Snow White and the Huntsman

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.
Those crows ain't there just for atmosphere.

Snow White and the Huntsman is an action fantasy film based on the Snow White fairytale. It stars Kristen Stewart as Snow White herself, with Chris Hemsworth as the Huntsman, and Charlize Theron as the Queen (named Ravenna).

In a land ruled by tyranny, the Vain Sorceress and selfish Queen Ravenna learns that her stepdaughter, Snow White, is destined to surpass her not only as the "Fairest One of All" but also as the kingdom's future ruler. But then the Queen learns from her Magic Mirror that the only way to remain in power is to consume Snow White's heart and achieve immortality. Snow White escapes into the Dark Forest and Ravenna recruits the Huntsman Eric to find and kill Snow White. Eric, however, takes pity on the young princess and teaches Snow White the art of war. Now, with the aid of eight dwarves and the duke's son William (Sam Claflin), Snow White begins a rebellion to bring down her stepmother once and for all.


Tropes used in Snow White and the Huntsman include:
  • Action Dress Rip: The Huntsman rips Snow White's dress so she can move through the forest easily.
  • Action Girl: Snow White.
  • Adaptational Badass: Snow White. Also the Huntsman, and William, who is closest in the movie to the traditional prince role.
  • Adaptation Expansion
  • After-Action Patchup: The Huntsman gets a gash below his collarbone after fighting the troll. A woman from the village he and Snow White stay the night at patches him up and we get a shot of Chris Hemsworth's abs.
  • The Ageless: Ravenna has apparently "lived twenty lives", but still appears to be relatively young-looking.
  • The Alcoholic: The Huntsman is introduced as one, but he stops drinking soon after meeting Snow White.
  • All Trolls Are Different
  • Arc Symbol: The three drops of blood.
  • An Axe to Grind: A large axe is the Huntsman's weapon of choice. The dwarves fight with much smaller pickaxes.
  • The Archer: William.
  • Arrow Catch: William does this trick, and then fires it back along with one of his own to demonstrate his archery skill.
  • Arrows on Fire: Snow White awakens to one landing in near her head, and quickly realizes that Finn and his soldiers have tracked her down, and are setting fire to the village buildings. William also uses these at one point.
  • Ascended Extra: The Huntsman's role is much larger and more important than in the original fairy tale.
  • Attempted Rape: Finn tries to do this to Snow White in prison while she's lying on her bed. However, she strikes his face with a nail.
  • Awesome Moment of Crowning: Snow White's coronation.
  • Back from the Dead
  • Back-to-Back Badasses: William and the Huntsman against an evil, magical flock of ravens.
  • Badass: The Huntsman takes on several soldiers at once in defence of Snow White. The dwarves also kick-ass.
  • Badass Damsel / Badass Princess: Snow White.
  • Badass in Distress: The Huntsman during his battle with the troll.
  • Bambification: Averted with the White Hart, who looks more regal and majestic than cutesy.
  • Beauty Equals Goodness: Played straight with Snow White, but inverted with Queen Ravenna, who was the Fairest of Them All and evil.
  • Beauty Is Never Tarnished: Deliberately averted by the village of women. They all gave themselves facial scars so that Ravenna doesn't prey on them with her life-stealing magics. Snow White herself spends a good portion of the movie covered in dirt and grime, but it isn't treated as if it detracted from her beauty.
    • Even though he's covered in grunge, the Huntsman is still an insanely attractive fellow throughout the film.
  • Big Bad: Queen Ravenna.
  • Big Fancy Castle
  • Big No: Used twice. Once by Snow White when the troll is about to kill the Huntsman, and once by the Huntsman when Ravenna is about to kill Snow White after poisoning her with an apple.
  • Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Ravenna first appears to the King as a fragile yet beautiful prisoner of war, and once she later gets engaged to the King, she is cordial to the young Snow White. However, the night of their wedding Ravenna coldly murders the King, imprisons Snow White, and usurps the kingdom.
  • Black Widow: Ravenna marries the king and kills him on their wedding night. She claims to have done this several times before.
  • Blind Seer: Muir, the lead dwarf.
  • Blondes Are Evil/Blond Guys Are Evil: Queen Ravenna and her brother Finn. Ravenna deliberately plays up Hair of Gold when first introduced, though.
  • Blood Magic: This is part of how Snow White was conceived: her mother pricks her finger on a rose, bleeds into the snow, and then wishes for a daughter with rose-red lips and snow-white skin.
    • This is also how Ravenna originally obtained immortality and her sorceress powers. During the destruction of her childhood village, her mother chants an incantation and performs a rite involving pricking young Ravenna's finger and bleeding it into a bowl of milk. Her mother hoped Ravenna's new powers could avenge the village's destruction.
  • Blue Eyes: Chris Hemsworth, who play the Huntsman.
  • Book Ends: Snow White escapes from her prison by striking Finn in the face with a nail when he molests her. Snow White's journey ends when she performs a similar attack on Finn's sister Ravenna: Snow White abruptly stabs her in the stomach while Ravenna is focused on Hannibal Lecturing her.
  • Boring Return Journey: Justified in that when Snow White was leaving the castle, she was alone or with a small number of companions and she came back with an army, making it much easier to go where she wanted in safety.
  • Braids of Action: Snow White puts her long hair in a braid when she leads the Resistance against the Queen's kingdom.
  • Breast Plate: Averted. Snow White is shown wearing regular plate armor.
  • Brother-Sister Incest: See incest subtext below.
  • Bruiser with a Soft Center: The Huntsman, whose speech prior to kissing Snow White awake touched everyone.
  • The Caligula: Ravenna. Also her possible relationship with her brother mirrors ideas about the original Caligula, see Incest Subtext below.
  • Cape Swish: Ravenna turns into a flock of ravens upon doing this.
  • Chekhov's Skill: Snow White utilizes the one combat skill we witness her learning during the final battle. Also Chekhov's Gun, she had that knife in her boot for almost the entire movie, but only used it at the end.
  • Chewing the Scenery: Charlize Theron really gets all the ham out of her system when Queen Ravenna demands that Snow White be brought to her after her initial escape.
  • The Chosen One: Snow White.
  • Cool Crown: Ravenna's crown, complete with spikes. Snow White's crown in the last scene.
  • Costume Porn: Queen Ravenna's many outfits.
  • Covered in Mud: The Huntsman when we are first introduced to him.
  • Creepy Step-Uncle: Finn likes to watch Snow when she's trapped in the castle.
  • Cry for the Devil: Ravenna, who was taken from her mother by her homeland's king.
  • Crystal Dragon Jesus: Played with. There is a lot of overt and undisguised Christian imagery in the movie, but in the end, the bishop that crowns Snow White does it not in the name of God (as it would have been in a real-world medieval setting), but "in the name of everything good in the land".
  • Curb Stomp Battle: Snow White vs. Ravenna in the climax. Snow White couldn't lay a finger on her until she stopped to gloat.
  • Darker and Edgier/Grimmification: Exaggerated. The film is even darker than most of non-bowdlerized Grimm fairy tales.
  • Deadpan Snarker: The Huntsman definitely has his moments.
    • A couple of the dwarves are also pretty snarky too.
  • Death Glare: The Queen does this frequently.
  • Deceased Parents Are the Best: Snow White's parents both die a few minutes into the film.
  • Derailing Love Interests: Averted with class. Both love interests are flawed but both are good, worthy men that even fight in sync to protect and support their future queen.
  • Did You Actually Believe?: That Ravenna would bring back your wife, Huntsman?
  • Didn't See That Coming: Many people did not expect the Huntsman to be the one to kiss Snow White awake; it was assumed that since William's character was the closest to a "prince" that he would fulfill that role.
  • Died in Your Arms Tonight:
    • Gus the dwarf dies in Snow White's arms after protecting her from being shot with an arrow.
    • Subverted with Snow White. She "dies" in William's arms but the Huntsman's kiss revives her later.
  • Distracted by the Sexy: The king, when he meets Ravenna. He's so entranced by her that he forgets his grief over his wife and resolves to marry her the next day. Ultimately played for drama.
  • Does Not Like Men: Queen Ravenna. With exception of her brother Finn.

