Chante JVR

★★✨

In this reimagined take on the classic fairy tale, Snow White (Rachel Zegler) is no longer just the fairest of them all — she’s also training to be a leader who will reclaim her late father’s kingdom from the clutches of the Evil Queen (Gal Gadot). Along the way, she befriends a band of magical misfits (no longer quite dwarfs, but not quite anything else either), learns about courage and compassion, and sings her way toward self-actualization in a story that blends legacy with more… “modern” sensibilities.

What works:

🍎Rachel Zegler brings a likable earnestness to the role, giving Snow White a more proactive, grounded spirit.
🍎The production design is lush and fairytale-worthy, and while the original songs may not be instant classics, a couple are catchy enough to hum on the way out.

What doesn’t work:

👑The film’s attempt to balance empowerment messaging with fantasy whimsy often feels uneven. It’s clear the script is trying to update the story for modern audiences, but it frequently does so by over-explaining its themes.
👑The CGI side characters feel oddly detached and pulls you out of the story with its hyper realistic approach to the design.
👑Gal Gadot’s performance (which I think was meant to be campy?) veers into stilted and awkward territory more often than not. Her Evil Queen lacks the menace or elegance needed to truly anchor the film’s stakes.
👑The “humour” can be painfully forced and for all its talk of breaking tradition, the film still falls into some of the same tired storytelling traps.

Final Thoughts:

Snow White (2025) isn’t a catastrophe as others would have you believe, but it does struggle to justify its existence beyond “We need a modern update.” There are things to appreciate, especially in Zegler’s performance and the visual presentation, but the magic is inconsistent. It’s not the fairest of them all… but it’s not the worst, either.