The story of Snow White has been
retold many times since the original story was collected by the Grimm brothers
in the early 1800s. The original is actually quite dark and involves a corset
and poisoned comb in addition to the standard (and comparatively tame) poisoned
apple. While the old versions of Snow White entail her being saved by a prince,
recent retellings have shifted and made Snow White a more modern woman who's
fully capable of saving herself. Mostly.
In Mirror Mirror, released earlier this year, Snow White's beauty
isn't the threat to the evil Queen; it's how beloved she is by the kingdom's
people. In order to solidify her reign, the Queen sends her to the woods to be
abandoned and then killed by an evil creature living there. Hijinks ensue, and
Snow White ends up at the doorway to the seven dwarves, who are instead a band
of thieves. Snow White later defeats the great evil with some help from the
prince, though she actually does a bit of the heavy lifting. In the end, the
Queen is killed by her own hubris rather than an actual killing blow dealt by our
heroine or any of her companions. Mirror
Mirror is definitely a comedy rather than a true representation of the
original Snow White tale since only the barest thread of the original Grimm
story remains.
Snow White and the Huntsman may stay more true to the original
Grimm tale in some ways, but the ending is still modern, with Snow White being
taught to fight by the Huntsman and battling to save her kingdom from the
queen. Unlike Mirror Mirror, Snow White and the Huntsman tries to
take itself seriously, questionable acting abilities of Kristen Stewart aside.
Snow White is the only one that can defeat the Queen, making her more crucial
in battle. This version tries to give more backstory to characters to further
explain the machinations of Ravenna (evil queen in this film), with limited
success. Rather than the one clear-cut romantic interest, the romance lines are
blurred between the Huntsman and the Prince. Snow White and the Huntsman is
definitely a Twlight-esque take on
the original fairy tale.
In recent years, there has been
an influx of fairy tales turned into films "“ some of those films take a darker
turn while others make the story more accessible for the modern child. As a bit
of a literary purist, I tend to enjoy the original stories over the film
adaptations, and I can't really say that both of these films have their merits
in regards to their accuracy "“ they don't. Neither film is a true or even
halfway decent representation of the original Grimm fairytale; they're merely
loose interpretations of the original. Neither is based on the Grimm fairytale;
they're merely inspired by it. I'm all for modern takes on old stories, but at
least try to pay some homage to the original fairy tale, more so than in just a
name and poison apple.
