Spoiler alert! We’re discussing major plot details about the ending of “Snow White” (in theaters now), Disney’s live-action reimagining of the 1937 animated movie.
Magic mirror on the wall, what is the biggest change of all?
After years of Disney adults yelling online, the new “Snow White” is finally here – and it’s among the very best of the Mouse House’s live-action remakes. The harmless and heartfelt film stars Rachel Zegler as the titular princess, while Gal Gadot takes up the scepter of the Evil Queen.
With the exceptions of “Heigh-Ho” and “Whistle While You Work,” all of the original movie’s songs have been cut and replaced by a slew of catchy musical numbers by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul (“Dear Evan Hansen”). Here’s what else is new and what has stayed the same:
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Snow White gets a much more meaningful backstory
The original Disney film begins with a few short sentences about how Snow White was forced to work as a scullery maid for her vile stepmother, the Queen. The new movie, meanwhile, devotes ample time to Snow White’s childhood: showing how her royal parents ruled with kindness and often baked pies for the villagers. It also depicts how the wicked Queen weaseled her way into power after Snow White’s mom died, and how the princess continued to advocate for the commonfolk, despite her own dire circumstances.
Snow White still has a love interest in the remake – but he’s no prince
In the animated movie, Snow White immediately falls in love with a dashing prince, who overhears the fair maiden singing at her wishing well and begins to serenade her. But in the new film, the unnamed swain has been replaced by a Robin Hood-style heartthrob named Jonathan (Andrew Burnap), who leads a defiant group of bandits that steals from the monarchy and gives to the poor.
Snow White and Jonathan meet at the castle when he’s caught thieving potatoes. He urges the young princess to stand up to the Queen and to follow in her father’s footsteps of being “fearless, fair, brave” and “true.” The two are later reunited in the forest, where Jonathan helps open Snow White’s eyes to the plight of ordinary people under oppressive rule.
Dopey and the other dwarfs are magical creatures after all
Despite rampant speculation about how Disney would handle the seven dwarfs, the beloved characters appear almost identical to their hand-drawn animated predecessors (albeit this time, they’re brought to life using uncanny visual effects).
But the live-action movie introduces some magical new elements for the dwarfs, who assert they have known each other for nearly 300 years. The miners’ hands mystically light up as they hunt for gems underground, and Doc (voiced by Jeremy Swift) nurses Jonathan back to health using a potpourri of minerals, after he gets shot by a crossbow while trying to save Snow White.
There’s also a touching subplot for the clumsy, muted Dopey (Andrew Barth Feldman), who’s regularly the butt of the other dwarfs’ jokes. Snow White helps give him the courage and confidence to speak, and by the end, we learn that Dopey was narrating the film all along.
Yes, Snow White is still awoken by true love’s kiss
As he does in the animated film, the Huntsman (Ansu Kabia) backs out of murdering Snow White, although instead of tricking the Queen with a pig’s heart, he merely puts an apple in a box and hopes she doesn’t notice. The Queen eventually takes matters into her own hands, disguising herself as an old hag and showing up at the dwarfs’ front door with a poisoned apple for her stepdaughter.
In this version, Snow White still takes a bite and falls into a death-like sleep. Rather than a glass coffin, the dwarfs place the princess on a stone slab adorned with flowers in the middle of the woods, keeping vigil until Jonathan shows up one day, having escaped the Queen’s dungeon. He plants “love’s first kiss” on the dozing Snow White, who awakens emboldened and ready to fight back against the Queen.
Snow White leads a kindness revolution ‒ and the Evil Queen gets a different death
After poisoning the princess, the Queen reveals that she killed Snow White’s father, who disappeared from her life with little explanation. With the dwarfs and bandits by her side, Snow White vows to reclaim her parents’ home and restore peace to her impoverished kingdom.
When she arrives at the castle gates, the Queen orders her guards to seize Snow White and kill her once and for all with a dagger. But in the nick of time, Snow White recalls her mother’s advice to always remember people’s names. And so, the princess appeals to the guards’ good graces, recounting fond memories of who the men were before they joined the Queen’s wicked regime.
Now with no one on her side, the Queen flees to her throne room, where she smashes her magic mirror and gets sucked into its enchanted vortex. It’s a much less gnarly ending than the animated movie, which climaxes with the Queen plunging to her death after attempting to crush the dwarfs with a giant boulder.
Despite so much revolting toxicity from online trolls, this live-action “Snow White” makes timely, thoughtful changes that are rarely heavy-handed. And in Zegler’s capable hands, the original Disney princess gets a happily ever after that feels beautifully earned.
