Snow White and the Huntsman (2012)

I’m not going to lie..I almost forgot about this Snow White adaptation that I had to write up.  I saw it so long ago as I’m writing this that I can’t even remember it all that much.  Well, it wasn’t that long, maybe a month or so.  Regardless, my final Snow White adaptation that I’m writing up and I’ll get the baking part done and we’re on our way to the next movie on the Disney Classics list, Pinocchio. That one is easy because there is no available adaptations for me to watch.  If you have any to suggest, or anything loosely based on it, I’d give it a go to. Not to mention baking for that one is going to be crazily hard.  Anyways, one thing at a time. Let’s finish this Snow White business with Snow White and the Huntsman.  I wasn’t excited to watch it, had low expectations.  Now you know where I stand before I fired up this one.

Let’s check it out!

Snow White and the Huntsman (2012)

Director: Rupert Sanders

Cast: Kristen Stewart, Charlize Theron, Chris Hemsworth, Sam Claflin, Sam Spruell, Ian McShane, Bob Hoskins, Ray Winstone, Nick Frost, Eddie Marsan, Toby Jones, Brian Gleeson

In a twist to the fairy tale, the Huntsman ordered to take Snow White into the woods to be killed winds up becoming her protector and mentor in a quest to vanquish the Evil Queen. – IMDB

The journey of watching Snow White adaptations has been a long one.  There is no doubt that Snow White is one of those very frequently adapted story plots that seem to always be a good way to go.  Whether the movies themselves are of what quality, well, that changes.  Snow White and the Huntsman is one that I mentioned before where I didn’t have a lot of expectations. For one, I’m really not a huge fan of Kristen Stewart and while I love seeing Chris Hemsworth and his handsome body, I’ve learned to also not watch anything in hopes of seeing them take their clothes off.  I really don’t know to say it any other way.  I did that for Clash of the Titans (remake) and it was disappointing along with the fact that it was a terrible movie.  But, that is for another post (which will never happen probably because I refuse to put myself through it again). Except, I like Disney Princesses and while Snow White isn’t my favorite one, there has been okay adaptations of it in some unexpected entertaining pieces and even though its hard to believe but the hopeful part of this is Charlize Theron as the Evil Stepmother.

I ramble a lot when I don’t know how to word my reviews.  I realize that.  I guess the easiest way is to start with what was good. Snow White and the Huntsman is not a great film.  Its a tad boring, a little pointless but there are some good parts.  Its doesn’t really make the film one I’d sit down to watch again which is why I’m writing this on a very vague memory because it simply is forgettable. The first good part is the dark take on the Snow White tale.  The harsh evil from the Stepmother, the dangers and dark environment, the black magic in the air, just how the movie is a lot darker in nature.  Second, it makes Snow White into a warrior, someone who will fight, and not the weak princess cleaning up after the dwarves and waiting for her Prince to save her.  Honestly, the recent take of making out the princesses to be stronger in nature is one I’m enjoying a lot. Even if its Miss Stewart playing the role.  We will discuss her a little later. Three, the dwarves are always chosen and played with such character.  The same goes for here especially when we have some unexpected recognized actors here.  Four, it has to be the outstanding role of The Evil Queen played by Charlize Theron.  She just takes command of her role and every scene she is in make it so much more enjoyable.  Five, the visuals are pretty in this one.  There’s dark tones as I mentioned in point 1 and there are some bright parts of it as well.  The CGI is done very nicely and makes it feel that much more like we are in a fantasy/fictional land.

 That’s a fair bit of positive but you know what. The cons of Snow White and the Huntsman far outweighs those five points above.  For one, the movie was way too long.  It was over 2 hours long.  That is absolutely crazy.  That’s because it had a ton of really pointless scenes.  I felt like it was all added for dramatic value.  Except this leads to my second thing that I didn’t like: Kristen Stewart.  Look, I know its horrible to be ragging on Kristen Stewart and to be honest, it seems she’s gotten better but this was her right out of the Twilight series and her face does not make me feel anything.  Its not happy, always sad, maybe constipated and her as a tough girl doesn’t quite make me feel convinced.  As I watched this, I did think of one thing: how her career might be like Channing Tatum where she was pegged for certain roles and one day, she’ll find that role and break out of her shell and be a better actress.  I’m trying to be positive here.  Oh and I have to hate on Kristen Stewart just a little.  She got to liplock with Chris Hemsworth!

I guess what it all comes down to is that the sum of the positives can’t even outweigh that of the negatives.  Long, boring, convoluted, got lost in itself and I just couldn’t get into it or feel connected to any of the characters.   Sure, the premise was good, the take of this classic tale was good in all its dark glory but it just doesn’t seem to be able to pull itself out of its own mess.  Charlize Theron couldn’t do it.  Chris Hemsworth, huntsman and narrator, didn’t even have the chance.  Snow White and the Huntsman has the right intentions but with a bad script and messy execution, it falls short of what it could be.

Have you seen Snow White and the Huntsman? 

Balto (1995)

It’s winter and man, was it extremely cold last week.  Also, I have plans to go see the international dog sled races in a few weeks. So what better time to pick to see this.

Director: Simon Wells

Voices: Kevin Bacon, Bridget Fonda, Bob Hoskins, Jim Cummings, Phil Collins

Based on the true story behind a American hero, as the box and posters for this animation says.  Its about the amazing story of Balto (Kevin Bacon), a half wolf who lives in Nome, Alaska in 1925.  In this animation, which my guess is loosely based since his companions are a goose who doesn’t fly south called Boris (Bob Hoskins) and two polar bears who can’t swim called Muk and Luk (both by Phil Collins).  When the children of Nome, Alaska start getting hit be an epidemic during a snow storm, they run out of medicine and the closest they could get the medicine delivered was to Nenana, Alaska.  With the brutal weather, the train could not bring it and the planes could not fly it out to them.  They only way was to send out their best dog sled team to go get the medicine.  In Nome, the best dog was pretentious Steele (Jim Cummings) who was the champion dog.  Steele, along with his pack of dogs tried every way possible to stop Balto from not only getting the girl dog, Jenna (Bridget Fonda) but also to stop him from overshadowing him.  When the team finally sets out, Steele gets the team lost coming back to Nome and after an accident, he ends up getting stranded in a lower landing.  Knowing this, Balto ignores the hatred from the other dogs and the humans in the town and goes to find the lost team in the storm in order to get back the medicine in time to save Rosy (who is the owner of Jenna) and the other sick children.

I saw this movie when I was younger and I even owned the VHS of it. This movie holds a lot of nostalgia for me.  When I upgraded it to DVD, this animation still held high up.  Its a very touching story filled with a lot of fun and funny dialogue.  Muk and Luk is the entertaining clowns of this show.  Boris being the responsible but sometimes hot-tempered role but also the one that looks out for Balto and sometimes acts as a mentor to remind him of the important things.  The voice work here is pretty above average.  They are all very vibrant and really fun throughout the whole animation.  The story may be loosely based on a true story but it does bring out how a dog can be loyal and faithful to the people and the place he belongs to.

This animation is a great one for some family fun.  Balto is a very meaningful story and for that, its worth a viewing.  He even has a statue in Central Park, which I did try to find last time I went in 2008, but unfortunately, we got lost so never found it.  Hopefully one day, I’ll eventually get there.

I know this is an older animation and I don’t hear people talking about it much.  I just wonder if a lot of people have seen it.

Have you seen it? Did you like it?