Disney‘s Snow White reboot created plenty of publicity of the wrong kind ahead of its Australian theatrical release on Thursday – now the critics have given their verdict.

In the live-action adaptation of Disney’s iconic 1937 animated classic Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs a princess, Snow White (Rachel Zegler), join forces with seven dwarfs to liberate her kingdom from her cruel stepmother, the Evil Queen (Gal Gadot).

The production has been surrounded by controversy for years, for everything from Latin actress Zegler’s casting and her opinions about the original animated film, to the inclusion of the ‘dwarfs,’ to a supposed feud between pro-Palestine and Israeli-born Gadot.

As of Thursday afternoon, the Marc Webb-directed Snow White had a score of 49 per cent from 95 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, and was at 47 per cent on Metacritic from 38 reviews.

While much of the negative publicity around the movie can be dismissed as far-right rhetoric attacking a supposedly ‘woke’ production and the product of partisan politics, the international reviews so far have been decidedly mixed.

The Snow White reboot was slammed on multiple fronts before anyone saw it. Photo: Disney

What some of the world’s movie critics say

Amy Nicholson in the Los Angeles Times questioned the decision to make the movie in the first place.

“Ten years ago, when Disney started releasing live-action adaptations of its animated classics, its executives must have thought remakes were a no-brainer way to print money and please fans. This one has been assailed at every turn. So much for a happily-ever-after,” she wrote.

“As it turns out, today’s Snow White isn’t even that galvanising. The new songs are forgettable and the animation is cluttered with every pixel competing to show off. There are too many leaves, too many petals and too many pores on the fully animated dwarfs, who bound into the movie with noses the size of pears.”

The Hollywood Reporter chief film critic David Rooney was more positive.

“None of that background noise matters in Marc Webb’s vibrant retelling, from a smart script by Erin Cressida Wilson that reshapes a story about a princess dreaming of her knight in shining armour into one in which she finds the courage to be a leader, capable of following in her noble father’s footsteps,” he said.

“That desire is expressed with passionate feeling in Waiting on a Wish, the standout of the new songs by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul.”

Movie magazine Empire‘s Helen O’Hara criticised Disney more than the stars of the movie.

“It’s no shame on Zegler, Gadot or even Webb, who you can feel straining for impact in bits of zippy dialogue or a fun comic moment. There are scenes and sequences here that work beautifully, thanks to them,” she said.

“But the film feels compromised and so small; like it’s been Frankensteined into submission in the edit and cut and recut 100 times. You can sense studio interference, scared to put dwarfs in the film but also frightened to leave them out; afraid to focus on a princess but reluctant to reimagine her too far; terrified to lean into cartooniness or to rely on realism.

“Disney has attempted to just replicate the past instead of trying to do something new. That’s the greatest folly of all.”

Rolling Stone reviewer David Fear described Snow White as “bland”.

“The whole thing feels so bland and perfunctory to a fault that it’s surprising to think that this was the movie that caused such an uproar for nearly two years and a dozen news cycles. You can feel the strain of trying to appeal to everyone, court both the purists and the pro-modernisation contingent, be as non-offensive as possible — and still manage to satisfy next to no one,” he wrote.

“This Snow White may not be the worst live-action adaptation of an animated touchstone, though it’s a strong contender for its blandest. The movie does earn points as a bedtime story, however, because it will definitely put you to sleep.”

IndieWire‘s Kate Erbland was largely positive.

“It doesn’t always fit seamlessly together, but it’s far more entertaining than that might lead on,” she said.

“This is a spirited and sweet spin on classic material that deserves kudos for its balance of necessary updates and affection for the old ways. Mostly, it’s a reminder of what’s actually worth considering and critiquing: the final product. This one is good.”

Kevin Mahaer, writing in The Times, was scathing in his assessment.

“Believe the anti-hype. It’s that bad. This latest Disney adaptation was yanked from pre-release marketing duties – the London premiere was axed – for good reason. It marks a new low for cultural desecration and for a venerable 102-year-old entertainment company that now looks at its source material with a nose pinched in disgust,” he said.

“It’s hard not to see this as anything other than a crisis point for Disney, a studio that went from crafting flawless cinematic stories to infantilising audiences with sanctimonious life lessons culled from the corpses of its own murdered movies.”

Peter Bradshaw in the UK’s The Guardian was equally unimpressed.

“Here is a pointless new live-action musical version of the Snow White myth, a kind of un-Wicked approach to the story and a merch-enabling money machine,” he said.

“Where other movies are playfully reimagining the backstories of famous villains, this one plays it straight, but with carefully curated revisionist tweaks. These are all too obviously agonising and backlash-second-guessing, but knowing that at some basic level the brand identity has to be kept pristine.

“Otherwise estimable performers Rachel Zegler and Gal Gadot are now forced to go through the motions, and they give the dullest performances of their lives.”

Ross Bonaime on entertainment site Collider was more positive.

“Considering the pressure this movie has going against it in remaking one of Disney’s first true masterpieces and their first-ever animated feature, it’s surprising how well Snow White pulls off this update,” he said.

“It’s not nearly perfect, and it can get sloppy at times in trying to bring this story up to date, but its earnestness and heart mostly make up for these flaws. Snow White deserved an update of sorts, and this is an admirable new take that certainly is one of the better live-action remakes from Disney. It might not be the fairest Snow White of all, but it’s an admirable effort nonetheless.”

Disney’s Snow White is in Australian cinemas now