Marketing over art. Review of the film Snow White
Disney management is determined to turn all its classic and not-so-animated franchises into feature films. For example, we have Hercules by Guy Ritchie and Moana with Dwayne Johnson in one of the main roles. The issue of transferring animation to the live-action format is still painful and ambiguous, but the big profits speak for themselves.
Therefore, the corporate machine continues to work in this direction. You can accuse me of snobbery, but Snow White 2025 is a vivid example that something is wrong with this vector. Because it is definitely not a good film. But it is not bad, not even mediocre. It is simply not good - and for some reason everyone is satisfied with it.
| Name | Snow White |
| Genre | fantasy, musical |
| Director | Mark Webb |
| Cast | Rachel Zegler, Gal Gadot, Andrew Burnap, Ansu Cabia, Martin Klebba and others |
| Studios | Walt Disney Pictures, Marc Platt Productions, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures |
| Timing | 1 hour 49 minutes |
| Year | 2025 |
| Link | IMDb |
Princess Snow White (Rachel Zegler) lived a happy life with her parents, who ruled the kingdom guided by goodness, justice and honor. However, the girl's mother died of an illness, which left the king alone. The Evil Queen (Gal Gadot) decided to take advantage of this, who bewitched the king with her own beauty, and then sent him to fight somewhere in the south. The king never returned, and the Evil Queen seized power, at the same time demoting Snow White to the status of an ordinary cleaning lady. However, the girl still dreams that goodness can return to the kingdom, and the not very friendly, but hardworking and honest dwarfs can potentially help her.
Snow White of 2025 tries to bring the classic Disney cartoon of 1937 to a new audience. And this fact already at the level of the idea creates some problems. After all, modern remakes, especially when we are talking about Disney, first of all try to evoke a feeling of nostalgia. Snow White is the most famous character, but it is unlikely that you will see crowds of fans from the mystical "Snow White fandom" in cinemas who remember the original cartoon, actively buy up merch and write fan fiction about the characters of the series.
This is not Guy Ritchie's Aladdin, which aimed at a specific audience and also lured viewers with an interesting combination of famous names. Disney's Snow White is now loved mainly by children, and even in the format of various children's paraphernalia and cosmetics. It seems that the new "Snow White" was created specifically for children. And this is definitely not a compliment.
The problem is that children mostly don't care what they watch. More precisely, they don't choose a movie by looking at the actors, the synopsis, or even the poster. Most often, the choice is made for them by their parents. And in this case, the film simply needs to be bright and dynamic to capture the children's attention. Snow White copes with this well: something constantly flashes on the screen, the costumes are bright, the special effects are good. But it doesn't make a coherent and interesting picture.
But Snow White has almost nothing to offer an adult viewer - or at least a conscious one who already wants to choose which movie to watch. The film crew promised to revisit the outdated plot tropes of the original cartoon, but in the end they simply reduced the importance of the love line in the story. And the space that was vacated seemed not to be particularly taken up.
That's why about half of Snow White is singing. They sing here in earnest and without, each song takes several minutes. Sometimes it seems that there are more singing and dancing in the story than anything else. As always in musicals, it is better to evaluate the original versions, not the dubbing. Although the songs in Ukrainian in the film also sound quite good, this cannot be taken away.
A huge wave of discussions was caused by the main actresses: Rachel Zegler and Gal Gadot. However, there are absolutely no questions about their characters and acting. Gal Gadot confidently transformed into a thief, and although she is often criticized for her lack of emotion, in Snow White she looks quite authentic. And Zegler is also pleasant to watch. The question of why Snow White is considered more beautiful than the Evil Queen does not arise at all. The plot, makeup, costumes, acting talents and many other elements do their job perfectly.
I won't delve into the issue of racism among some Disney fans and the fight against DEI. I'll just say that the main character's backstory was slightly changed to better explain her name. In the film, Snow White got it not because of her skin color, but because of the snowstorm during which the girl was born. And this can also be written off as a "modernization" of the classic story.
However, it still feels like the plot of Snow White does not stand up to criticism by modern standards of fiction and the general situation in society. The moral "be good and everything will work out" works only in fairy tales, and the entire scenario is built around it. I would like children - and some adults - to be able to absorb more interesting thoughts after watching it than this one, as is almost always the case after Pixar cartoons, for example. Although, I probably want too much from a film in which the main villain is literally called the Evil Queen.
The new Snow White is a filler film, an extra reason to go to the cinema during family shopping in shopping malls, but definitely not a reason to leave the house for it. The product of marketers and audience research, and not an artistic project. A film for those who do not watch films in general, do not perceive them as art with their own laws and nuances, but rather see them not even as entertainment, but as a way to occupy their time - along with the attention of children.
But again, there's little doubt that the film will beat its budget, gross big, and even get a fair amount of positive reviews. And that says a lot about the global movie-going culture that shapes production plans. On the other hand, kids need something to watch, too.
Evaluating a film critically and based on individual elements is useless. And I don't really want to, to be honest. Snow White exists in a world that is separated from various awards, critical reviews, and the general development of world culture. Therefore, do not perceive the assessment as "average", but rather as complete neutrality.