There’s an old saying I’ve written about in the past: There’s no accounting for taste.
My wife, Wendy, and I encountered a prime example of that last week when we went to Rolla and watched the newest Disney movie, “Snow White.”
It’s no secret that there has been widespread negativity about the flick, and it has been a dud at the box office. Even before we went to see it, I had heard from multiple people about how “they say it’s terrible.”
Well, we think “they” are wrong – and I kind of believe most of “them” haven’t actually seen the movie. We found it to be quality entertainment and basically enjoyed almost every moment of it.
I haven’t looked very deeply into it (because I don’t really care), but there are apparently several layers to the unfavorable hoopla surrounding the movie. I guess a few of the beefs people have are that Snow White doesn’t have “snow white” skin (which is where her name came from in the 1937 animated version, “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs”), the storyline veers away from the original here and there and the Seven Dwarfs are computer generated images rather than actual little people. “Sir” Peter Dinklage (of “Game of Thrones” fame) even put out an “official” statement about how wrong it was to use CGI.
Oh well, Pete. I find that kind of in the whine-and-moan category.
Here’s a brief description of my take on the film.
First, the creators address the skin tone of Snow White, played by Rachel Zegler, in the first few minutes by describing how she was born during a major snowstorm, and her parents gave her the name in honor of that situation.
Second, Zegler does a fantastic job of playing the part. She’s witty, charming and intriguing, and of course it’s a musical, and she sings the lights out of song after song.
And the other characters are simply ideal for the story. Gal Gadot is amazing as the Wicked Queen (you’ll have no problem despising her), Andrew Burnap is pretty much perfect as the dashing and handsome Jonathan (the leader of the “criminal gang” of revolutionaries), and the CGI dwarfs are thoroughly lovable, very realistic and downright hilarious in many scenes. And you’ll surely fall in love with Dopey, whose voice is provided by Andrew Barth Feldman. I won’t spoil it for those of you who might decide to ignore the ratings and watch the movie, but suffice it to say that Dopey is really, really cool.
And make sure to Google Feldman. He totally looks like Dopey. In fact, several of the other voice-over actors doing the dwarfs look a lot like their characters, which is obviously no accident.
Beyond that, the supporting characters (like the mirror, guards, soldiers and dancers) never disappoint, the special effects are spot-on and engaging (and never gratuitous), and the music, costumes and elaborate sets are all wonderfully designed and presented, and do nothing but constantly captivate the viewer. At one point, Wendy said Gadot’s dress was “stunning.” At another point, she wondered out loud if Zegler was a pop singer (which she is). At another point when the dwarfs were singing, I was like, “I love these guys.”
For real, the cast and framework of this movie were masterfully organized and constructed.
And with regard to straying from the original script: What remake doesn’t, especially if it’s made with live actors and CGI instead of cartoon illustration? The reality is, it’s a classic love story with a happy ending, like a lot of the old Disney stuff. It has lovable fairy tale characters and animals, dazzling and impressive visuals and elegant and brilliant sounds. There’s no cussing or perversion, and there’s no attempt to shove an agenda down anyone’s throat.
In my opinion, it’s just a fun way leave the “real” world behind for an hour and a half. We came away from the theater that day sharing the opinion that “we just don’t get it” with regard to all the negativity about this movie. We’ve seen many other motion pictures that were critically acclaimed that we thought more or less worthless, but this was a flick being prevailingly panned and we found it to be well worth the rather large sum of money we shelled out to see it.
To expand on the statement, have you seen the price of popcorn and soda at the theater? It’s unreal and will make the average person appreciate their subscription to Netflix more every day.
Anyway, take a shot and go see Snow White in spite of what your friend (who hasn’t seen it) said. You probably won’t be sorry.
Prediction: Snow White 2025 might not win any Academy Awards, but it will be nominated for at least six: Cinematography, Costume Design, Makeup and Hair Styling, Original Score, Sound and Visual Effects.
Doug Davison is a writer, photographer and newsroom assistant for the Houston Herald. Email: ddavison@houstonherald.com.