Disregard The Controversies: Snow White Is Pure And Magical Entertainment

After three years in production which included expensive reshoots, the live-action Snow White has finally arrived in cinemas, amidst an outpouring of venomous and hateful reactions on social media.

Outrage commenced soon after Rachel Zegler was cast as Snow White, as she made several derogatory comments about the 1937 animated classic, stating that it was outdated and also suggested that the prince was a stalker.

This angered fans of the original animated feature film, who vowed they’d blacklist the new movie once it released in cinemas. But the controversies didn’t end there, where heated and racially motivated slurs were made that a woman of colour should not have been cast to play the iconic character of Snow White.

Zegler is an American actor of Columbian descent, and the question must be asked, why all the hysteria? Are there not bigger problems in the world that a woman of colour whose skin is not “as white as snow” should not portray Snow White? Does it really matter especially in this age of diversity and equality?

The controversies didn’t stop there. American actors in dwarfism communities were also furious, stating that  Snow White’s seven dwarves being CGI-generated  deprived them of work.

Many changes in the story also evoked  further angst including that the prince was replaced by a bandit, the glass coffin in the forest was absent, Dopey actually spoke, some of the original songs were replaced by new musical compositions and notably (spoiler alert!) in the finale Snow White teams up with the dwarves and bandits to take her father’s kingdom back from the evil queen.

What these cynics have failed to comprehend is that this movie is a reimagining of the original. The definition of a reimagining being ‘a retelling of the story but with significant changes, alterations, or a fresh perspective, rather than a direct adaption of the original’. So, Disney and the writers have done no wrong.

The problem basically lies within the devout fanbase of the original movie who cannot accept changes to their favourite fairytale — but they fail to understand that Snow White is a modern reimagining for a whole new generation of moviegoers.

Granted, the movie isn’t perfect and flaws are evident. The actor who plays the role of Jonathon the bandit (Andrew Burnap) lacks charisma and is questionably coupled with Zegler — there is little chemistry between them.

Israeli actress Gal Gadot portrayed the queen, but her performance was slightly underwhelming — she lacked the campy evilness that was required to really scare audiences.

However, Zegler was perfectly cast as Snow White. Her vocals were entrancing in the musical numbers — notably the catchy tuned Waiting On A Wish — and she evoked the refined sweetness and newly instilled leadership qualities of Snow White, which were absent in the original movie.

Audiences should warm to the seven CGI-generated dwarves, who seem to have an abundance of realistic human qualities, providing laughter and tearful moments in the more poignant scenes.

Visually stunning with colourful costumes and mesmerising artwork, Snow White should please audiences of all ages. The appearance of cute furry animals were accurately placed in the scary scenes which should alleviate fear from the younger viewers.

Snow White is an engaging and enchanting movie, but only if audiences put aside all the unwarranted negativity and hatred they have experienced on social media beforehand  – the hysterical serial haters would also be pleasantly surprised!

★★★1/2

Snow White is in cinemas now.