Snow White, Disney's live-action remake of the 1937 animated classic, has been mired in multiple controversies in the years before its release in cinemas.
Despite the much-publicised drama, this family-friendly musical from director Marc Webb (500 Days of Summer, The Amazing Spiderman 2), is a mostly decent and entertaining reimagining of the classic story that brings it up to date for a modern audience.
Rachel Zegler, the breakout star of Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story, was subjected to horrendous racist abuse when she was cast in the titular role in 2021. The American actress, who is of Columbian descent, was targeted by trolls who took umbrage with her playing the cartoon princess.
It’s safe to say, she carries this film.
Zegler's Snow White is beaming and empathetic, the daughter of a benevolent king and queen who preside over an egalitarian society where the bountiful riches of the kingdom are shared equally among its inhabitants.
But not for long. After a gorgeously showy musical opening number, tragedy strikes and Snow White is left orphaned and cruelly sidelined by her stepmother, the Evil Queen, played with theatrical excess by Gal Gadot.
The princess is exiled to the forest where she finds a safe haven among the sweetly rendered woodland animals and, rather less successfully, the unsettlingly CGI’d gnome-like seven dwarves - the film's only major misstep.
There’s also a love interest in the form of Jonathan (Andrew Burnap), a sardonic rebel thief with more of a hint of Robin Hood about him.
There’s a lot to commend here, from the sumptuously dressed sets, plush costumes, outrageously catchy musical numbers and positive and timely messages of choosing hope over fear, and kindness over greed.
But it is Zegler's dazzling, heartfelt performance and stunning vocals that give this adaptation a much-needed dose of magic.
Snow White is out in cinemas on Friday, 21 March.
