Snowflake, the White Gorilla

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]

• Snowflake, the White Gorilla at Internet Movie Database
• Snowflake, the White Gorilla at Rotten Tomatoes