Rachel Zegler Snow White Review (Photo Credit – Instagram)
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Disney’s hotly anticipated Snow White is finally here, but did critics love it? To divert attention from the many controversies incited by lead actress Rachel Zegler’s outspoken stance, the House of Mouse desperately seeks favorable reviews to woo audiences.
Unfortunately for Disney, when it confidently lifted the review embargo on Wednesday, expecting a positive critical reception, the results were quite the contrary. Snow White has manifested a milquetoast response, with even its positive reviews ceasing well short of calling it a masterpiece.
Snow White holds a 48% “rotten” score on the namesake site after 83 critics weighed in, its aggregated score stranded at 5.5/10. While not abysmal, this number falls below Disney’s recent middling releases, including Moana 2 (61%) and Mufasa: The Lion King (57%). Over on Metacritic, Snow White sits at an equally unimpressive 46.
The original Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Walt Disney’s 1937 lovechild, for instance, holds universal acclaim with a 97% on Rotten Tomatoes and a 96 on Metacritic — more than double the remake’s scores. Barring 2021’s Pinocchio, Snow White’s numbers substantially pale compared to every other Disney live-action reimagining to date. Moreover, they are dwarfed by another grittier rendition, Snow White and the Huntsman (57%).
For Zegler, Snow White marks a hat-trick of mediocre films, as both her latest, Y2K (44%) and Spellbound (45%), failing once again to reach even half the score of her debut, Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story (91%) — her only objectively well-received film by critics.
Meanwhile, Gadot’s streak of critical flops dates back to 2018’s Ralph Breaks the Internet (88%) in a voice role and Wonder Woman (93%) in the flesh. Since then, all but Zack Snyder’s Justice League (71%) and Death on the Nile (61%) have triggered mixed to negative responses.
For director Marc Webb, the search for a certified fresh film perpetuates. His only one in this category is 500 Days of Summer (85%). Snow White did manage to surpass his worst, The Only Living Boy in New York (33%). The Brothers Grimm fairytale isn’t Webb’s first reboot, having helmed the Andrew Garfield-led Amazing Spider-Man films (71% and 51%).
Be it the removal of little people from the production, Rachel Zegler’s contentious remarks about the 1937 cartoon, her remarks about the ongoing military conflict in co-star Gal Gadot’s home country, or her remarks about Donald Trump’s presidential victory, Snow White has been caught in a plague. The only saving grace left for Snow White isn’t a film critic in shining armor but its forthcoming CinemaScore.
Zegler’s fairytale cannot afford to land below a “B+” from theatrical viewers on Thursday and Friday screenings, or its chances of stretching its legs and reaching a final gross exceeding 250% of its projected $45-50 million opening weekend will dwindle..
