There has been plenty of controversy surrounding this movie. Whether it's the use of CGI to recreate the dwarfs, the protagonist making outrageous allegations, the change in release dates, or the horrible casting where they made Gal Gadot the evil stepmother, there has been no lack of commentary. In what world is Gal Gadot not more beautiful than anybody else? Come on! She is Wonder Woman! Several outlets are rating this movie as unwatchable, yet I wanted to see it for myself and make my own judgment. If you had asked me which Disney princess I identify with, I would say Belle, Jasmine, or even Rapunzel, but never Snow White. She was always a very one-dimensional character; she was young, sang about a prince, was kind, and ate an apple. No real personality there, not enough of a backstory. I can say now that this new Rachel-Zegler-version of Snow White is more relatable than it has ever been. Spoiler alerts incoming!

I heard people arguing this story completely destroys the original plot, but then I asked myself, which original plot? The PG poorly summarized version of it? Snow White is a story that dates back centuries, and over time, the story has evolved many times. So, this are a few of the differences I observe. 

1. We get to know Snow White a little better, as well as her parents. Previously, I didn't know much about them either. In this version, we learn about the princess's education, the values she was raised with, and the kind of ruler her father was, all of which add to the story. 

2. We get a more detailed story about how the evil witch became Queen and how her evil tactics turned the kingdom's peaceful citizens into soldiers. 

3. The prince is not a prince, it is a peasant, a common thief, he does kiss her and wake her up from that poisonous apple curse, but beyond that, he fights along side Snow White, so he doesn't "save her" as much as they save the kingdom together. 

Zegler is a great singer; we saw that in "West Side Story," and she accurately captured the spirit of this princess. Gadot is, in my opinion, not evil enough; she tries, but fails to be scary and menacing, in my opinion. Besides the acting, the use of colour (or the lack of it) plays a crucial part in this movie's aesthetic, and I enjoyed watching the transitions. They still manage to keep some of the original score from the cartoon version, which older generations can appreciate. I enjoyed this movie, it brought new life to a very bland character. Still I wouldn't have chosen that cast to begin with. Sadly, all this controversy has tarnished what could have been a great real-life princess movie. As we move forward, we also have to take into consideration, stories like this, they have been passed on from the generation to generation and they have evolved or morphed, and it is ok to change the message, it is ok to make the story richer, as long as the main characters stay true to their essence and the target audience is considered. In this case, I much enjoyed this movie compared to the overly prolongued version of "The Little Mermaid". I also thought the qualities that Snow White is pursuing encourage new generations of girls to be more the protagonist of their life, less of a damsel in distress: be fearless, fair, brave, and true. I give it a "theatre-worthy" rating. Go watch it, see for yourself.

Rating:

OMG, so good!

It will be part of my collection!

Theatre worthy

The popcorn was the best part

Is this for real?

So bad is not even funny

Wicked - Part 1

It was at least 12 years ago when I saw "Wicked" on stage in a Broadway Across Canada production. I remember hearing about this clever story even before that, where everything is told from the villain's point of view. Everyone has an origin story, and everyone's why has always been the story I love to read and see the most. This movie was shamelessly promoted for months and months before its release, and it is hard to live up to the hype, but it did, at least for me, it more than did. What I know about Ariana Grande was that she has a great voice and she can do singing impressions with remarkable ease, I had no idea who Cynthia Erivo was or whether she could match Idina Menzel's Elphaba. From my kid watching reruns of "Victorious" I saw Ariana had some years of comedic training, and even though you can't compare apples to pears, I can appreciate the character development from a one-dimensional dumb girl to a fun-loving good-hearted witch from Oz. The movie starts at the end, and Glinda (formerly known as Galinda), the Good Witch, tries to explain to the Munchkins that behind the Wicked Witch of the West, there was a very human woman with hopes and dreams and parents who failed her since the beginning. 

What you can sense throughout the film is that every detail is accounted for, and it is a labour of love, one that took many years to bring to the big screen. The director, the cast, the original Broadway composers and screenwriters, as well as the original cast's cameos, confirmed this is a story as relevant today as it was 25 years ago. And this, a story told so many times, feels different and special because it is not a carbon copy of the original production. It has its own heart and merit, the singers, the choreography, the larger-than-life sets, the incredible supporting actors behind it, it makes the movie flow effortlessly. It is a long movie, 2 hrs. 40 min., but it felt like a blink, one in which I laughed, cried, felt seen, identified with, and outraged. I recommend you watch it in theatres if that is still possible, or just buy it to watch and enjoy from the comfort of your home as often as you want. We (my girls and I) have watched it at least 5 times already, and we have the movie soundtrack on repeat on Spotify. Warning: This is a musical, so if you are not into it, then don't watch it. However, from all the musicals I have seen, this one is very tolerable because of all the other components of the film. Kudos to the casting department, the actors delivered their best performance, from Popular Galinda (Ariana Grande), misunderstood Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo), bad-boy Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey breaking hearts again), wise professor Dr. Dillamond (Peter Dinklage), master gaslighter of Oz (Goldblum) to evil mastermind M. Morrible (brilliant Michelle Yeoh). I hope the Academy doesn't do to "Wicked" what they did to the "Barbie" movie because it should be ok for a movie to be a box office hit and an award-winning production at the same time; sometimes all planets aligned. 

Days after we watched it, my 10-year-old daughter asked me, "Mom, do you rather do good things but be seen as a bad person, or bad things but be seen as a good person?" thinking about Elphaba. I said, "I would rather do good things, even if nobody believes in them, even if it is not popular; doing the right thing should be the only choice." What an important lesson to leave behind, and who knew green goes so well with pink, wink-wink. This movie is already "part of my collection".

Rating:

OMG, so good!

It will be part of my collection!

Theatre worthy

The popcorn was the best part

Is this for real?

So bad is not even funny