Disney insists on continuing its plan to make live-action remakes of its animated films. That is a strategy they refuse to stop, so we simply have to sift through it all and hope that these new movies have something exciting to offer that wasn’t already delivered in the first place. So, with Marc Webb’s remake of Snow White, the filmmakers attempt to update this romantic story with some modern touches, but at the same time, they hope to create some magic of their own. The result is a movie with some earnest updates, but some of the other changes and choices either fall flat or drown. 2025’s Snow White is not the worst Disney live-action remake, but it definitely does not outshine the magic created in their 1937 landmark film.
Much like the original film, Snow White (Rachel Zegler) is a sweet and optimistic princess who aspires to live up to her parents’ standard of leadership. However, things change drastically after Snow White’s mother passes away, and her father falls under the magic spell of a sorceress and eventual Evil Queen (Gal Gadot). After the King tragically dies, the Evil Queen takes over and drastically changes things for the kingdom.
Vain and jealous of Snow White’s beauty, the queen treats Snow White like a servant and eventually plots to murder her. After escaping this murder plot, Snow White escapes to an enchanted forest where she comes upon a cottage habitated by seven, miner dwarves. Though initially safe, the Evil Queen continues her pursuit of Snow White and will stop at nothing until she eliminates her.
Written by Erin Cressida Wilson and directed by Marc Webb, Snow White attempts to make the title protagonist a more independent and stronger character than she is portrayed in the original movie. These changes work mostly well; however, some of the other ways this movie is executed fall short. First of all, the CGI used to create the seven dwarves looks horrible. They do not look at all like real characters but appear closer to artificial garden gnomes. My other main complaint has to do with the casting of Gal Gadot as the Evil Queen.
Though the actor looks the part, she is not a singer. Because the filmmakers insisted on maintaining the musical aspect of the original film, the Evil Queen has a musical number. This particular sequence features a terrible song and shows Gadot’s vocal weaknesses. In fact, it sounds like her singing was heavily autotuned to sound merely adequate.
As for Rachel Zegler, I actually enjoyed her earnest performance. She understands the assignment well and brings much heart and sweetness to her turn as Snow White. Unlike Gadot, she actually sings well and is one of the highlights of this movie. The other cast members perform admirably, with actor Andrew Burnap giving a solid turn as Snow White’s love interest, a rebellious Robin Hood-like character named Jonathan.
So, overall, I do not think the new Snow White isn’t that bad, but it could never outshine the magic delivered by the original classic. I don’t know why the executives at Disney insist on this plan to do “live-action” reimaginings of their animated movies because, while a few of them are actually better, the others often fall short. Snow White is no avalanche of a remake, but what was the actual point of doing it, if they can’t do way better?