The “Snow White” live action movie was released March 21 starring Rachel Zegler as Snow White. The live action is too different from the animated movie. As a result, this movie did not live up to my expectations. Although it was drastically altered, the movie still contained the main plot of Snow White running from the queen, meeting the dwarfs and then being put in a deep sleep from a poisonous apple.
As a little girl watching “Snow White” for the first time was a magical experience. I remember my sister and I went to work with my dad that day, and he set up the movie for us to watch in a conference room. It was the first princess movie I watched. The soft and calm environment that Snow White lived in brought me comfort and drew me in. I remember that day vividly, and it, always holds a special place in my heart. It is a sweet memory that my older sister and I share.
I heard different ideas that were being brainstormed for the live action movie, and I was skeptical to watch it because I didn’t want to change that wonderful memory I held in my heart. Just as I thought, Disney changed Snow White’s ending. Instead of Prince Florian defeating the evil queen and saving Snow White, her so called knight in shining armor is a bandit. Snow White goes on to protect him and the others determined to save her kingdom. The bandit awakes Snow White with a kiss, but Snow White saves the kingdom by defeating the evil queen. I am not a fan of this ending because that is not her story, she does not need to be tough and brave to save the kingdom. She is a kind hearted princess that loves others but is also timid and scared. Other princesses were created to be tough and brave, like Meredith in “Brave”. Snow White’s story doesn’t need to change because of Rachel Zegler’s need for her character to be an individualist.
To continue, in the live action movie, the evil queen decided to give up because all the people decided to stand by Snow White’s side. The evil queen is more powerful than anyone, so why take that away and make her seem weak and belittled? She is known as one of the greatest villains, but this movie made her seem weak. This change is unrealistic because it shows an idea that your enemies and problems will give up without you really having to do anything. This creates a false reality in the viewer’s mind, especially that of young girls who are easily influenced by the media.
Disney also added too many new scenes. They gave Snow White a new background story and added new plot lines. The movie was also made into a musical. Having the movie be a musical changed the original vibe. The original “Snow White” has a more quiet and gentle vibe. The music was whimsical and soft with lots of quiet moments to make it feel more like a fairy tale brought to life. The live action movie is fast paced, loud and feels more like an action movie than a fairy tale. I did not like this change, because the original was so magical and dream-like. The live action movie didn’t have that original timeless dream-like quality. The live action also took out small quiet moments like the dwarfs’ bedtime scene. These simple scenes are what made the original movie so intriguing, it felt like an escape from reality. My younger self would be disappointed in Disney for this remake.
