Snow White's mother dies during childbirth, leaving baby Snow and father John for dead on an icy field, who then receives a visit from one of Satan's representatives, granting him three wish... Read allSnow White's mother dies during childbirth, leaving baby Snow and father John for dead on an icy field, who then receives a visit from one of Satan's representatives, granting him three wishes.Snow White's mother dies during childbirth, leaving baby Snow and father John for dead on an icy field, who then receives a visit from one of Satan's representatives, granting him three wishes.
- Hector
- (as Jose Zuniga)
Featured reviews
I like Kristin Kreuk (Lana Lang of Smallville TV series), she is so cute, she is a perfect pick for Snow White. I expected to see essentially the same story as told in the classic Disney animated feature, but it is quite different. On the DVD extra the writer/director explains that this version is more in line with the original Snow White tales that were handed down from olden times.
It is quite well done in places, and the use of "days of the week" to name the 7 dwarves, the use of rainbow colors to identify them, and the inclusion of one 6 ft, 4 inch "dwarf" help make it interesting. Maranda Richardson, known best for her work as Ms Tweedy in CHICKEN RUN, is really good as the stepmom who wants Snow White dead.
In summary, while not a great film, interesting enough to spend time watching.
"Snow White" also works in a few elements of "The Snow Queen" - the shards of Queen Elspeth's mirror flying into people's eyes and causing them to not see her evil for what it is - but also adds some interesting twists to the yarn; her psychosis is for once given some basis (the Queen's insecurity over the hideousness that is her true self is the ultimate cause for her going over the edge when her mirror informs that it is her stepdaughter, not she herself, who is the fairest of them all), and the septet - the days of the week in... um... corporeal form - are also a bit more defined than the norm. Lovely British Columbia scenery and a fine score by Michael Convertino also help; the problem with "Snow White" is, however, Snow White herself.
Other characters here get fleshed out, but Snow White remains a bit too passive for comfort - it's less the fault of Kristin Kreuk's performance than the basic script and character, but there's only so much you can do with a symbol instead of a person. Miranda Richardson has much more scope as the wicked stepmother, and is clearly enjoying herself (although you do wonder why nobody notices the woman is obviously a few sandwiches short of a picnic), but a few less wisecracks would have helped - "It looks like I finally left you breathless!" she cackles post-poisoned apple delivery.
A lot more wonder would also have helped; "Snow White" is sadly short of magic, and doesn't really take as much advantage of its story as it could (except for the sadly truncated attack of the garden gnomes... not as daft as it sounds, trust me). This is particularly sad considering Caroline Thompson did such a good job on "Black Beauty" and as the scripter of "The Nightmare Before Christmas" and "Edward Scissorhands." It is, however, always good to watch Vincent Schiavelli and Michael J. Anderson (the dwarf from "Twin Peaks") - but fairytale completists, Richardson fans and guys in love with the brunette from "Smallville" will get more from this ultimately dull tale than I did.
Did you know
- TriviaThe prince-turned-bear plot is actually taken from "Snow-White and Rose-Red", another German fairy tale also collected by the Brothers Grimm. The glass in John's (The King's) eyes are likely taken from "The Snow Queen".
- Quotes
Snow White: What does that mean? Beautiful. I hate that. Beautiful. Do a person's outsides have anything to do with them being kind or... or considerate, or careful towards others? No. Or gentle or generous? No. Or loving or giving or just or wise.
- ConnectionsFeatured in A Disney Villains Retrospective: Catch-Up Video #1 (2023)
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Snow White: The Fairest of Them All
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime1 hour 33 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.33 : 1