Disney’s Snow White is a 2025 live-action remake of the 1937 animated film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. The film stars Rachel Zegler in the title role with Andrew Burnap & Gal Gadot in supporting roles. When her evil stepmother, the Evil Queen (Gadot) becomes jealous of Snow White (Zegler), she takes refuge in the forest in the house of seven dwarfs.

I feel like I need to preface that I did not go into this thinking it was going to be the worst thing I have ever seen. I want all movies to succeed, but I have seen much worse. Since seeing 2016’s The Jungle Book, I have tried time and time again to support Disney’s live-action remakes. In recent years, it’s been tough to support them. While the latest live-action remake isn’t as bad as you may think, I desperately want Disney to stop making live-action remakes, and not for the reason you may think.

The latest version of Snow White has been surrounded with what feels like tons of controversies for the last few years. Even when I saw the horrendous CGI, I held out faith. Yet, the film has still seen controversies surrounding its two leading ladies and story changes. Now that I have seen it, I can understand those feelings and they are valid. The CGI is still quite disappointing, one of the leading actresses carry the film, and there are enough story changes to make it stand out.

One of the leading actresses that carry the film is Rachel Zegler herself. What she has said and her racial background has never once bothered me. Regardless, she is what makes the film. She completely disappears as Snow White. You wouldn’t believe she is having to also act so much with CGI. She is completely compelling in the lead role. There are fans who will adore her performance.

The other leading actress, Gal Gadot, is horribly miscast. Aside from my opinion on her beliefs, I think this is one of the most confusing performances of the decade. I don’t like saying worst as we try to stay positive here. Due to a lack of character development this character goes through, Gadot never knows how to properly channel the right performance. She is so over the top at times to make up for it. I couldn’t care less. It’s not even that campy kind of bad. If the film wanted to truly do something different, giving her a backstory would have helped make more compelling and help Gadot channel the right performance.

Some other positive aspects that come to mind is the chemistry between Zegler & Burnap, the themes, and the classic Disney tone. You can sense a real likability between the romantic interests. Burnap’s performance stands out, even if the singing could have gone through some improvement. Families will particularly enjoy the overall themes of being a good person. Personally, I found moments of a real Disney charm that seemed to capture the magic of the original film through its tone.

The film’s sore point is certainly the CGI. I am so beyond burnt out on CGI. It is overstimulating and completely takes you out of any real human connection. Sure, it makes sense for the animals to be CGI. I can’t imagine a way around that. The dwarfs, however, had no business being CGI. Every time I saw them on screen, I felt like The Polar Express deserved some apologies. This is the main reason I want these live-action remakes to stop. Instead of creating something modern, it is more laser-focused on CGI to get around creating connections. On top of that, so much of the location relies on the CGI that makes all the sets look fake.

The film plays it safe the most with the camera. The camera feels so stationary, barely moving and giving you a better idea of what this world looks like. It’s like Disney is meeting a quota and playing it safe to get to where they need to be. This can also be translated into the plot that is never quite sure what it wants to truly be about in its 109-minute runtime. So much occurs that consistently changes the direction with one of the most anti-climatic endings I have ever seen.

Overall, Snow White is a mixed bag that is going to certainly divide viewers. It has a lot to offer, but also a lot to be desired. To be honest, I was leaning a little lower on my score after I saw it, but after talking to some friends who enjoyed it, I can see the appeal with its Disney charm and themes. Rachel Zegler proves she can lead a film even if this may not be the best one due to other aspects out of her control.

VERDICT: 2.5/5 (Okay)