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Snowflake, the White Gorilla

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Snowflake, the White Gorilla
DVD cover
Directed byAndrés G. Schaer[1]
Written by
Produced byJulio Fernandez
Starring
CinematographySergi Bartrolí
Music byZacarías M. de la Riva
Production
company
Distributed byLionsgate Home Entertainment
Release date
  • November 26, 2011 (2011-11-26)
Running time
89 minutes
CountrySpain
LanguageSpanish

Snowflake, the White Gorilla (Catalan: Floquet de Neu, Spanish: Copito de Nieve) is a 2011 Spanish live action/animated adventure film directed by Andrés G. Schaer.[1] The film depicts the fictional childhood of the white gorilla Snowflake.

An English dub with an unknown cast was released. In United States, the film was released on September 1, 2013 (2013-09-01) with another English dub of the film that stars David Spade, Ariana Grande, Jennette McCurdy, Nathan Kress, Dallas Lovato, Keith David, and Christopher Lloyd. It was produced by Grindstone Entertainment Group and distributed by Lionsgate Home Entertainment. The original Spanish version of the film portrays Snowflake as a male gorilla, while the English dub makes the character a female gorilla.[2]

Synopsis

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In 1966, Snowflake is the only white gorilla in the world and the main attraction at the zoo. Children love him (her in the English dub), but he's different from other gorillas. With the help of Ailur, an eccentric red panda, Snowflake plans a secret mission to sneak out of the zoo, venturing into the dangerous city in order to find a witch to help him become a "normal" gorilla. Will Snowflake find the cure he's looking for, or realize that there's something more important than fitting in?

Cast

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Spanish cast

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English dub cast

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  • Benjamin Nathan-Serio as Ailur

American English dub cast

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Music

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The original score of Snowflake is composed by Zacarías M. and De la Riva. The American version features two songs, "One In A Million Girl" and "Avalanche" performed by Dallas Lovato and composed by Stephane Deriau-Reine (Stephan DeReine) and Mychal Simka.

Analysis

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University of Chicago professor Elizabeth Tavella writes in an article on media representations of the original gorilla that the film presents an "overt representation of racialized tropes" including "problematic representations of reverse discrimination". One such trope is the "notion of Blackness arising from dirt", expressed when Snowflake tries to darken his fur with mud to be accepted as a "Black" gorilla by other gorillas at the zoo. Tavella further notes that in the English dubbing, "directorial choices have a drastic impact on gender and racial dynamics", with Snowflake being portrayed as a female gorilla and voiced by a white female actress, and the primary protagonist gorilla being voiced by a Black male, which "reinforces the correlation between sexism and racism".[2]

More succinctly, The Guardian featured the poster for the film in a sardonic gallery about the Cannes Film Festival Marché du Film, stating that there was "something just slightly uncomfortable about this one".[5]

The film received a generally positive review from Cinefilos in Italy, for which the reviewer described it as "an adventure on the road through the streets of a very sunny Barcelona of the 60s mixed with the search for oneself", and found the story to be "linear and simple like the wishes of the little gorilla cub".[1] The review did note that the primary human antagonist of the film was "a too-soft version of Disney's Cruella de Vil".[1] Spanish reviewer Videodromo describes the movie as entertaining for children, though stating that "the overall quality of the product is not exceptional", with the integration of animated characters into a live-action environment falling short of expectations.[3] The review further suggests that children should only see it once, when they are young, because revisiting it at a later age will make them more likely to notice "poorly polished special effects or those laughable dialogues".[3]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g Buccinnà, Stefania (16 December 2012). "Le Avventure di Fiocco di Neve: Recensione del film d'animazione (The Adventures of Snowflake: Review of the animated film)". www.cinefilos.it. Archived from the original on 15 January 2023. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
  2. ^ a b Tavella, Elizabeth (2023). "Reframing Whiteness in the Zoo: Snowflake the Gorilla in Modern Media". In Thurston-Torres, Jonathan W. (ed.). Animals and Race. ISBN 978-1-62896-477-6. OCLC 1355694550.
  3. ^ a b c d e Martín-Pozuelo, Víctor (24 December 2011). "Copito de nieve ("Snowflake")". Archived from the original on 15 January 2023. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
  4. ^ ""Floquet de Neu" arriba al cine el 23 de desembre amb el goril·la blanc i Elsa Pataky ("Snowflake" arrives in theaters on December 23 with the white gorilla and Elsa Pataky)". www.324.cat. 1 December 2011. Archived from the original on 7 March 2014. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
  5. ^ Shoard, Catherine (21 May 2009). "Cannes Film Festival: Return to the Marché". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 28 November 2021. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
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