Pirates! Band of Mifits!

What with all the inuendo and violence in this film, I'm surprised it got a G rating, but I am so glad it did. The Pirates: Band of Misfits is a fun romp, with a great cast and expertly animated by the kings of claymation, Aardman. Hooray! Probably the only other genre that has been as exploited as pirates in teh past 10 years has been vampires, so is this film going to be any good? A big resounding yes! Is it a cheap knock-off trying to cash in on a dying fad? No. Is it as good as Aardman's other claymation films? Well, we'll get to that.

So, this film is an underdog story, and we all know how people love underdog stories. Our underdogs in this case are the eponymous pirates of the title, led by their optimistic captain, the Pirate Captain (voiced by Hugh Grant). After failing year after year to win the Pirate of the Year Award, the Pirate Captain is desperate to win, even if this means entering his dodo Polly into a science competition (go see the film, it explains things a lot better) with the help of Charles Darwin (David Tennant). It doesn't help matters that Queen Victoria (Imelda Staunton) completely hates pirates.

The story is typical, but incredibly unpredictable. Watching the trailer and then going to the movie, I had a vague idea of what it might be about, but I was not expecting what I got. The story has a lot of twists, some you can see from a mile off and others that will make you shout swear words right in the middle of a cinema filled with kids (not a good idea). The story is one fun romp! That's sort if the only way to describe it. I don't want to give too much away, ecause it is better if you don't know what's going to happen, but be prepared to throw any preconceptions out the window.

But where would a great story be if it didn't have sufficient characters to keep it together. And these characters are excellent. The Pirate Captain is gullible, foolish and kinda stupid, but in the nicest way possible. Even though he makes some stupid mistakes, you do sympathise with him and cheer him on. His long suffering second in command, No. 2 (credited as the Pirate with a Scarf, voiced by Martin Freeman) is the heart of the movie. Aardman's amazing facial expressions are put to good use as he becomes more and more frustrated at his Captain. Ok, I need to stop here for a minute and talk about the names. The names for the crew are fucking awesome! First of all, there's the Pirate Captain himself, the Pirate with a Scarf aka No. 2, the Pirate with Gout (Brendan Gleeson), the Albino Pirate (Russel Tovey), the Surprisingly Curvaceous Pirate (Ashley Benson) and the Pirate Who Likes Sunsets and Kittens (Al Roker). Holy crap! These names are so awesome! Whoever came up with this idea was a genius! For me, it's the funniest thing in the film. Anyway, back to characters. Charles Darwin is a lovesick fool, who spends most of the film pining for a girlfriend, and being generally adorable. But the best character is Queen Victoria, as the villain. Yep, you read correctly. Our villain is one of Britain's most loved rulers. Seriously, just go see it for that, and the fact that Imelda Staunton goes ape-shit crazy as well!

Speaking of ape-shit crazy, the acting is superb, and for and animation you need especially superb actors. Pirates seemed to have more clout than preivous Aardman (claymation) films, getting not only Hugh Grant and David Tennant as mains, but Salma Hayek, Lenny Henry, Jeremy Piven and Brian Blessed all have cameos, and you saw from the other pirates that this is the best of the best in terms of British talent. And what surprised me the most was that I couldn't hear the actors in the characters. Let me clarify, the Pirate Captain didn't sound like Hugh Grant at all. I think that was the most surprising. Ok, the only voice I did recognise was Brian Blessed as the Pirate King, but it's Brian Blessed! The only people who wouldn't recognise his voice are those who have no idea who he is.

So, going back to my earlier question, is this as good as the other Aardman? I'm going to have to say no. But put those pitchforks away, and let me tell you why. Now, I'm not saying that it's bad and I'm not saying that for an Aardman film it's bad. I am saying that it is more flawed than the other films Aardman has made, particularly the claymation ones. There are a couple of reasons for this, mainly concerning the story and the humour. Now, in both Chicken Run and Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, the jokes came out of the situations the characters found themselves in, with an emphasis on story and characters. In Pirates, this seemed to be the opposite. I said earlier that the story was unpredictable, well that's because it seems the writers had all these jokes and big set pieces that they wanted to put in and built the story around that. And that's another thing. There are so many jokes in this movie that have been shoe-horned into this movie that laugh a minute takes a literal meaning. The story, also, just isn't as good. Again, going back to Chicken Run and Wallace and Gromit, even Arthur Christmas and Flushed Away, all those films have simple stories, with good pacing and darker or quieter moments, and they all revolved around a simple premise. While Pirates has the simple premise, the story goes bonkers, and never really has any slow/quiet scenes. Even during the "sad part" there were still jokes being thrown at you. Now, this isn't bad, but it does create complexities and makes the film more convoluted than it needs to be.

