In the early years of the 19th century, the Grimm Brothers created the story of Little Snow White, a princess who runs away from her jealous and homocidal step-mother. As she searches for a safe haven, Snow befriends seven dwarfs and falls in love with a charming prince. Over a century later, Walt Disney produced the very famous animated movie version of the story that has a happy ending through the power of true love’s kiss.
To this day, the story of Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs has been told through many other variations and has been a part of almost every little girl’s childhood. In hopes of keeping that tradition, Tarsem Singh (“Immortals”) directed a theatrical movie version of Snow White’s story called “Mirror Mirror” and succeeded. I looked around the theatre and saw the audience laughing at appropriate times, and little girls dancing whenever Snow White danced. Watching the movie was a delight.
This is the year of revived fairytale stories, with new TV shows like “Once Upon a Time” and Grimm and upcoming movies like “Snow White and the Huntsman” putting a spin on classic stories. To no surprise, the recent “Mirror Mirror” has a lot more twists and a lot of differences compared to the story that we all know. Snow White (Lily Collins) still remains thoughtful, sweet, and melodic, but she also has a daring and outgoing personality. Snow White was always portrayed as innocent and helpless, but in the movie she knows how to fight, handle weapons, and sabotage.
The Queen (Julia Roberts) has a much more entertaining part, she acts as though she is much younger than she actually is and tries to marry the prince ( Armie Hammer) that is in love with her step-daughter. Her mirror is not only a talking mirror, it also takes her into a whole new and private world of her own. The seven dwarfs are also different, they are a racially diverse group of stilt-walking theives and that aren’t named Bashful, Dopey, Grumpy, Happy, Doc, Sleepy, and Sneezy. Though untraditional changes to stories usually upset me, I found these ones rather pleasing.
Lily Collins (“The Blindside,” “Abduction”) and her role as Snow White is basically a match made in heaven. Her portrayal of being good-natured and hospitable really captured my heart. The audience will be caught smiling whenever she appears in a scene. Her first leading roll reveals that she very tallented and that she is ready to take on much more serious parts, but the talent didn’t just come out from nowhere; she’s also the daughter of Phil Collins, the lead singer of the 80s rock band Genesis.
Academy Award-winner Julia Roberts (“Pretty Woman”) was also enjoyable to watch on the big screen. It might be difficult for one to imagine her as the antagonist in a plot, but her performance was quite splendid. Everything she did was so funny. Her stage presence was incredible, and it seemed like she made everything glow, even though she was supposedly evil. It was nice to see that she knew how to share the spotlight, considering the fact that she is the focal point in most of her movies.
What seems like a movie meant to be watched only by girly girls actually isn’t. The movie is great and appropriate for the whole family. The storyline is funny, action packed, and very clever. Viewers will definitely not be disappointed.
“Mirror Mirror” is rated PG and the runtime is 106 minutes.
