About.com Rating

Bottom line:Mirror Mirror tells a colorful and goofy re-imagined tale of Snow White. The movie contains some violence (mostly of the slapstick sort), a few mildly scary scenes, and some mildly suggestive and/or mildly rude humor.
MPAA Rating: PG, for some fantasy action and mild rude humor
Guide age recommendation: 6+
Genre: Adventure/comedy
Runtime: 106 minutes
Starring: Julia Roberts, Lily Collins, Armie Hammer, Nathan Lane
Release Date: March 16, 2012
 

Mirror Mirror - Overview

After her mother passed away, little Snow White lived with her loving father the king in his peaceful, happy kingdom. One day, the king decided to marry. The king was killed soon after, and his new queen took over the kingdom. Vein and selfish, the wicked queen has allowed her people to suffer, and she is jealous of Snow White's beauty.

One day, a handsome and comical prince and his sidekick happen upon the kingdom. The prince has been robbed by a band of dwarf thieves and stripped of most of his clothes, so the queen can see that he is desirable as well as rich. She determines to marry him.

But alas, the prince meets the innocent and lovely Snow White and falls in love with her. An enraged queen sends her servant to kill poor Snow White. Instead, as the story goes, he lets the young princess go deep in the middle of the woods, which are guarded by a fearsome beast. Snow White meets the band of dwarfs and they teach her all they know about fighting and trickery. Even as the queen uses her dark magic to accomplish her wicked ends, Snow White grows in confidence and ability.

If the queen is to be beaten at her own game, Snow White knows it is she who must stand up for her kingdom and win back her prince by defeating her wicked step-mother.

 

Mirror Mirror - Guide Review for Parents

After seeing the trailer for this movie, with the colorful costumes and beautiful sets, I had high expectations that this would be a film the whole family would love. I was disappointed. I didn't really care about, nor was I convinced by the characters, even though I did love their clothes. The flat storyline fails to engage. The sets, while beautiful, looked fake. I felt like I was watching a high school play or something. Well, that's what I thought anyway. My kids were a different story.

The movie contains many comedic misfires, but for every misfire there was at least one effective one-liner that had the whole audience laughing. These are what my kids remember about the film. They laughed. They loved the characters, and they were happy that there was adventure without any scenes that were too violent or scary. They repeated lines from the film and laughed about it all the way home afterward. The only criticism was that my oldest didn't get why Snow White suddenly breaks out singing a '70s song at the end. I had no insight for her there.

Mirror Mirror contains some violence throughout, but most is of the slapstick variety. Young kids may be frightened by a couple of creepy metal puppets that the Queen's mirror image controls and uses to attack the dwarfs and others. A scene with a beast may also be frightening for young kids. The movie does contain some mild suggestive humor and a few rude words. For more details on content, see the overview below.

 

Mirror Mirror - Content Overview

*May contain spoilers.
 

• • Violence (High): This movie contains a lot of swashbuckling violence throughout. Most of this is of the slapstick, cartoonish sort. Dwarfs on stilts attack passersby and rob them. The princess learns to fight and has a sword fight with the prince and others. In one of the scarier scenes, the dwarfs and the princess fight massive metal puppets that are clearly trying to destroy them. Scenes fighting the beast are also a little more suspenseful. None of the characters are seriously injured or killed. Not much blood or gore is shown.
  • Scary Scenes (High): Scenes described under "violence" may be frightening for kids. Young viewers may be frightened when Snow White is left in the forest alone and frightened, especially knowing there is a hideous beast loose. Kids may also be frightened by the big metal puppets and the creepy way the mirror queen controls them. A scene with the beast gets a little intense, but no one is hurt in the end. Many of the other scenes that could be scary are injected with humor and therefor less scary. Some viewers may be freaked out by the queen's beauty regimen which includes bees stinging her lips, worms, scorpions and other creepy critters.
  • Sex/Nudity (Medium): The queen outwardly ogles the shirtless prince. She has to fan herself, laments when he puts his shirt back on, that sort of thing. A few jokes with mild sexual innuendo are made. For example, a man spends some time as a cockroach (due to a curse), and he remarks that a grasshopper took advantage of him. The prince spanks the princess on the butt with his sword while they spar. The dwarfs make a lot of comments about liking Snow White. A couple of kisses occur.
  • Drugs and Alcohol (Medium) People are shown drinking what appears to be alcohol in several scenes depicting parties. The queen gives the prince a love potion.
  • Language (Low): A few rude words like "fool" and "jerk" are used. The phrase "for the love of God" is used.
  • Disrespectful/Imitative Behavior (Extreme): The movie contains a lot of comical sword play and sparring that kids may imitate. The wicked queen uses the people's money for selfish reasons. She orders her servants and others around. In one scene, the prince has been given a puppy love potions, so he acts like a dog, licking the queen's face and such. The dwarfs are angry at being cast out, so they rob people and steal their clothes. The queen talks to her alter ego in the mirror. The mirror queen uses magic to help the queen.

 

• • Sad/Unsettling Scenes (Low): We found out that Snow White's mother and father passed away. She lives with her wicked step-mother who is unkind to her.
  • Movie Topics Kids Might Have Questions About: royalty, magic and potions, marriage, money, beauty and looking young

 

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