But as I say, the film is still funny and there are some refreshing elements to be found from a pirate movie. Like Queen Victoria as the villain (go and see it now for that!). But it's also very good at showing, not telling. Like the tension between Darwin and No. 2 is only shown through some tense looks between the two. Another part that I like is that the Strangely Curvaceous Pirate is not a phoned in, obvious love interest for the Pirate Captain. Instead, she's a character in her own right, with a running gag to add to her character. In all honesty, this film reminds me most of Paul, the Simon Pegg/Nick Frost film. For those who haven't seen a Pegg/Frost film before, it's a great way to be introduced. It's not as good as Hot Fuzz or Shaun of the Dead, but it's still good in its own right. Pirates isn't as good as Chicken Run, but for someone who hasn't seen something by Aardman before, it's a good way to get them into it. It isn't as dark, or as serious, but it's still a fun film in its own right.

If I had a final complaint about the film, it would be the choice of the music used in the film. The opening and ending songs are fine. They set the mood and highlight the tone of the scenes. I am amore annoyed at the use of "London Calling" for when the pirates sail into (guess where!) London, but that's mainly because it's the most cliched and overused "Oh look! We're in London!" song.
And I am also confused about why they chose Flight of the Concords song "Not Crying" for the sad montage of the film. It's nice to hear a Flight of the Concords song in a film, but weird to hear a completely unrelated comedy song in the middle of a comedy.

But yeah, do go see the film. As much as I point out it's flaws (hey, that's what a reviewer does) it is a good film, and a lot of fun! If you disagree with me, cool. Disagree. Reviews are opinions after all. Until next time, Avast and away!

Loveable Jerks

Hello again, and welcome to another list! Yay! Anyway, so loveable jerks are those characters who ... well they're jerks, but you love them. Yeah, that's pretty much it, I don't really know how else to phrase it.

So, let's not waste time jabbering about nothing and get on with it!

10. D'Artagnan, from the Three Musketeers and the Four Musketeers

This one really depends on which version of the character you know. For me, the part will always belong to Michael York in the 1973 adaptation of the Alexandre Dumas novel. And the reason is that he displays the innocent ignorance of a young man new to the world, the arrogance and pride that his heritage demands, and he does some pretty stupid and shallow things during both the films. For instance, he cheats on his girlfriend (TWICE!) while she's kidnapped. Plus, famously, he gets into 3 duels within 10 minutes because of his pride, anger and arrogance. And yet there is this simplistic charm about him, that comes from his naivety throughout the film. And you also see him grow into a more mature person, while maintaining his charisma from before, though it does take him until the last 10 minutes of the second film. Again, this does really depend on which version you watch. Michael York was wide-eyed about many of the sensible things in the world, but is confident and fairly brash when it comes to sword play and women. Chris O'Donnell is annoying, stupid and can't act, and Percy Jackson.... he played him? Yeah, he was forgetable.

9. Edmund Blackadder from Blackadder

Where to begin? You all know who he is, and if you don't then you have not experienced life! Like D'Artagnan, it depends which version of Blackadder you look at. In the first series he was a snivelling idiot, in the second he was ruthless and after only money. In the third he was aggravated about others stupidity, and in the fourth series he was more of a shell of his other incarnations, but still as snarky as ever. Throughout all series though (with the exception of the first. Most fans seem to forget it exists and I don't blame them. The other series are far superior) Blackadder possesses some sort of likeable-ness that makes people keep coming back to him. And he does have charm, when he wants. He just doesn't really use it because he find the people he's surrounded by insufferabl and idiotic. It might be his intelligence. He always has a smart remark for everyone, and no one is spared his unending wit. Whatever it is, this character makes people laugh and fall in love with him whatever series you watch. My personal favourite is the fourth series, because even though he has clearly been affected by war, he still has the same drives and goals as all the Blackadders' that came before him.

