"Mirror Mirror" is part of Hollywood's current fascination with re-imagining fairy tales for the big screen, most likely spurred on by the success of Tim Burton's take on "Alice in Wonderland". In fact, it's the first of two "Snow White" adaptations to come from Hollywood this year; we'll see "Snow White and the Huntsman" this summer. I'm still unsure as to why either studio would go ahead with a film version of a story that is already being adapted by another studio for a release within the same window, even if the two resulting films play to two very different audiences. In any case, this one certainly seemed the less contrived of the two, and as it stands, it's not that bad a film if you take it for what it is: a campy, easy-to-watch rendition of a favourite story.
As expected nowadays, the film greatly deviates from the typical story, and much is embellished. The Queen is robbing the people of its taxes to fund her vanity and lavish lifestyle. When Prince Charming comes to town, a ball is held so the Queen can woo him to grab his gold. Unfortunately, Snow White sneaks into the ball to try and gain support for overthrowing her cruel stepmother, and the said royal instead falls for her. Spurred by jealousy and a fear of usurpation, the Queen orders Snow White to be killed in the woods. The henchman, however, lets her go. As per Grimm, the princess is taken in by a band of seven dwarfs, this time a bunch of Robin Hood-like bandits as opposed to singing miners.
From this point on, the story tends to stop following the traditional narrative altogether, with the exception of the Queen's intention to kill using dark arts. By ignoring the plot and going in the direction of a completely over-the-top romp full of garish colours and distractingly cartoon-like imagery, some of the power of the original story is lost. Nonetheless, the film is still highly fun and entertaining, and one gets the impression that the people making it had a lot of fun doing so. Julia Roberts' Queen is fabulous in her role as a completely hissable vamp, and the other cast members, in particular the guys playing the dwarfs, are wonderful as well. None of the characters are really fully realised, though in a story like this, I think we can accept the odd archetype. In any case, "Mirror Mirror" certainly ranks as one of the better Hollywood recent re-imaginings of famous tales, and comes recommended.
As expected nowadays, the film greatly deviates from the typical story, and much is embellished. The Queen is robbing the people of its taxes to fund her vanity and lavish lifestyle. When Prince Charming comes to town, a ball is held so the Queen can woo him to grab his gold. Unfortunately, Snow White sneaks into the ball to try and gain support for overthrowing her cruel stepmother, and the said royal instead falls for her. Spurred by jealousy and a fear of usurpation, the Queen orders Snow White to be killed in the woods. The henchman, however, lets her go. As per Grimm, the princess is taken in by a band of seven dwarfs, this time a bunch of Robin Hood-like bandits as opposed to singing miners.
From this point on, the story tends to stop following the traditional narrative altogether, with the exception of the Queen's intention to kill using dark arts. By ignoring the plot and going in the direction of a completely over-the-top romp full of garish colours and distractingly cartoon-like imagery, some of the power of the original story is lost. Nonetheless, the film is still highly fun and entertaining, and one gets the impression that the people making it had a lot of fun doing so. Julia Roberts' Queen is fabulous in her role as a completely hissable vamp, and the other cast members, in particular the guys playing the dwarfs, are wonderful as well. None of the characters are really fully realised, though in a story like this, I think we can accept the odd archetype. In any case, "Mirror Mirror" certainly ranks as one of the better Hollywood recent re-imaginings of famous tales, and comes recommended.