Rated
PG (Some Fantasy Action and Mild Rude Humor)
Running
Time: 1 Hour & 46 Minutes
Cast-
Lily
Collins-Snow White
Julia
Roberts-Queen Clementianna
Armie
Hammer-Prince Andrew Alcott
Nathan
Lane-Brighton
Jordan
Prentice-Napoleon
Mark
Povinelli-Half Pint
Joe
Gnoffo-Grub
Danny
Woodburn-Grimm
Sebastian
Saraceno-Wolf
Martin
Klebba-Butcher
Ronald
Lee Clark-Chuckles
Robert
Emms-Charles Renbock
Mare
Winningham-Baker Margaret
Sean
Bean-The King
Directed
by Tarsem Singh
 |
| Now that's a smile you just can't fake. |
I
believe (no pun intended if you get the song reference!) it’s not that big of
an assumption to say that most people have already seen or is at least aware of
Walt Disney’s 1937 animated film “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” while
growing up as a child. Evolving from traditional hand-drawn techniques to
full-blown CG, animation has come a long
way in the past seventy-five years but Disney’s film, based upon the classic
1812 Brothers Grimm fairy tale of the same name, is considered historically
significant by the National Film Registry for a number of milestones as it is the first animated feature film to be
produced in the United States from Walt Disney Productions and the first in motion picture history to
utilize cel-animation in full color. Although
some have erroneously labeled it as the first animated feature film, that
distinction actually belongs to a little-known 1917 Spanish film titled “El
Apóstol” (translated: “The Apostle”) directed by Quirino Cristiani from
Argentina. Unfortunately, Cristiani’s film was lost to a fire that destroyed the
only known copy, which was in the hands of producer Federico Valle. The story
of Snow White should be familiar to almost everyone even
without seeing the various adaptations over the years given the way Grimm’s
fairy tale has entered the public consciousness but Hollywood is throwing two more in the mix this year with Tarsem
Singh’s “Mirror Mirror” and Rupert Sanders’ “Snow White and the Huntsman.” The
former is a children’s film while the latter is an action-adventure that has
invited comparisons with Peter Jackson’s “Lord of the Rings” trilogy. While the
initial previews for “Mirror Mirror” left a bad first impression, the film is
surprisingly enjoyable thanks to its whimsical charm, elaborate costume design,
and stunning visuals as only Tarsem Singh can do. The broad comedy will invite eye-rolling
disdain from adults but it’s hard to hate the film when the cast has so much
fun putting their own spin on a classic fairy tale.
“Mirror Mirror” begins with
the wicked Queen Clementianna (Julia Roberts) narrating the story of Snow
White’s birth and sarcastically remarking that it ‘was the most pretentious
name [her parents] could think of.’ Snow’s mother unfortunately dies in
childbirth and the King (Sean Bean) raises her alone. He eventually remarries
with Clementianna vainly identifying herself as his new wife but the King soon
disappears after traveling to the dark forest to battle a mysterious monster. Left
with only his dagger, Snow frantically searches for her father to no avail and
was now at the mercy of the Queen. Fast forward to the present day and
eighteen-year-old Snow White (Lily Collins) has grown up to be a lovely young
woman but remains a prisoner in her own castle. The kingdom has also suffered
greatly in the years since the King’s disappearance as Clementianna taxes the
people heavily to support her vanity and lavish parties. With the encouragement
of her servants, Snow decides to sneak out of the castle to see what has become
of her father’s kingdom. Along the way she encounters two men hanging upside
down from a tree who were robbed by a group of bandits. She frees them but
unbeknownst to her, one of the men is Prince Andrew Alcott (Armie Hammer), who
has been traveling for many months seeking adventure. When Snow arrives in the
village, she is shocked to discover the people destitute and begging for food.
Meanwhile Prince Alcott arrives at the castle to present himself with Queen
Clementianna becoming immediately smitten with him. She plans to marry him in
order to steal his wealth for herself. To save her father’s kingdom from the
Queen, Snow White decides to take back what is rightfully hers and is joined by
a group of seven dwarfs named Napoleon (Jordan Prentice), Half Pint (Mark
Povinelli), Grub (Joe Gnoffo), Grimm (Danny Woodburn), Wolf (Sebastian Saraceno),
Butcher (Martin Klebba), and Chuckles (Ronald Lee Clark). The dwarfs also
happen to be the same bandits that robbed Prince Alcott, putting him at odds
with Snow White.
