This is not many things as a movie--it is not a faithful retelling of the Grimm Fairy Tale. It does have the elements of a classic fairy tale--there is an evil person who seems to have the upper hand (Julia Roberts, not exactly well cast in the role of the Evil Queen). There is a good person (Snow White, portrayed by the Audrey Hepburn-esque Lily Collins, son of pop singer Phil Collins), who we are rooting for. Royalty and magic are involved--but the thing that gripped children in the Grimm's tales is missing--it does not leave children motivated to do the right thing because they are motivated by fear. Disney, took that part out of fairy tales a long time ago, and Tarsem Singh, the director, does not bother to put it back.
The story opts for for slapstick comedy instead of mounting tension, with the good guys almost invariably coming out ahead. Maybe for a story that you know the ultimate outcome, the entertainment and enjoyment along the way is the most important part. I don't know. All I know is that the reviews of this movie were lukewarm at best and I really enjoyed it despite all that.
The costuming of this movie is over the top sumptuous and unusual. The boldness (and occasionally the hilarity) of the colors and designs was memorable and added measurably to the enjoyment of the movie. Eiko Ishioka, the Japanese stylist, who died in January, is responsible for that. She was the Oscar-winning costume designer, best known by non-Japanese for her costumes for Francis Ford Coppola's "Bram Stoker's Dracula" as well as pop stars Bjork and Grace Jones, and the opening ceremony at the Beijing Olympics. Ishioka's aggressively sumptuous, sometimes surrealistic, creations are breath taking. And the seven dwarves are the icing on the cake of this slightly silly but largely enjoyable movie.
And don't miss the Bollywood-esque trailer at the end.
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