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Born from a drop of blood in a flutter of apple blossoms, and framed in ebony, a young girl named Snow White becomes the blessing of a loving peasant couple, John and Josephine. But with her birth comes a curse and the end of her mother's life. Left alone with an infant daughter, John braves a brutal winter in search of food for his starving angel. Salvation comes unexpectedly when the father's tears melt the frozen tomb of a bewitched creature, the Green-Eyed One. In thanks, the insinuating beast grants John three wishes: nourishment for Snow White, a kingdom in which to raise his family and a queen by his side. But John's cause for celebration is short-lived. For the Green-Eyed One has devious plans for the well-being of his own family. Owing his loathsome spellcasting sister, Elspeth, a long-awaited wish, he encourages her desires for appointment to the throne. A kingdom to rule is hers for the waiting, the new King John is hers for the belittling and a luscious little stepdaughter named Snow White, is hers to toy with and destroy at will. The castle awaits. A looking glass is calling. And a fairy tale like no other begins. —John Nickolaus title directed by femalecharacter name as titlesnow white charactersnowkingdom46 morePlot summaryAdd synopsisTaglinesDeception never looked so sweet.GenresAdventureFamilyFantasyCertificateTV-PGParents guide
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1.0 out of 5 stars Bad disc
Reviewed in the United States on May 28, 2021
I cant seem to get this movie to play. I keep getting a check disc notice as well as bad disc. 👎
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Top reviews from the United States
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Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on May 11, 2011
A very good movie, I almost gave it four stars instead of five, trying to be more "critical" of the film, but that seemed a bit unfair, not to mention untrue to how much I actually enjoyed the film. Would I say I liked it? Yes. Would I say I loved it? Well, I wouldn't say I didn't (I don't lie). So both is true, thus five stars it is! All the more so since the one of the main reasons I was going to knock off a star was because I think it should have been Snow White on the dvd cover's spine instead of the evil queen. Don't get me wrong, the evil queen is great and all, but the movie isn't called "Queen Elspeth: fairiest of them all" now is it? So what the heck's up with her being on the side by herself like that? But it seemed a little petty to take off a star JUST for that, when I loved everything else about both the film, the cover, AND the disc menus.
This movie really is an exellent way to show the classic fairytale on screen, even more so than I remembered from when I first saw it on TV many years ago. It has all the elements of a perfect dark fairy-tale (evil queens with awesome back-stories, scary wish-granters that pop up out of the ice, dwarfs that can create weather and travel anywhere they want as long as they are all together, they even had a fantastic call-back to a much older version of snow white where it was the princess's MOTHER that was trying to kill her, by having the queen magically transform herself into said mother using her mirror) without getting horror-film gory or adult. Major thumbs up there. To flesh it out a bit, the story borrows from an Andersen fairytale, the snow queen, and has mirror bits flying into peoples' eyes. You wouldn't think so, but it fits wonderfully into this version. It explains why the "huntsman" is so willing to kill Snow White for the queen and why he changes his mind at the last minute (a tear of guilt at what he's doing washes out the mirror piece). It also borrows from Snow White and Rose Red (the prince turns into a brown bear). And while this might seem like just another way to have people confuse the two very different fairytales, it goes so well with the film that this doesn't really matter.
I've read other reviews saying that the actress that played Snow White did everything from a "blah" job, to a terrible one. I didn't find that to be true. I loved the Snow White in this version. She's as afraid of her beauty as the queen is jealous of it, which I think worked better than having her just be a typical "Tra-la-la" disney sterotype, singing about when her prince is supposed to show up. In this version, the Prince shows up early on, but up till the last minute before the hunter is supposed to kill her under the queen's orders she more or less just ignores the fact that he likes her (because he doesn't know her) and when she stops ignoring it she tells him that beauty has nothing to do with what's inside. Her relationship with the dwarfs was well-done, too; having one of them be a statue she talked to in the garden, someone who "saw her life, saw her tears" was much more emotional than it would have been having her just stumble upon COMPLETE strangers, all the more so since she doesn't stay with them for as long in this version as in some others.
The costumes in this movie were awesome. I lost count of how many times I said, "I love that dress" while watching it. At LEAST four or five.
Over-all, this is the best Snow White movie out there that I've had the pleasure of seeing. It's not really for little kids, but there isn't anything particularly shocking in it aside from a couple of scary parts-including one where a ribbon tightens around Snow White's middle until she can't breathe and passes out, and another where the evil queen's brother, a pretty scary-looking dude, all and all, suddenly pops up out of a patch of ice-and it's fine for anyone over the age of 10 or 11 who likes a darker, less "heigh-ho" fare in their fantasy-themed movies.
