Snow White: Movie Review

Cast: Rachel Zegler, Gal Gadot, Andrew Burnap

Director: Marc Webb

The 2025 remake of Disney's jewel in its animated crown is a curious beast, an uncanny valley of a movie that never really seems to dabble in much other than anti-climactic endings and aloof emotional edges.

But in among all the fury over the woke edges, and the truly unnerving CGI dwarf updates, there is a bright shining star to anchor it all.

Rachel Zegler's Snow White is a princess who takes control, but who has warmth, kindness, empathy and a great deal of charisma as the story whirls through the very familiar beats of the 200-year old story.

Sadly the same can't be said for Gal Gadot's woefully underwritten wicked witch, whose character is so poorly painted that even with big vampy Shirley Bassey-style musical numbers, she can't muster the menace of someone wracked with insecurity that someone else would be finer than she.

Despite shimmering in some slinky costume choices and trying her best, she pales into insignificance compared to Zegler, who musters through her part with ease.

Written through more with a Robin Hood-esque storyline, with Snow White playing Maid Marian to the troupe (feeling much like Baldrick actor Tony Robinson's Maid Marian and her Merry Men 80s TV series for children), Andrew Burnap's Jonathan does as well as he can with the updated prince motif. His and Zegler's bickering song Princess Problems is a new addition to the film is a joyous touch, a rare diamond in plenty of soulless updates.

Yet the film seems confused about what it wants to do. It hits every single original story beat without hitting any emotional high, giving a feeling of rushing through bizarrely. And the colour grade on Webb's film feels muted, more washed out than vibrant - even if the enchanted forest's twisted darkness and menace bristles with nightmare fuel.

As for the dwarves themselves, their Hi-Ho introudction is perfectly fine, a warm fuzzy blanket of nostalgia washing over viewers to take them back to when they first saw it. But the CGI proves to be distracting, and the fact there's even a person with dwarfism in Jonathan's band of merry men makes the Disney creative decision jarring in extremis.

Ultimately, while nowhere near as ghastly as early worries would suggest, the 2025 remake of Snow White works only because of Zegler - elsewhere throughout, thanks to underwritten edges and weak narrative beats where action happens simply because it should rather than organically, the film feels like it's sold the legacy short rather than enhanced it greatly.