Growing up, I’ve seen my fair share of Disney films including
“Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” so when Relativity Media and Universal
Pictures announced rival films based upon Grimm’s fairy tale, I was interested
in what they would come up with seeing as how important the 1937 film was to my
childhood. The initial previews for “Mirror Mirror” did not inspire much
confidence to put it lightly and I was expecting the worse but color me
surprised when I discovered that I actually
enjoyed the film. Of course it appeals more to children (especially young
girls) given its silly jokes and broad physical comedy ala The Three Stooges but “Mirror Mirror” has a certain infectious
charm that makes it hard to outright pan the film despite its glaring flaws.
Tarsem Singh’s films have always put visuals first over story and character
development and while this Snow White contains enough wrinkles to differentiate
itself from the traditional fairy tale, the overall plot remains predictable
even with its modern feminist twist mixed with a dash of Robin Hood. However,
one change that I did welcome was the frequent role reversal with Snow White saving Prince Alcott from the clutches
of the Queen instead of the other way around. I also appreciated the writers (Melissa
Wallack and Jason Keller) playing up the mother/daughter relationship with both
Snow White and the Queen vying for the affections of the Prince, with the latter
leading to a hilarious scene where Alcott ends up drugged with a love potion
that makes him behave like a drooling love-struck puppy. As juvenile as the
jokes and comedy were, the film is certainly aware at how ridiculous it is and
often has its tongue-firmly-in cheek with a number of self-referential lines
such as when Alcott insists on saving Snow by remarking that ‘it's been focus
group tested! It works!’ Singh has always had an eye for the unusual but
sometimes he goes over-the-top and one of the results is an awkward scene where
the Queen is given a beauty makeover with parrot droppings brushed on her face
and her lips puckered through bee stings. While the departures are welcome, Singh and his writers
ultimately do not take them as far as they could and the end result mines familiar
territory.
The plot may be a missed opportunity for a radical shake-up but what
makes “Mirror Mirror” worth the price of admission alone are the visuals and
the lavish costumes from the late Japanese designer Eiko Ishioka. In a
documentary about her work with acclaimed director Francis Ford Coppola,
Ishioka remarked that ‘the costumes are
the sets’ and this is certainly true when we first meet the Queen, who is
wearing a large orange gown that seems like an extension of her seashell
throne. Later at a ball, Collins is dressed as a white swan while Hammer is
sporting a ridiculous top hat complete with rabbit ears and bunny paws on his
hands. To make up for their short stature, the dwarfs are given special stilts
that allow them to do acrobatic feats and shrink down like accordions when
necessary. The visual and set design help reinforce the film’s candy-coated and
whimsical storybook quality that puts a new spin on well-worn elements such as
the famous magic mirror. Instead of an actual
mirror, it’s a portal to the Queen’s personal realm where she communes with a
literal reflection of herself.
The cast could’ve sleepwalked to their paychecks
but thankfully they do not and appear to genuinely enjoy and commit to their
respective roles. As Snow White, Lily Collins (daughter of British
singer/songwriter Phil Collins) exudes a sugary-sweetness in her first leading
role that makes it easy to forgive her acting inexperience. Julia Roberts
relishes at playing the Evil Queen with her often snide and snarky comments
about the incompetence of her followers while Armie Hammer goes all-out crazy
as the somewhat clueless ‘damsel-in-distress.’ Nathan Lane brings his usual
flamboyant self as the Queen’s advisor (replacing the huntsman) and the dwarves
make for a likeable bunch even though it’s sometimes hard to differentiate them
due to the sameness of their costumes.
Released on March 30, 2012, “Mirror
Mirror” has received mixed reviews with 50% on Rotten Tomatoes as critics found
it to be ‘undeniably beautiful—but its treatment of the age-old Snow White
fable lacks enough depth or originality to set it apart from the countless
other adaptations of the tale.’ At least Singh has always maintained
consistency with the quality of his films. I saw the film late afternoon and
the audience was largely comprised of adults with their children and young
teens but everyone appeared to enjoy it despite the easy jokes and slapstick
comedy. As for box office prospects, it’s looking to debut in third place with
$20 to $25 million, which isn’t bad for a film with a terrible marketing
campaign. I am not the intended audience for “Mirror Mirror” and while its
changes to the Snow White fairy tale aren’t all that radical, I found myself
caught up in its energetic charm and the Bollywood-style musical number was
icing on the cake. The kids will love it for sure and I wouldn’t be surprised
if adults ended up liking it either.
Final
Rating: 3.5 out of 5
“You
read so many stories where the prince saves the princess. It's time we changed
that ending!”
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