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on July 2, 2022
Everything’s perfect and it works I was so happy to watch it!
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on April 6, 2005
Though there are some serious deviations to this new version of the Snow White fairytale, on the whole I enjoyed watching it, especially in terms of its beautiful visual style. As most reviewers have already said, everything in the scenes are bright and colourful, yet ornate and whimsical, giving it a truly fairytale feel. Costumes in particular are lovely whether it be the rainbow outfits of the dwarves or Snow White's own princess-wardrobe.
The story harks back more to the Grimm's fairytale, and so is perhaps not for younger viewers (though kids get very little credit these days - if they can watch the Queen's transformation scene in the Disney version of "Snow White", I think they could deal with this). The wood-dwelling couple John and Josephine give birth to a baby daughter according to Jo's wishes when she pricked her finger on a rosebush: a child with hair black as ebony, lips red as blood and skin as white as snow.
However when the difficult birth takes Jo's life, John is forced to leave their home to fetch milk for his daughter. He stumbles through the snow, unable to find the village and only survives when his tears melt the icy prison of the Green-Eyed Granter of Wishes, who grants John three wishes in gratitude. Hardly able to believe the situation, John wishes for milk, a kingdom and his queen. The first two are easy work for the genie, but for John's 'queen', the genie goes to his sister Elspeth, an ugly wench who lives to spread misery over the forest creatures (she has a garden of 'real' garden gnomes!) Transforming her into a beautiful woman she gleefully forces John to fall in love with her through the use of a magic mirror, leaving her with a husband to manipulate, a kingdom to rule, and a stepdaughter to hate...
The movie actually adds quite a lot of components from the Hans Christian Anderson fairytale "The Snow Queen", namely the role of the mirror. When Elspeth shatters it, two shards fly into John - one in his eye and one into his heart - the same thing that happens to Kay in Anderson's tale. I suspect many people were confused at the whole mirror sequence if they weren't familiar with this other story, but it is an interesting melding of stories.
Miranda Richardson magnificently plays the role of Elspeth, the evil stepmother and in many ways it is she who is the star of the production. She plays her role with great pizzazz from the twisted, bitter hag to the joyful maiden to the jealous and suspecting wife. Tom Irwin is a little hen-pecked as John, but ultimately we feel more sympathy than scorn for him. Unfortunately Kirstin Kreuk plays Snow White rather stiffly - though she is a perfect casting choice in terms of physical appearance. However, in Kreuk's defence it is one the most difficult things in the world to play virtuous, perfect heroines, simply because they appear rather boring on the screen (especially when surrounded by more fascinating villains). The dwarfs are a little silly (their connection with rainbows makes them look like extras on "Barney the Dinosaur") but most will be amused to recognise Warwick Davis ("Willow").
In keeping in line with the Grimm's story, the movie does include the sash that squeezes the breath out of Snow White as well as the famous apple, but unfortunately not the poisoned comb. Other interesting directions are taken by the movie-makers: instead of an old hag, Elspeth approaches Snow White as her dead mother, and as well as the colours of the rainbow, the dwarfs are named after the days of the week (and include a normal-sized Wednesday). The Prince is given a bit more of a back-story than simply entering at the end (he even gets a name!), but there are some loose ends not quite wrapped up and Elspeth's ultimate fate is a little silly.
Yet overall I enjoyed this movie, if not just for its gorgeous appearance which is made more amazing considering the very small budget for this movie. I watch it just to look at it: the elegant yet simple palace to the quiet, peaceful woodlands; the elaborate costumes, the colourful makeup, the subtle yet beautiful special effects, I could go on...
Top reviews from other countries
5.0 out of 5 stars Funny Fairytale
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on June 14, 2014
I love this version of Snow White. Not quite as tongue in cheek as Mirror Mirror and certainly not as bleak as Snow White and the Huntsman it nevertheless succeeds in providing a new twist on the classic fairy tale. The lead role is ably portrayed by Kristen Kreuk who, in spite of a little too much white powder on her face, manages to pull off a Snow White so kind and gentle that a less able actor might have rendered her laughable. In this case the character is appealing, amusing and, in her own way, tough. The seven dwarfs are hilarious and the prince suitably handsome. All an all an enjoyable, family friendly version of the story.