8. Jayne Cobb from Firefly

Oh Jayne. No offense, but you are too dumb to be a bad-arse. This guy has some of the best lines in Firefly, purely from the fact that he's unable to understand half of the things that are being said. So why is he a jerk? Well, he does sell out River and Simon, offers to trade Mal his gun to sleep with his 'wife' (a gun he names Vera, of course) and he's also, well, selfish. He cares about himself more than anyone else, and insults everyone in the series with his ego and stupidity. But then why is he loveable? Probably because he just doesn't know how dumb he is at times, and he doesn't really notice how laughable he is. That, and he does show loyalty to the crew at a number of times, usually after things don't go his way. But he will fight with and for the crew of Serenity, even if he does get on their nerves all the time. And think about, his job in the crew is to fight when he is told to. He could turn on any of them at any time, but for the most part he doesn't, showing that he does respect his team mates. But mostly, he just so loveably stupid!

7. Jeff Winger from Community

There is a character like this in most American sitcoms. The womaniser, the jerk with a heart of gold, the side character who steals the show, and is the only reason you watch the show in the first place. The thing about Jeff is, he's the main character. Hence why he beat out such characters as Barney Stinson and Bender. Though these characters have stories and subplots in some episodes, but in Community Jeff is the leader of the group, so his jerkiness flow into every part! Considering he only started the study group to try and get into Britta's pants, he publicly humiliated her before making out with Annie, he will easily humiliate anyone else for his own gains and yet ... people like him. And respect him. Probably because he does try to fix his mistakes, like in the Dungeons and Dragons episode. He also doesn't seem to mean to hurt anyone, but his egotism makes it impossible for him not to insult someone in each episode. His protectiveness of the group does sometimes blind him to how others feel, and he does spend a lot of time guilt tripping people he has a grudge against, but again, his loyalty to his friends and his charismatic nature does raise from being just a jerk, to more of a flawed and human character that just makes the same mistakes we all do... Maybe not all the mistakes that we make. Heat affected zombies don't really happen in our reality.

6. Han Solo from the Star Wars Trilogy

Oh he is! You know he is. He's in a wreck of a ship, driving around with a giant fur ball (who is one of my favourite characters that you can't understand), he's cocky, egotistic, arrogant and yet... charming? And yes, he is charming. But he is also slightly noble, turning down the reward money, though that could be interpreted as him just trying to impress Princess Leia. But still, slightly noble! And he even stuck around after to help them out, and not really shoot anything... yeah, his ship kinda sucks. As the trilogy continues, we see that he does care about both Luke and Leia, and even more so for his best friend, Chewbacca. So yeah, starts out as a selfish rogue only helping someone for his own benefit, and ends... a little less selfish but still a rogue, helping the rebels stop the Empire take over the universe (of course!). And of course, Harrison Ford makes him all that more awesome.

5. Felicia from The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert

Yes, the queen of bitches herself! Played expertly by Guy Pearce , this drag queen (real name Adam) has one of the dirtiest and funniest mouths on film. (And I will be referring to Felicia as a she, in honour the drag queen tradition, because drag queens are awesome!) There is nothing she doesn't have an opinion about, and she will say whatever she wants, regardless of how people will react. I suppose thats what makes her awesome, but even for all her crassness she does have a vulnerable side. After an attempted rape, we do see her breakdown and show a different emotion from bitchy smart-ass. The film itself is one that is driven by character rather than plot, and through the course of the film we do get glimpses in her life learn more about what makes her tick. What is admirable about her is that after the afore-mentioned attempted rape, she tries to move on with her life and not let it drag her down (scuse the pun). She doesn't let it define her. Also her confidence is amazing! She loves what she does and her love of life is what makes her an awesome, loveable jerk.

4. Rob Gordon from High Fidelity

Ladies and Gentlemen! Meet the man that inspired the list! Yes, I came up with this list whilst watching John Cusack mope about past girlfriends. And this dude really is a douche sometimes. After being unhappy and rejected in love too many times, he comes to believe that all women are all out to get him. So he hates them all. At least he thinks so. So what's douchey about him? Well, he cheats on his girlfriend, stalks some of his exes and when one of them says it was him that broke up with her and that she pretty much suffered a nervous breakdown because of it, he doesn't care. Also, his girlfriend got an abortion because he was cheating on her. (It makes more sense in the movie, so go watch that to understand anything I've just said.) So, what makes him loveable? Ok, I'm going to be honest, we are getting into the tragic characters here. The next ones on the list are fairly tragi-comic, with little to none appeal or good qualities. But what makes Rob tragic is that he is going through a mental crisis about his inability to be with a woman who loves him. This comes from his fear of rejection and companionship, but does this make him loveable? Yes, because from that fear comes an ego! One which he eventually rises above and realises that there are 2 people in a relationship, and he has to stop being so scared. I suppose what also makes him loveable is his change in attitude, he starts off cold and resenting, and throughout the film becomes more accepting and at ease with where he is in life. Of course, his girlfriend helps him and gives a confident boost and the love he was craving.

