Warning: SPOILERS for Snow White and Disenchanted.
Critics largely agree that the Snow White remake’s Evil Queen is underwhelming, but Disney had a more compelling live-action version of the character in a 3-year-old streaming sequel. Most buzz surrounding Disney’s latest live-action offering is so focused on Snow White’s controversies that legitimate criticism often gets overlooked. Gal Gadot’s performance as the Evil Queen is one of the more divisive aspects of the film, with many disliking her performance and her new villain song “All Is Fair.” Meanwhile, her fate in Snow White’s ending leaves room for a sequel that might just not be necessary.
However, Disney did an alternate take on the Evil Queen just a few years ago that outshines Gadot’s villain. Although its plot bears no resemblance to Snow White’s story and received slightly worse reviews than the recent remake, the Disney+ sequel Disenchanted clearly bases its primary villain’s design on Snow White’s wicked stepmother. But rewatching Disenchanted now, Malvina Monroe’s likeness to Snow White’s Evil Queen draws a rather unfortunate comparison.
Maya Rudolph’s Disenchanted Villain Was A Better Evil Queen Than Gal Gadot’s In Snow White
She’s A More Active Threat With More Sensible Motivations
Whereas not all of the changes in Snow White were well-received, Disenchanted uses the Evil Queen as a base model for a villain that actually makes a bit more logical sense than Snow’s stepmother. Snow White’s Evil Queen only ever uses her magic mirror to ask about appearances (with the remake suggesting that’s the only question it can even answer), but Malvina Monroe uses her mirror to seek greater magical powers. This makes her much ᴅᴇᴀᴅlier as her thirst for power eventually threatens the lives of protagonist Giselle, her stepdaughter Morgan, and literally the entire magical land of Andalasia.
Because Malvina poses a more significant threat based on more than a simple desire to be beautiful, she makes Disenchanted’s main twist more impactful. Although one of the biggest criticisms of Disenchanted is that Giselle’s transformation into a wicked stepmother ruins her character, her arc nonetheless carries more weight as she seeks to usurp an already powerful queen. This power struggle between two magical villains also leads to arguably one of the best songs in Disenchanted, as the villain song “Badder” stands out as one of the most thrilling scenes in what otherwise feels like a largely unnecessary sequel.
Gal Gadot’s Evil Queen In Snow White Was Underdeveloped
Her Extra Screentime Is Almost Entirely Wasted
“Badder” might stand out in Disenchanted, but the Evil Queen’s “All Is Fair” has been one of the most panned offerings in the Snow White remake soundtrack. While some villain songs such as “Be Prepared” from The Lion King signify the villain making a major decision, “All Is Fair” fails to establish anything about the Queen that wasn’t established earlier. Despite having more screen time than her animated counterpart, the main addition is simply a theme that she prefers diamonds to roses because she hates things that wither. Given her beauty obsession, this doesn’t feel like new character development.
Gadot’s character is so underdeveloped that it’s not even clear how the Evil Queen dies. Snow White establishes that the Magic Mirror’s only power is to answer a single question. However, the final twist reveals that the Mirror’s definition of “fairest” is misleading, making it unclear that the Queen acquired this artifact without understanding what it does or why it essentially eats her alive at the end of the film. The remake might expand Snow White’s character a lot, but perhaps the movie should have shined some of that spotlight on her wicked stepmother too.
