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Film review: Disney's Snow White has a major 'identity crisis'

Nicholas Barber
Disney Gal Gadot as the Evil Queen in Disney's Snow White (Credit: Disney)Disney

With its creepy CGI dwarfs and muddled tone, Disney's latest live-action remake is "not calamitous" but is a "a mind-boggling mash-up".

Live-action remakes of Disney cartoons aren't usually given a warm welcome by critics and commentators, but none of them has faced as much hostility as the new remake of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Are we succumbing to Disney Princess Fatigue? Maybe, but there's more to it than that. One issue is that the 1937 original was Walt Disney's first ever full-length animated film, and, while parts of it have aged badly, it still stands up as an exquisite, heart-lifting masterpiece. Remaking a revered, all-time great animation as a live-action film is about as sensible as remaking Singin' in the Rain as a cartoon.

Another issue is that Disney's Snow White – to use its official title – has been attacked from both sides of the political spectrum: it has been condemned for being too progressive ("A Disney princess renowned for her pale skin being played by an actress with Colombian heritage? How dare they">window._taboola = window._taboola || []; _taboola.push({ mode: 'alternating-thumbnails-a', container: 'taboola-below-article', placement: 'Below Article', target_type: 'mix' });