither charismatic nor important thanks to horrible CGI; not even the charming Dopey from the original film is spared the horror.
After his decent pass through the superhero sub-genre, Marc Webb enters this classic tale with a direction lacking in good ideas, superficial shots, empty/hollow parliaments and scenes, the musical numbers are there because that's the house brand, but they are made under the Disney mold without being something more striking; he wants to attract the attention of the new audience sacrificing story, but the pace is quite slow.
“Snow White” (2025) suffers from the same ills that plague the rest of the Live Actions we've been seeing (with its honorable exceptions), trying to be faithful to the animated classic, but ‘adding’ either new characters or a backstory which is soon forgotten after saturating the footage with new (uninspired) songs. Once again, the legacy of Walter Elias Disney has been sullied!
How lucky are people with no talent but a good agent? I mean you, Gal Gadot, and your friend Pedro Pascal!
RATING FOR DISNEY'S “SNOW WHITE” (2025): REGULAR