I
love fairytale retellings. There's just something about them that makes me
search for and read them enthusiastically. Ella
Enchanted, Beastly, Spindle's End… AKA Cinderella,
Beauty and the Beast, and Sleeping
Beauty… name a fairytale and there's probably a cool retelling of it.
This year, those retellings have gone from text
to screen. ABC's Once Upon A Time,
with its ensemble of fairytale characters, has become a smash hit and Grimm, a fairytale cop drama, also continues
to thrive. The popularity of fairytale retellings isn't limited to TV though.
Two retellings of Snow White recently
duked it out on the big screen. Mirror,
Mirror was a whimsical, family-friendly take on the tale while Snow White and the Huntsman was an
action-adventure version.
I never understood why they basically chose to
go head-to-head, (there are a lot of fairytales to choose from, what's with the
Snow White mania?) but that just means more material for me! Now, neither of
these movies are your standard Disney fare. Each one has its own original spin,
which is essential for any retelling. The heroines are more active, the dwarves
might surprise you, and there are a few plot twists along the way.
Spoiler
Alerts:
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| thepopcornjunkie.com |
Mirror,
Mirror is a cute re-imagining of Snow White with a beautiful, bright
aesthetic. The costumes and landscapes are my favorite part. The plot is
predictable but still fun. The film begins with a narration from the Queen, yet
instead of being "her story" like she says, it's obviously still Snow
White's from start to finish. After her father goes to war and never returns,
the little beauty is locked up for eighteen years. This Snow White has a little
more fight in her than the Grimm's version though (but not as much as in Huntsman, which I'll get to). She
escapes the castle to see how her people are faring under the Queen's rule. She
even gets to save the prince! And then he coincidentally shows up at her
castle, giving the Queen the brilliant idea of marrying him to save herself from
financial ruin. Of course he falls in love with Snow White, the Queen plots
Snow's death (by forest beast in this version), and circumstances lead Snow to
live with dwarves. But instead of basically being a housewife/mother, Snow
becomes a bandit with the dwarves and steals from the Queen. She even gets to
save the prince again – with a kiss. And spoiler, she wins in the end.
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| mankabros.com |
Snow
White and the Huntsman is much darker and creepier. Here, Snow White
actually gets armor and there are fight scenes! She's supposed to be the tough
girl, a leader... I couldn't see her as anything other than Bella Swan
unfortunately. She did talk less though so that was a plus. The redeeming
qualities of the movie were the huntsman (though I feel he could have been more
effective with a hammer, maybe?), the dwarves, and even the Duke's son.
However, the strange love triangle between him, the huntsman, and Snow White
seemed contrived. For this movie to be really great the acting had to be better,
but overall it's an enjoyable story. The effects and images are breathtaking at
times and the attempt to make Snow White heroic is at least a good choice,
though executed poorly. One thing that could have been cool to explore more was
the Queen's psyche. She over-acted at times in the movie, but for the most part
I absolutely adored her menacing demeanor. I was intrigued by her story because
her beauty came as part of a spell. Snow White being fairer than her was the
only thing that could mess it up... or secure the power forever. This added
higher stakes to the story than the original, in which the Queen was simply
selfish and vain. All in all, Huntsman
followed the hallmarks of the modern fairytale: having a capable heroine and
some plot changes from the original.
Back
to the Original:
It was difficult to find the true original text
because I kept getting different results, but I'm just going to lay it all out
on the table. The 1812 version, the supposed original, is your basic Snow White with one notable exception.
It says that the evil queen wasn't Snow White's stepmother… she was her mom! If
that's true, this story is even more messed up than I thought. Just think:
instead of grounding you, your mom wants to put you in the ground… because
you're prettier than her. Creepy. There's a reason why fairytales were used to
scare kids.
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| arttoartpalettejournal.com |
The most well known version of the fairytale features an evil
stepmother instead. The Queen wants to kill Snow White because she's prettier
than her (according to the magic mirror). She tries to kill Snow with a tight
corset, then a poison comb, and finally the infamous apple. Karma comes back to
bite her though when she's forced to dance to death in hot iron shoes. Oh, and
the kiss? Yeah, that didn't happen. Snow White woke up because the piece of
apple dislodged itself from her throat after a bump when her coffin was
being transported.
So yeah, things have changed since 1812.
Looks like the film industry is updating old
classics by trying to make the heroines more kickass, minor characters
quirkier, and adding some plot twists. If it means more fairytale retellings
for me, I'm all for it! It certainly doesn't seem like the trend is going
away anytime soon. Both Once Upon A Time
and Grimm are returning for new
seasons and the movie Maleficent is
set to come out in 2014.
Written by Alex Kowal