3. Withnail from Withnail and I

Now we are getting to the real low-lives. Withnail has to be one of the most pitiful characters I have seen on screen. He isn't repulsive, but he quite apathetic and selfish. And I don't mean egotistical, though his ego is quite large. He cares about his friend (only known as 'I' in the film), but only in the sense that if he left, Withnail would be all by himself. Yeah, Withnail is only friends with I so that he has someone to share his booze with. He gets his friend into not very nice scrapes, which ultimately backfire on him (I'd give examples, but it's better if you just watch it for the surprise), he gets himself drunk and high out of self-pity and to try and make himself forget that he is himself. This is bottom of the barrel scum. But, yes, even this man can be loveable. Most likely due to the wonderful portrayal by Richard E. Grant, Withnail becomes larger than life and almost goofy, were it not for his cynical and sardonic nature to tie him to the ground. Is he loveable? Only in the sense that he is a pitiful character, not sympathetic, but pitiful. I suppose this is my own personal choice for the list, but he is one of my favourite characters and, to me at least, one of the best loveable jerks out there.

2. Arnold Rimmer from Red Dwarf

Yes, the smeg head himself! Oh Rimmer, you are very loveable. With your deep seated self loathing, your subconcious that hates you and your selfish attitude. Who couldn't love you? I don't really want to go on about why this dude is a jerk, if you haven't seen the show you haven't lived, but essentially Rimmer is a coward, a bit of a douche, out for himself, but he isn't really egotistical... no, no he is, sorry. But he's loveable because he's so wrong about everything! He has no charm (we found out he killed it in one episode), he takes a lust potion just to get laid until he breaks his dick. Yeah... this is a sad, lonely and pathetic man, who would sell out anyone to get ahead himself. But he's just so funny! Again, the actor has something to do with this. Chris Barrie is a comic genius, and I'm not exagerating. He gives the role depth, and makes the character sympathetic, rather than pitiful. He also does care about his crew mates, even if they do frustrate him, and he pisses them off more than they him. Yeah, everyone hates him, but all the fans love him, because he is the underdog, and a jerk, and smegging awesome!

1. Bernard Black from Black Books

Oh yeah! End with the best! The funniest, silliest, stupidest and down right evilest Irish book shop owner, played by the king of the drunks himself, Dylan Moran. So, why is he number one? Well, where Rimmer and has some good qualities, Bernard arguably has none, except for the fact that he's bat shit insane. And while Withnail's patheticness added to his character, Bernard is pathetic in the sense that he can't be anything else. He is completely dependent on Manny to keep him alive (how he managed without him, we'll never know), and his only source of entertainment comes from pissing off his only 2 friends. He hates any sort of human interaction, in all honesty, and again, like Withnail, seems to be in a permanent state of tipsy just so he can get through the day. Also, while Rimmer is a smeg head because his subconcious hates him, and he really can't help it, Bernard is a douche because he wants to be. He takes pleasure in other peoples pain. But he never wins, he is the ultimate underdog. I could go into great detail into his psyche and about the fact that he obviously hates himself (and yes, it is obvious) but I'd rather end with this clip. Just to show how awesomely loveable this jerk truly is!

P.S. The pictures were a lot of fun to find!

Snow White: 4 Adaptations

So, Mirror Mirror. How to begin? Well, I suppose I should first say that this is a pretty awesome movie. Not even kidding, it's a lot of fun to watch. But I don't really want to talk about the film by itself. Hence why this review is called Snow White instead of Mirror Mirror. I'm going to try and talk about the different adaptations of the fairy tale, and how this new is a lot better than most of them.

