(This Week's Review: MIRROR MIRROR)

My only regret in posting this review is that I am required to disclose to readers that “Mirror Mirror” is rated PG.  Sadly, I suspect that will deter many parents from taking their young children to see this wonderful, oftentimes amazing, family film.  Indulge me if you will so I can just get this out of the way:  this is a great family movie!

All Smiles from Mom, Dad, Sister & Brother

From the first frame of this film, you are immersed in fantasy.  The cgi-animation and live-action is fantastic, the scenery is equally grand and sweeping.  The characters early on appear to be almost marionette-like.  Even the eventual live action characters appear with a dreamy sheen that seamlessly transitions to normal.  It’s a creative and fun way to bring the movie to life.

Jordan Prentice, Joe Gnoffo, Sebastian Saraceno, Lily Collins, Martin Klebba, Mark Provinelli, Ronald Lee Clark and Danny Woodburn in Mirror Mirror (2012)

If you’re a Snow White purist, you may take issue with the creative license here.  But I loved it!  The nuts and bolts are there:  innocent and wronged Snow White, the evil queen, a handsome prince and seven dwarves.  But this storyline is smartly updated with cleverness to burn.   Snow doesn’t fall for lame tricks like poison apples anymore, though the apple does have a cameo.  She keeps her sweetness while fighting for what’s right.  You’re treated to innovative and entertaining fight scenes that won’t scare your little ones, but they’ll not soon forget the spectacular costumes.  The dwarves might have trumped the stars in this one.  They are riotously funny throughout and provide adults and kids alike with continuous laughs.

Julia Roberts stars as Evil Queen in Mirror Mirror

Back to the stars.  I admit I am not typically a Julia Roberts fan, but she won me over handily in this one.  Roberts, as the evil queen, has this role down pat.  Who knew she could be so wonderfully wicked?  I loved all her nuanced wickedness, which she plays literally down to her fingertips.  I wish she would have fully embraced the evil role instead of simultaneously playing her own more principled alter-ego.  She is self-deprecating in all reference to her age and her makeover scene is gut-busting funny!

Lily Collins as Snow White in Mirror Mirror

Lily Collins (Snow White) is well cast and never disappoints.  Same must be said for Armie Hammer (Prince Alcott), Nathan Lane (Brighton) and ALL seven dwarves.  Viewers perceiving “Mirror Mirror” as a Julia Roberts film risk missing out on a fantastic cast.

If your child can manage a few fight scenes with “giant dwarves”, a potentially really scary beast and a couple semi- mature snarky remarks (that will probably be lost on them but amusing to you), do not miss this one.

Armie Hammer stars as Prince Andrew Alcott in Mirror Mirror

Things I loved:

-‘Giant dwarves’ whose legs grow excessively long when they fight.  It’s original, amusing and fantastic choreography.

– Tons of kid-friendly fare.  Even the security guards are sweet, as evidenced by their ‘pinky swear’ promise to Snow.

– Very cool special effects when the queen steps into her magic mirror and emerges from the sea perfectly dry.  (3-D could is easily justified for this movie but I’m kind of glad they didn’t use it)

– Julia Roberts’ side-splitting makeover merits repeating.  The bird dropping facial, the – literal – bee-stung lips, cleaner fish manicure…I could go on.

– Detailed sound f/x.  Listen for the goosh of the “guts” and the woosh of the queen’s sleeves.

– The dwarves’ dialog is fabulous.  They could star in their own spin-off.

– There’s a nice life lesson when Snow credits the exiled dwarves with returning the townspeople’s gold.

– “A weakness is only a weakness if you think of it that way.”  Lines like that in children’s movies make me sigh…

– Sillier scenes like the puppy love spell cast on the prince are on hand to satiate the youngsters.

– Dwarves hiding under the enormous bell-shaped skirts was great fun!

– As truly wicked as the queen was, she was often quite likable and reliably humorous.

– The lingering first (and subsequent) kiss between Snow and the prince was innocent (no open mouths).

– The prince eventually apologizes to the dwarves for his cruelty toward them.  This is something that could be assumed and not shown, so I applaud the film for making a point of it.

– Stay for the entertaining credits.

– Kids asking me “She can get married at 18??”

Lily Collins stars as Snow White in Mirror Mirror

Things I didn’t love:

-Mixed accents used by the queen.  She seems to start with a stilted, formal (somewhat unidentifiable) accent, then mixes it with her normal American accent.  Why?

– I don’t have to ask why, but I feel compelled to point out that the handsome and fit prince ends up shirtless in the same battle as his skinny assistant, who remains clothed – in layers!

– The line “cowardly mothers” wasn’t my favorite.  It’s a missed opportunity for something clever and witty, which would better match the rest of the film’s dialog.

– The dwarves beating the prince while he was tied to a chair was no good.  I saw this movie with 3 children under the age of 9 and no one appreciated this scene.

– Beware of the beast!  It is part flying dragon, part horned-serpent, and all demon.  I had 3 children and 3 pairs of hands covering 6 eyes.

– The wedding was a touch boring but if you take a young boy to this movie, you may be treated to him looking away and saying “eeuw”, which brings more excitement to the scene.

– The line “Age before beauty” was obvious and so Hollywood.  This script could have done much better at this moment.

Mirror-Mirror is Rated PG and in theaters March 30, 2012