Snow White – A kingdom of love, not fear

Film: Snow White 

Age rating: PG 

Runtime: 115 minutes 

See this if you liked: Wish, Beauty and the Beast (2017) 

Overview: When Snow White finds herself as an outcast of the kingdom, she realises she needs to return the kingdom back to what it was founded upon, with a little help from some new friends. 

Pre-film thoughts: There’s been a lot of drama around this retelling of Disney’s first animated feature length film which I’m going to do my best to ignore in this review. I’m not a huge fan of the live action remakes, so bear that in mind too. 

What I liked: 

Surprisingly, a fair bit. 

After a ‘meh’ opening number, the film picks up pace when Snow White flees into the forest after discovering the Evil Queen wishes to kill her. 

Despite my reservations that I might get nightmares watching the CGI dwarfs, they were the best bit of the film for me. There were some great comical moments, and the voice acting was well done, each capturing the infamous personalities of all seven of them.

Musically, the magic of Pasek and Paul (of Greatest Showman fame) shines. There are some great new musical numbers but what I was most impressed with were the added lyrics/sections to the classics ‘Heigh Ho’ and ‘Whistle While You Work’. In fact, ‘Heigh Ho’ and ‘Whistle While You Work’ were both great sequences and brought a genuine smile to my face. It’s the most magical these live action remakes have been for me so far – even with slightly creepy CGI characters featuring so heavily in them.

Snow White’s parents hoped that one day she would be queen of the kingdom and would rule by being ‘fearless, fair, brave and true’

The set design of the dwarfs’ cottage is beautiful and really captures the charm of the original animated film and the costumes were great too. 

Personally, I thought Gal Gadot did a good job at playing up the devilishly campness of the Evil Queen – although plenty of other reviewers would disagree with me… 

What I didn’t like: 

There was a solid 30 minutes where I thought to myself ‘wait, am I actually enjoying this?!’. And then, sure enough, the film started to lose me. Particularly with the love interest. No prince will come someday in this movie, instead the role of prince is filled in by a rebel loyal to the king, Jonathan. 

He didn’t work for me. Nor did his friends, all (wait for it) seven of them. To be fair, they weren’t given enough screentime for me to really know who they were (I actually know one of the actors in real life but he only had one line of dialogue in the film) and the film had enough side characters already with, you know, the seven dwarfs (who didn’t really have that much screen time either). 

By the end of the film, you get the sense that this was a film strung together by a committee with competing plot points and characters sort of muddled together in a last-minute effort attempt to try and please everyone, and thus pleasing no one. 

Faith thoughts: 

One of the strongest things the film has going for it, despite the controversies, is the messaging of the film. 

Snow White’s parents hoped that one day she would be queen of the kingdom and would rule by being ‘fearless, fair, brave and true’, continuing her parents’ legacy of sharing the wealth of the kingdom with those who live in it. Unfortunately, after Snow White’s mother dies, the king is blinded by the beauty of the Evil Queen and the kingdom no longer lives by these values. 

The Evil Queen rules with fear, preferring the hardness of a diamond to the gentle nature of a flower. She takes what she wants, and the citizens of the kingdom no longer share what they have with each other but live to serve the queen’s desires. Snow White laments at this loss for her kingdom, and she reminisces that ‘there was a time we lived in hope, where good things were nurtured and allowed to grow.’ 

I wonder whether we feel like we live in hope now. Or do we live in fear, divided, made to feel as though it’s us versus the world? Do we appreciate the flowers, fragile but beautiful, growing in extraordinary conditions despite the efforts of those who wish to trample upon them? Or do we hold value in the unbreakable diamond, forged under pressure, fought over for power? What values do we want our young people and children to grow up with? What are the four things we wish for them to carry in their heart as they become adults themselves? I would argue being fearless, fair, brave and true aren’t bad ones.

Read more:

New film The King of Kings is a pleasant, family-friendly, cat-approved retelling of the gospel

New Disney+ series for children Win or Lose has an openly Christian character in it, but that doesn’t mean it’s a complete cause for celebration

Captain America: Brave New World – Can people change (beyond turning into a Hulk…)?

Snow White later warns that ‘if we can give up our meagre scraps, we will inherit what was meant for all of us’ (Seriously, this movie has some incredible lines!). I think there are two meanings behind the use of ‘scraps.’ There’s the idea of sharing all you have (Jesus, you got anything to say on this?), no matter how small, and in the process gaining much more in the fellowship of others. An alternative definition of ‘scraps’ is small fights. Are we so busy fighting among ourselves that we miss out on what the Kingdom actually has to offer us? 

This brings to mind the Prodigal Son. Yes, we know the love of God reaches the one who runs away and returns. But focus on why Jesus told that story. It was to the Pharisees who were appalled at the company Jesus kept. That’s why the story doesn’t end with the Prodigal Son returning and all is good. It ends with the jealous older brother refusing to take part in the celebrations because he was indignant that he had been so hardworking and not been rewarded. But he still has his share in his father’s inheritance – that hasn’t been taken away from him. His father still loves him as much as he loves the son that walked away. 

At the end of the film (SPOILERS), Snow White defeats the Evil Queen, not by the sword, but by appealing to the citizens of the kingdom. She reminds them of who they were before the Evil Queen took away their lives for herself. Snow White tells the guards the memories she has of them, who they were and what they did. It is by being known that the citizens know they are loved and who they should be ruled by. 

Are we being ruled by love or by fear? That’s not a bad question.