RED SHOES AND THE SEVEN DWARFS (2019)

RED SHOES AND THE SEVEN DWARFS (2019)

Tagline: Your true self is the fairest of them all.

(Action, Adventure, Animation) [PG]

You are the most beautiful woman in the world, whether my eyes are open... or closed.

This one is about Snow White (voiced by Chloë Grace Moretz famous for SHADOW IN THE CLOUD), who has been cursed and runs into a group of seven Dwarfs who have also been cursed. They are all actually princes. In order to break the curse, they need to find magical “red shoes”. 

This is a fairy tale with a bit of a twist. It also drew a bit of controversy from the people that knew about it when it came out. I say that because this movie did barely over 10 million at the box office which is ridiculously low for an animated film with big stars attached. Gina Gershon who voices Regina isn’t the star she was I guess, but she has 151 movie, TV, and animation credits to her name and has been in film since the ’80s. Everyone knows Chloë Grace Moretz in spite of some of her more terrible roles she’s taken. Then we’ve also got Patrick Warburton who is extremely well known especially in the world of animation voice work. He is probably best known for voicing Sheriff Stone in SCOOBY-DOO! : MYSTERY INCORPORATED. 

This movie does a fantastic job in the animation department. No, it’s not on par with Sony Animation or Disney or Dreamworks, but it’s very solid. I would put it in the same category as MOSLEY, THE STOLEN PRINCESS, and SECRET MAGIC CONTROL AGENCY in regards to animation quality. The design work is interesting overall and I loved a lot of the concepts. This movie is cute, fun, and cool in its execution and has some funny moments, but the overall message is problematic on both sides of at least one argument. The Snow White isn’t exactly a size 1. The Dwarfs see her like that, but she has also been cursed. 

--WARNING -- sensitive subject approaching. 

The tagline message of the movie is that it doesn’t matter what you look like and you are your best when you are being your true self. I think perhaps if your character is truly good, that’s awesome. Unfortunately, a lot of people have terrible character. In that sense, telling people to be their true selves is a bizarre and unfortunate massage because strong character and a moral compass matter. Be your true self only if you are not some freakin psycho. 

The original ads for the movie pissed people off because they kind of indicate that you can’t be beautiful if you are overweight. This is a horrible message because we have inward and outward beauty. Beauty is also subjective. However, it also seems to send the message that being overweight is totally fine. I am sure it can be medically for some (you might have a certain body type or super muscular and that allows you to carry more weight but still be healthy), but being overweight for most is actually a huge problem, in America especially. Being overweight can lead to all kinds of serious health conditions. This is not something we should be glorifying or promoting, just like we shouldn’t be promoting being a stick. Loving yourself as you are, also means making and pursuing health goals. 

--END – sensitive stuff, the rest is just my usual bologna. 

I get a lot of what director Sung-ho Hong was trying to do here, but I also understand the arguments that buried this movie on both sides. Having said all that it does manage to be fun and overall has some pretty cool ideas that I think are at least worth a watch. Hopefully, if you are a parent you know your kids well enough to know if they are going to be swayed by this, but as adults, this can definitely be enjoyed for the spectacle of the animation as well as some of the well-done bits of humor. 

For me, this is a 3 out of 7 that could have been a 4 or 5 with a better script.

GRAPHICS ARE THE PROPERTY OF SIDUS ANIMATION AND ARE USED FOR REVIEW PURPOSES ONLY. 

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