Snow White

Sadly, all that blood, sweat and tweets don't reflect in this bland adaptation with passable songs, and sub-magical actors. In trying to be everything, Snow White falls between these two mirrors, without shattering any glass ceiling.

Some parts of the film work better than others, but none of it has the sweetness and imagination of the animated feature. This “Snow White” is not the fairest of them all. It’s just, well, fair.

Disney's live-action Snow White is not that [an empty cash play]. The bones of Walt Disney's first big swing into feature-length animation remain intact in director Marc Webb's reimagining, but screenwriter Erica Cressida Wilson and songwriters Benj Pasek and Justin Paul more than literally take these previously 2-dimensional characters and flesh them out in a fully-formed 3-D world. That balance of giving the audience the story they know so well but with just the right amount of newness and unpredictability is the true magic of Webb's Snow White.

Ultimately, 'Snow White' is better than 'Beauty and the Beast' and 'The Little Mermaid' — by a long shot — but it's not as good as Branagh's 'Cinderella' or Burton's 'Dumbo.' And, sadly, it overall still bears the boring sheen of a corporate mandate.

The good news is, even though Snow White may not be "the fairest of all" Disney reboots, it is just fine, and in some ways even more than fine thanks in large part to producer Marc Platt and his associate Jared Leboff. This Snow White isn't gonna make anyone forget cherished childhood memories of the one that started it all for Disney, but it is certainly enough to make you whistle while you watch.

The best Disney live-action remake in a decade (not that that’s a particularly high bar to clear), Snow White adapts the broad strokes of the 1937 original, while fleshing out its themes of kindness. Rachel Zegler crafts a remarkable, melodic version of the classic princess who leads with her heart, even if her CGI co-stars are difficult on the eyes.