The original tale is a fairly standard fairy tale. We have a beautiful princess, whose mother is dead, an unexplained absent father and a wicked stepmother who is jealous of her stepdaughter. And 7 dwarves. For some reason. Anyway, in the story, Snow White's mum dies right after she is born and her father (I assume after a few years of mourning at least) marries another woman, who is vain, selfish and evil. And she has this mirror, see, that keeps on telling her she is the 'fairest of them all'. Now, this next part, from the original story is the part I find the weirdest and creepiest. When Snow White is seven, not 16 or 17, seven, the mirror one day says 'Snow White is the fairest of them all'. No offence, but seven!? Well, I'll get back to why that is particularly creepy. Anyway, the queen is pissed and she sends Snow White out with a huntsman and says he has to kill her and bring back her entrails. Which he doesn't do, instead he just leaves a seven(!?) year old in the middle of the woods. Luckily she finds seven dwarves (there is something about that number) and they let her into their home if she becomes their housemaid.

Anyway, the queen finds out and tries to kill Snow White 3 times, each time technically failing (not a very good witch, by all accounts) but on the third time she succeeds in making her sleep as if in death. The dwarves, thinking she's dead, put her in a glass coffin and don't bury her for some reason. After a while, a prince rides past the coffin and falls in love with her. Now here's the creepy part for me. Did Snow White age while in the coffin (which is probably more likely) or did he fall in love with a seven year old girl? If it's the latter, then ewwwww. Anyway, in the original story they get married, and the queen finds out that someone is fairer than she is and she gets pissed again. And so she goes and finds out who it is and discovers it's Snow White. And Snow White is like "It's payback time, bitch!" and makes the queen where red hot metal shoes and dance until she is dead. I like that ending. I have yet to see an adaptation that finishes like that though.

So, I'm going to talk about 4 different adaptations of the story (not ambitious at all). And where else to start but at the beginning of evil itself, the Disney version. Completed and released in 1937, this film showed the world that animation can be considered an art form and a viable way to tell a story. For the technology at the time, and considering the rather simplistic shorts that came beforehand. But I'm not here to talk about its merits in filmmaking. No, I'm here to see if it is actually a good adaptation. Well, all the elements are there. Pretty young girl (who looks around 18, thank god), eveil stepmother, surprisingly absent father, and 7 dwarves. Oh, and that whole business with the apple.

Let me make it clear, I really don't like this movie for a number of reasons. Ok, no, I really don't like this movie for one reason. Snow White. And it's not just her Lena Lamont voice. Her character is annoying! She spends all day wishing for a dude, and singing to animals in an out of tune voice that makes me sympathise with the evil Queen. No really, I can understand why she would want to get rid of her. Also, she doesn't do anything. Her character doesn't grow and everything happens around her rather than her creating a situation. It's not her fault she was born too pretty, fate just decided to gang up on her. Bleh! Anyway, for me, the best thing about this adaptation is the animation. It is lovely to watch, moving from the pastel-y colours of Snow White in the beginning to the dark, more vibrant colours of the forest and the blackness of the final chase scene. That and the Queen. I know she gets left behind in favour for more "complex" Disney villains, but to me, especially as a kid, she was absolutely frightening. And her character design is quite chilling.

Another thing that annoys me now, but didn't so much when I was a kid, is the seven dwarves. I know in the original story they are really more side characters with no distinct personalities. So, Disney decided that the story would not be complete without them having annoying one track personalities. I wouldn't mind it so much, if none of the other adaptations that came after it did exactly the same thing! I'm not even kidding, each of the other films in this series do exactly the same thing by either setting up stereotypes in one or two of the dwarves, or just giving them a generic "thing that they do/say/act."

As a whole, the film isn't too terrible an adaptation. It was faithful to the original fairy tale, right down to the bland under-developed characters. I know I shouldn't be mean because it was a product of its time, and it is quite an amazing film given when it was made. And it was a family film, which was kinda rare in the 30s. Most of the time there were only gangster films and King Kong.... Oh, that would be awesome!!

Anyway, moving on to the second most evil family corporation in America, the Hallmark version. Snow White: The Fairest of them All. Oh Hallmark, you stay so close to the story yet stray so far. This adaptation certainly show that. The story is essentially the same (well, it is the same). There are a few differences from the story, the main one is that Snow White didn't start out as a princess. That is, her father wasn't a King, but became one when he accidentally wished to be after rescuing a frozen troll wizard with his tears... Don't ask, it's Hallmark. They write everything when they're high. So, yeah, Snow White wasn't a princess, and also the Prince pisses off the Queen (who is played to an embarassing level of over-acting by Miranda Richardson) and she turns him into a bear in a snowglobe (Don't ask! It's Hallmark!) and he becomes a prince again after he kisses Snow White to make her not frozen? (God, I wish I had that clip of Christopher Lloyd saying "I was frozen today!" -sigh-)

