Disney’s ‘woke’ Snow White film called ‘exhaustingly awful’ as mixed reviews emerge

Critics have finally weighed in on Marc Webb’s $270M-budget ‘PC’ live-action remake of Disney’s Snow White starring Rachel Zegler and Gal Gadot alongside a slew of CGI motion-capture dwarves.

The remake of the classic 1937 animated film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs – hitting US/UK theaters this Friday – currently has a dismal 48% critic approval rating (out of 87 reviews) on Rotten Tomatoes.

The Guardian’s Peter Bradshaw gave Snow White one out of five stars and called it a ‘pointless’ and ‘exhaustingly awful reboot’ with ‘tiresome pseudo-progressive additions that tie the whole thing in knots.’

‘Where other movies are playfully reimagining the backstories of famous villains, this one plays it straight, but with carefully curated revisionist tweaks,’ Bradshaw wrote.

‘Those otherwise estimable performers Rachel Zegler and Gal Gadot are now forced to go through the motions, and they give the dullest performances of their lives.’

Daily Mail’s Brian Viner gave Snow White two out of five stars, calling it a ‘painfully muddle-headed affair’ and ‘pallid reimagining’ but admitted Zegler ‘plainly has oodles of talent.’

‘Disney’s contorted attempts not to offend anyone have somehow managed to offend everyone,’ Viner noted.

The Independent’s Clarisse Loughrey gave the Brothers Grimm fairy tale one out of five stars, criticizing the studio for ‘summoning up the most corporate response possible’ to the depiction of the controversial dwarves.

‘Human beings have been replaced with uncanny CGI caricatures that will make you yearn for the simple horrors of 2004’s The Polar Express,’ Loughrey scoffed.

‘The film’s prince, played by Andrew Burnap and, for some reason, called Jonathan, is essentially Disney cannibalising itself, as he has the same thief backstory and curtain bangs as Tangled’s Flynn Rider.’

Empire reporter Helen O’Hara gave Snow White two out of five stars and was also offended by the dwarves, calling them an ‘unholy VFX disaster, they slow the film to a crawl every time they appear.’

‘It feels like Jonathan’s bandits were at one point intended as substitutes for the original septet,’ O’Hara wrote.

‘But instead they now stand alongside patently fake characters who don’t feel or look right.’

The New York Post’s Johnny Oleksinski gave the ‘boring, mediocre live-action Disney retread’ two out of four stars and said it ‘vanishes from your mind the second it’s over.’

Vulture’s Allison Willmore criticized Snow White’s ‘plasticky set design and gift shop tacky costuming’ and said Gadot’s performance as the Evil Queen with no name was ‘so incredibly stilted it almost swings around to being good-bad.’ 

Rolling Stone’s David Fear wrote that Snow White was ‘a strong contender for its blandest’ live-action adaptation and savagely quipped: ‘The movie does earn points as a bedtime story, however, because it will definitely put you to sleep.’ 

The AV Club’s Jacob Oller gave the ‘messy flop’ a C grade, blasting Gadot’s ‘droning, stiff performance’ that ‘can’t even come to life when coaxed to vogue during her villain song’ while praising Zegler’s presence and singing being ‘so winning that even the camera stops to stare, simply holding on her, center frame, as she belts.’

Variety critic Owen Gleiberman was the only one to praise the CGI gnomes for ‘bringing the movie to life’ and said it was ‘one of the better live-action adaptations of a Disney animated features.’

‘Rachel Zegler, as Snow White, has a pertly appealing glow,’ praised Gleiberman.

‘I wish Gadot’s vocal performance were more operatic and less Mata Hari, but she still makes a stylishly intense villain.’

The Hollywood Reporter’s David Rooney wrote that the ‘echo chamber of overblown online controversies’ has ‘zero bearing on the pleasures of this 21st century update,’ and praised Zegler for ‘radiating light and beauty.’

‘Even those with knives out for the movie might have to admit it’s no poisoned apple,’ Rooney noted.

IndieWire’s Kate Erbland gave the ‘spirited and sweet crowdpleaser’ a B- grade, but admitted: ‘It can often feel as if all its various parts and players exist in a slightly different film.’ 

‘Webb’s Rachel Zegler-starring film is good. Not great, but certainly good,’ Erbland wrote.

‘And while that might not be good enough for some potential audience members, let’s be honest: There are just some people who were never going to loosen up to a “colorblind” fairy tale or one that dared ask, “Hey, what if a woman could like, do stuff, too?”‘

Walt Disney Studios is expecting Snow White to earn between $45M-$55M from 4,200 North American theaters and around $50M internationally in its opening weekend – according to Variety.