Mirror Mirror Disc Review

• 29th Jul 2012

2012 has been a big year for Snow White with two remakes of the fairy tale hitting our screens within weeks of each other. Despite being a huge fairy tale fan and a lover of all things princessy I never got round to catching either of these flicks on the big screen so when I was given the opportunity to review Mirror Mirror on DVD I jumped at the chance. I can happily say I wasn’t disappointed either.

This film is brilliantly cast and Julia Roberts makes an excellent evil Queen. Lily Collins’ talent as an actress much belies her short career and she manages to make Snow White a strong feisty character to believe in but still retains that innocent, naïve edge that links her so closely to the Snow White we all know and love from the story books. She is certainly beautiful and can even make a weird swan headdress look good but by God, I was desperate to get my hands on those eyebrows. I know strong eyebrows are “in” at the moment but gosh they were a little distracting at first.

There’s enough comedy in Mirror Mirror to keep adults entertained if they’re watching it with their children and a nice nod or two to some pantomime tricks too. I have to admit my favourite part of the film is The Queen’s story telling at the beginning. I found her quick, little asides very amusing. Although Prince Alcott also has a few good lines in it, my favourite being about the Prince saving the Princess, “it’s been focussed grouped, it works!”

There was an excellent use of colour to signify key differences between class groups. With the interior of the castle, the Queen, Prince and Snow White often swathed in vivid, bright shades while the poor townsfolk and the kingdom outside the castle grounds were particularly grey and drab.

It genuinely surprised me how much I enjoyed Mirror Mirror but I was left a bit puzzled and bemused by the big Bollywood musical number at the very end. I thought it was unnecessary and not particularly in keeping with the rest of the tone of the film.

The DVD comes with a few extras: a couple of featurettes about the making of the film Looking Through The Mirror and The Prince And The Puppies, the latter one of these is particularly insipid and the theatrical trailer. The Blu-ray version comes with considerably more extras; an added 5 featurettes So You Are From Valencia?, I Need Meat, Snow White Is Dead, Thank You For Coming and I Believe I Can Dance, plus the trailer, deleted scenes and an alternative beginning. So, if you’re looking for more bang for your buck and have the appropriate technology I’d definitely spend the extra few quid on the Blu-ray version.

Laura Johnson