Although the world didn’t end in 2012 as doomsday conspiracy theorists believed, it was a busy year for those who love fairy tales. Two English-language adaptations of Snow White were released into theaters, where movie audiences could go see Charlize Theron or Julia Roberts as the Evil Queen unleash their wrath onto Kristen Stewart or Lily Collins as the princess who was the “fairest one of all.” A third retelling went under the radar that same year, one that was a departure from the other versions. Although it’s a Spanish production, Blancanieves (or Snow White) is an elegant black-and-white throwback to silent cinema that reimagined the fairy tale as an erotic, haunting story about a young woman who is no longer a princess but has grown up to become a bullfighter.
What Is ‘Blancanieves’ About?

Image via Cohen Media Group

Set in Spain in the 1920s, Antonio Villalta (Daniel Giménez Cacho) is a prized matador who is nearly killed during a mishap during one show, resulting in him becoming paraplegic and severely depressed, exacerbated by the death of his pregnant wife during childbirth. When the greedy nurse Encarna (Maribel Verdú) forces her way into Antonio’s life for his money, she becomes the evil stepmother to his young daughter Carmen (Sofía Oria), turning the girl into a maid for years. But after Encarna tries to have her killed to be rid of her, Carmen is saved by six bullfighting dwarfs, who take the young woman on as their seventh member. Instead of kingdoms and princesses, this retelling of the fairy tale blends the Brothers Grimm with Spanish culture, while still incorporating iconic elements that fans will notice.
Snow White Puts on a Matador Uniform in This Adaptation

Sofía Oria’s performance as the younger Carmen tries to get close to her recluse father, with her only friend, a pet chicken, by her side, but being robbed of a happy childhood never turns her into a cruel person like her stepmother. Macarena García’s performance as the older Carmen earns the name from the fairy tale her life is recreating. The dwarfs she befriends are not the uncanny CGI effects like in the 2025 remake, they are live-action characters, with Jesusín (Emilio Gavira) as the “Grumpy” of the group, and the new addition of the handsome Rafita, (Sergio Dorado), who falls in love with the young woman.
In a meta twist, the dwarfs that become her second family rename her, “Blancanieves,” in honor of the beauty and kindness she shares with the Brothers Grimm tale. And when Blancanieves honors her father with the fame she finds in bullfighting, her ease with making animal friends, as seen in many variations, isn’t lost. She treats them all with respect, from the pet chicken she had as a child to the bulls that charge at her in the arena. If she is the warm light in this story, the darkness is vain and vicious in the evil stepmother, Encarna.
Played by Maribel Verdú, well-known to international audiences in Y tu mamá también and Pan’s Labyrinth. Verdú’s performance conveys so much wickedness that it’s all the more impressive that she does it with no dialogue, another reminder of how poorly cast Gal Gadot was in the new remake. Gadot may be stunning in her costume, but Verdú stuns in her wardrobe and portrays a frightening version of the Evil Queen, who she lashes out when jealousy and hate consume her. Although Blancanieves resembles the classic story it adapts, it doesn’t confine itself to the child-friendly narrative the fairy tale has become known as. It’s more Brothers Grimm than Disney.
‘Blancanieves’ Is a Darker, Mature Take On the Fairy Tale

Image via Cohen Media Group

Encarna indulges in sadomasochism with her lovers to represent an erotic side to this “Evil Queen.” Blancanieves finds herself in danger from men who want to control her or hurt her, with a more tragic depiction of what happens to her after she bites into a poisoned apple. The bullfighting scenes are exhilarating but intense, where one wrong move can be deadly. Although it might be a silent film, director Pablo Berger puts in so much energy through stylized camerawork, flamenco music that becomes an extension of the cast, and his approach to updating Snow White that his film never loses your attention.
The dedication to crafting a silent film in 2012 almost makes you believe you’re seeing a retro production from a century ago, unlike the year’s other retellings, Snow White and the Huntsman or Mirror Mirror, that are set in far, far away fantasy worlds yet still feel modernized. Out of the three, Blancanieves is the unique version of the fairy tale you thought you knew so well.