3.0 out of 5 stars Second rate
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on May 22, 2014
Perhaps I'm too critical, but I found this one of the less successful adaptations of the famous fairy tale. The story is pretty thin and silly, but the characters are even worse. The king and the prince are both soppy. Miranda Richardson has had much better roles than that of this wicked queen. I didn't like Kristin Kreuk in Smallville, but here her role is insipid. One can't really sympathise with her. There's nothing there! Even the dwarves seem to be incidental to the plot and far from funny. It is colourful, and undoubtedly appeals to kids, but I can't give it high marks.
5.0 out of 5 stars Darker than Disney...
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on March 26, 2007
"Mirror, Mirror on the Wall.... Who's the Fairest of them all?"
Miranda Richardson speaks to the Mirror on a regular basis after she is magically transformed from a lonely, extremely unattractive, blemished peasant to a Beautiful, Ravishing, Queen, a transformation she revels and delights in!! She has a wonderful on screen presence and with her fine features, flame coloured hair and elegant medieval costumes, she carries the role of beautifully, with wonderful acting. She is beautiful on the outside, but definitely not within. (Which you can see in her eyes, as well as her actions.) As Snow White points out, when the Prince tells her that she herself is beautiful... "What does that mean?.... Beautiful... Do a person's outsides have anything to do with them being kind or considerate or careful towards others?.... No.... Or gentle... or generous?.... No.... Or loving.. or giving.. or just.. or wise." Kristin Kreuk is suitably cast as Snow White with her smooth flawless white skin, long shining dark hair and red lips, capturing the innocent sweetness and beauty of this fairytale heroine. Beautiful inside and out ..... but haunted by an inner sadness and feeling quite unloved. She is an unhappy and vulnerable girl trying to grow up, who feels isolated and cut off. There is no maternal figure in her life, as her stepmother is cruel, cold, jealous of her beauty and always working against her.
This film breathes new life into the Classic that is "Snow White" creating a very colourful film. For instance, the garden with its beautiful flowers and vibrant red rose bushes, which the King delights in, as did his first love and true love, Snow White's mother, who passed away shortly after childbirth, leaving the unfortunate Snow White in the hands of the wicked Queen. The King is blinded to the Queen's cruelty, as he is under a spell that began with a blizzard, a sinister creature, three wishes and a mirror smashed into pieces, a shard of which entered his eye blinding him to the queen's cruelty and binding him to her in an obsessional way which he believed to be love. His obsession with the Queen leads him to neglect his daughter and refuse to see the Queens nasty treatment of the Princess. The tragic Garden Gnomes also add colour to the garden and are not all that they seem, which Snow White finds out later in the film when she meets seven strange colourful men, unusual in the fact that together they can form a Rainbow. (A symbol of Hope).
The Mirror which the Queen regularly admires herself in is exquisite, in fact it is a mirrored room. It has a wonderful effect, and she can see herself from all angles. She also has a hand held mirror, which has many uses, such as being an instrument for evil purposes... The Queens illusions are shattered when Snow White is suddenly revealed as the fairest of them all, and the Prince rebuffs the Queens Advances, which she punishes by transforming him. Bored of the King who no longer has glass in his eye and can now see clearly, she had tried to cast her spell over the Prince, but the Woodchopper accidentally falls victim instead and it is he she sends to kill Snow White, while the King is helplessly trapped elsewhere.
In the Land of Fairy Tales nothing is simple and Snow White runs for her life into the forest. The Queen is a mistress of disguise and manipulation and soon catches up with her, fuelled by the Green Eyed Monster, Jealousy, and tempting her with a Blood Red Apple, much to the distress of the seven men and the prince. But, as they say, what goes around comes around, and the Queen has her worst fears realised as the mirror is smashed... As it shatters and the Queens cruel reign comes tumbling to an end, good triumphs over evil, Snow White is resurrected, the ice melts and transformation takes place. Everything becomes clear... Nothing tarnishes Beauty as quickly as a Wicked Heart...
Take a Trip back in Time to this popular Fairytale classic with modern twists. A truly enchanting film, capturing the darkness, magic, suffering and unrequited love that often lurks beneath the surface of most fairy stories, but obviously, culminating with the triumph of light over dark... A superb and colourful re-creation.
5.0 out of 5 stars Snow White as you've never seen!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on July 21, 2017
Think you know the story of Snow White? Think again! This is a fantastic telling of the story, with some fantastic twists and turns within the story you know (they're not just 7 dwarves - oh no, they're much, much more than that!). A fantastic film worth watching over.
2.0 out of 5 stars not dvd i order
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on January 8, 2021
it play ok but was very good had some marks i like what i order