Not the cloying Disney musical (sorry, I've never liked that film) but a modern retelling of the story, a live-action version originally done for TV. This Snow White is a little different in that it's told by a woman with a woman's point of view.
The story is pretty much like the Bros. Grimm version, with a few notable changes. One of them is a pretty good performance by Clancy Brown as the Green Eyed One, from whom much of the impetus of the story flows. Freed from an icy prison by Snow White's father, John (Tom Irwin), the Green Eyed One gives John three wishes. Which is how John ends up being a king, a job he isn't suited for and doesn't do very well. Sadly Snow's mother died when she was young, and so John really wants a queen. Enter Elspeth (Miranda Richardson), the Green One's sister and a hag until he works a magical nip/tuck on her. Of course now that she's a flame-haired hottie, she wants to be the only game in town, a status which is threatened by the blossoming princess Snow (Kristin Kreuk). Yeah, there's some silly stuff about dwarfs in there as well.
This Snow White is more about two women in transitional stages of their lives and how they can't deal with it. Snow doesn't want to be a grown up, and Elspeth doesn't want to grow old. Both of them reject their change in status, which leads to predictably bad results. Snow ends up running away and hiding amongst the dwarfs (who are given names of the week and clad in the colors of the rainbow here). The dwarfs are mostly amiable oafs except for Tuesday (Vincent Schiavelli) who stands six-five and complains about everything. Oh yeah, there's also a prince (doesn't there have to be?), played by Tyron Leitso, but better known as Jaye's neo-boyfriend from Wonderfalls (Jaye sort of would have been at home here, with talking dwarfs and flying mirrors and all).
The production design is a little on the cheap, which is to be expected from a TV movie, but what they lack in scope they make up for with spirit. The dwarf costumes are all fanciful, and the few sets are creatively decorated and very striking. Kreuk looks very princessy, and Richardson is suitably attired for an older woman trying to pretend she's younger. Clancy Brown is also well-hidden behind some nice fantasy make-up.
The story's a little trite, especially when we have to focus on Irwin's incredibly weak John; but the dwarfs are more or less fun (led by Michael J. Anderson, best known as the backwards talking dwarf on Twin Peaks) and Richardson vamps it up pretty well. Kreuk comes off as oddly unappealing (a real feat for her); we never warm up to her Snow at all, and I really think we're supposed to.
Overall this isn't a bad rendition of the story, but it's not a great one, either, and probably for most people Disney's version will reign supreme. I like the attempt at imbuing an old tale with some modern sensibilities, even if they did dumb it down enough to make it kid-friendly. Snow White isn't something you should spend a lot of time tracking down, but might be worth a bemused spin on the DVD player should you stumble across it.
The story is pretty much like the Bros. Grimm version, with a few notable changes. One of them is a pretty good performance by Clancy Brown as the Green Eyed One, from whom much of the impetus of the story flows. Freed from an icy prison by Snow White's father, John (Tom Irwin), the Green Eyed One gives John three wishes. Which is how John ends up being a king, a job he isn't suited for and doesn't do very well. Sadly Snow's mother died when she was young, and so John really wants a queen. Enter Elspeth (Miranda Richardson), the Green One's sister and a hag until he works a magical nip/tuck on her. Of course now that she's a flame-haired hottie, she wants to be the only game in town, a status which is threatened by the blossoming princess Snow (Kristin Kreuk). Yeah, there's some silly stuff about dwarfs in there as well.
This Snow White is more about two women in transitional stages of their lives and how they can't deal with it. Snow doesn't want to be a grown up, and Elspeth doesn't want to grow old. Both of them reject their change in status, which leads to predictably bad results. Snow ends up running away and hiding amongst the dwarfs (who are given names of the week and clad in the colors of the rainbow here). The dwarfs are mostly amiable oafs except for Tuesday (Vincent Schiavelli) who stands six-five and complains about everything. Oh yeah, there's also a prince (doesn't there have to be?), played by Tyron Leitso, but better known as Jaye's neo-boyfriend from Wonderfalls (Jaye sort of would have been at home here, with talking dwarfs and flying mirrors and all).
The production design is a little on the cheap, which is to be expected from a TV movie, but what they lack in scope they make up for with spirit. The dwarf costumes are all fanciful, and the few sets are creatively decorated and very striking. Kreuk looks very princessy, and Richardson is suitably attired for an older woman trying to pretend she's younger. Clancy Brown is also well-hidden behind some nice fantasy make-up.
The story's a little trite, especially when we have to focus on Irwin's incredibly weak John; but the dwarfs are more or less fun (led by Michael J. Anderson, best known as the backwards talking dwarf on Twin Peaks) and Richardson vamps it up pretty well. Kreuk comes off as oddly unappealing (a real feat for her); we never warm up to her Snow at all, and I really think we're supposed to.
Overall this isn't a bad rendition of the story, but it's not a great one, either, and probably for most people Disney's version will reign supreme. I like the attempt at imbuing an old tale with some modern sensibilities, even if they did dumb it down enough to make it kid-friendly. Snow White isn't something you should spend a lot of time tracking down, but might be worth a bemused spin on the DVD player should you stumble across it.