Disney’s Snow White adaptation has opened to pretty poor reviews. Sitting on 48 percent (or, Rotten) at Rotten Tomatoes, that puts it below every other live-action Princess adapation, with Cinderella still top at 84, Mulan and Beauty & the Beast tied for second at 71, The Little Mermaid is just hanging on to a Fresh rating at 67, and even the Rotten Aladdin beats it at 57. Only Dumbo and Pinnochio are lower in the recent trend of like for like remakes.
There are some contextual factors here. Cinderella was the first of this decade-long project, and there is a lot of fatigue around what was once shiny and new. But a large part is also that the movie seems to have a lot of flaws, and there is one trend repeated across a lot of reviews – the split opinions of the two lead performers. Rachel Zegler, playing Snow White, has been praised for her attempts to salvage the movie – despite a lot of poor styling choices – while Gal Gadot starring opposite as the Evil Queen has been heavily criticised.
Rachel Zegler “Innocent”
The top Letterboxd review for Snow White, a one star rating from justinwuah, calls Gadot’s acting “not a performance you watch but a performance you survive”. The second review, an unrated write-up from jonathan fujii, claims “Gal Gadot is one of those actors that makes me feel like I could also make it in this business.” Scrolling down to the fifth, two stars from Loius Peitzman, calls Gadot “transcendandy awful”.
Scattered throughout these scathing critiques are fans claiming Zegler “carries the movie on ther back”, “is a star”, “needs to be in better movies”, and “is innocent.”
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Of course, viral Letterboxd reviews tend to encourage quippy meanness, and the focus on Gadot is likely as much about her reputation as an actor than her actual role in Snow White. Then again, this reputation has been earned from famously clunky line delivery across several movies, including Snow White’s own trailer.
Professional reviews paint a similar picture. In Rotten reviews, Culture Mix and The Movie Couple both say Zegler “shines” in the role, with The Movie Couple adding that Gadot “did not work”. Even in a certified Fresh review, Eric Goldman calls Gadot “miscast” but suggests “Rachel Zegler is the best thing about it, thanks to her singing talent, charm and natural Disney Princess energy”.
All in all, it seems like if you’re going to see Snow White for Rachel Zegler, it might just about be worth it. Anything else, and this looks like the bigggest Disney Princess live-action miss yet.