Yeah, there are some silly story choices, but as an adaptation it's ok. I mean, it's nothing new, even the dwarves seem to be copying the Disney dwarves, except they have even less personality, and they're named after the days of the week. Snow White is a little more likeable, she has a little more attitude, but that might be because she can only emote between happy and slightly put out. I think the thing I like least about Snow White is that she is essentially a house wife, and I have no idea why. How did she learn to cook and clean? She's a bloody princess! Ok, she wasn't born a princess but she was raised one! Gah! Anyway, yeah, this is ok. Again, it pisses me off now, but I did like when I first saw it. The adaptation is more faithful (at least the absent father is explained... with magic!), but there are some truly stupid additions that Hallmark chose to try and add whimsy. If anything, see it just to see how bad it can be, especially Miranda Richardson's acting.

The next film I want to talk about is the Amanda Bynes' movie, Sydney White. When I first went to see it, I didn't know it was a Snow White adaptation until my friend told me it was halfway through. So, without knowing beforehand, I can say that this is a very subtle adaptation. Yeah right! As subtle as getting hit over the head with a brick! Anyway, the norms are here. Dead mother, absent father, but instead of a princess, Sydney is a new college student and wants to get into a sorority of bitches that her mum was in. While it's not very subtle, it is very clever. The magic mirror has become a website, where people vote on which girls they think are hot, the poisonned apple is a Mac with a virus. The seven dwarves are now seven dorks, or geeks or nerds. What the hell is a dork? Anyway, even though I hate the one-track personalitites of the Disney version, I do like the obvious harking back to that version with modern versions of those personalities.

This is certainly the funniest out of all of them, but that's mainly because of Amanda Bynes as a no nonsense Snow White, who is more focused on getting good marks than finding a prince. The prince in this one is actually a character, and not just a romantic lead. He has motives, back story, he has a fleshed out character. The other two versions don't dwell on the prince as much, preferring instead the evil queen. In fact, I'm sure the prince in the 1937 film doesn't say anything, he just sings. Also, the romance developes slowly, and while there are some rom-com misunderstandings, they all sort themselves out and all is well. I don't really have any objections to this film, apart from the fact that it is predictable (in a good way) and the occaisional embarassing joke.

And this brings us to Mirror, Mirror. I know I have only seen this once, but I do think this is my favourite adaptation of Snow White, for one main reason. Snow White is not a damsel in distress. She's smart and kind, and her character grows over the course of the film in a natural way. Also, Julia Roberts as the evil queenis so fun to watch. You can just tell how much fun she is having in the role. Again, the romance between the young lovers is also more natural, with both in love with each other, and yet there are just some things that they can't stand in them as well, yet they love them all the same. Of course, the dwarves have one track personalities, but instead of them being shoved down your throat in the Disney version, or being uber condisending in the Hallmark version they seem more realistic.

The film got lot of mixed reviews, with people saying that it wasn't original or lacked depth. I can't agree with that, mainly because the original story lacked so much depth that all adaptations can appear to have more depth even when they're excessively shallow (coughDisneycough). And not original? Yeah, remember that bit about the apple? Not in this version. No, Snow White has to save the prince from a spell by kissing him, instead of the other way round. Cause that's not original. In fact (spoilers!) when the queen does try to poison Snow White in a last attempt to get rid of her, Snow White sees right through her and beats her at her own game. But even if you don't agree with that, most critics have said that the best part of the film is the stagecraft of the film. The costumes and scenery are spectacular! You notice them more than in the other adaptations (except the Disney one which was beautiful to look at). Also, the film ends on a random Bollywood number. Because it can!

So, I do love Mirror Mirror more than the other versions, because it is more modern and more fun than some of the other versions that take the original story just too seriously. That isn't to say that the other versions are bad, but for our time, this version is perfect. So, go see it! Even if you don't like it, the costumes and scenery should hold your attention enough. I'm sorry this is so long (I didn't even get to half the things I wanted to talk about), but you probaly won't get another blog for a while, unless I suddenly get creative. Anyway, what are your favourite Snow White adaptations? I always love watching and comparing different versions of things. Though I probably won't see Snow White and the Huntsman, that one looks really... tweeny. Also, the next blog might be a list...