Movie Review: Snow White and the Huntsman

Last weekend I finally got around to seeing Snow White and the Huntsman, and you know what, I actually really liked it!  Considering this was the second recently released Snow White-themed film I've seen in the last few months, and that I was sort of tepid regarding Mirror Mirror, I honestly didn't go into the film with a lot of expectations, but in the end it's pretty great.

The film looks great - the cinematography, the costuming and the art direction were actually pretty amazing, while watching the film my oldest daughter commented that the movie looks an awful lot like my personal favourite anime film, Princess Mononoke - which it turns out it was - the writer actually states that Princess Mononoke was the main influence and inspiration for the film.

We got the movie from our local library, and for a cost of $0, it was a great way to spend an afternoon.  Seriously, a pretty cool movie.

Things I've Noticed: The Snow White Debate

For those of us looking forward to the various fantasy films coming out this year, there is an interesting couple of films featuring a similar premise involving a young lady with hair as black as night, lips as red as blood and skin as white as snow.

In the next month both Mirror Mirror and Snow White and the Huntsman will be entering theatres showcasing the classic fairy tale, but with different twists – Mirror Mirror looks at a comedic angle and Snow White and the Huntsman appears to be very Grimm indeed (sorry for the obvious pun, but I think there’s a law that I have to use it when reviewing dark fantasy). This pairing of similar films has happened in the past (notably with disaster films like Dante’s Peak and Volcano, and Science Fiction films like Armageddon and Deep Impact), what is interesting however is that this year also introduced Snow White and her evil Stepmother as characters on television in ABCs Once Upon a Time and even as a featured character (although dead) in Castle.

So with all these Snow Whites running around, I started to ask myself who the best ones were. Did Disney’s 1937 classic win out due to its classic status? How about the various Snow Whites in fiction?

For me, I’d have to say my favourite Snow White is the character portrayed in Bill Willingham’s Fables. Hands down she is one of the coolest characters I’ve read in comics for quite a long time, and I suppose the Snow White character in Neil Gaiman’s Snow, Glass, Apples runs a very close second (although she is definitely not like any of the others).

In the end I probably won’t see either of the upcoming Snow White films in theatres unless there are extraordinary circumstances involved (kids, friends, or family wanting me to go), but I’ll probably check both out on DVD.

For me, the next big fantasy film I’m looking forward to is Dark Shadows.