Ravenna: “I was once ruined by a king like you. I replaced his queen when she had grown old. And then he would have replaced me with someone younger. You men use us up and then throw us away like garbage.”

  • Don't Go in The Woods: The dark forest will kill you. It's just a matter of when. Even Ravenna won't go in there.

Ravenna: One of my prisoners has escaped there.
Huntsman: Well then he's dead.
Ravenna: She.
Huntsman: She is certainly dead.

  • The Drag Along: The Huntsman. A several stages of the story, he wants no part.
  • The Dragon: Finn is a perfect example of how a Dragon can be even worse than the Big Bad.
  • Elite Mooks: Humanoid monsters made from fragments of broken glass.
  • Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": The Huntsman. Even the credits don't list his real name (it's "Eric", apparently).
  • Every Thing Is Better With Princesses: It's still a fairy tale after all.
  • Evil Is Stylish: Ravenna, who was the movie's sole contributor to Costume Porn.
  • Evil Laugh: The Queen in many of the promos. One that's very bitter.
  • Evil Matriarch: The Queen is technically Snow's stepmother after all.
  • Evil Sorceress: The Queen.
  • Faceless Goons: The queen's warriors, whether they're magically conjured glass monsters or normal humans with dark helmets covering their faces.
  • Failure Knight: The Huntsman.
  • Fairest of Them All: Of course!
  • Fallen Princess: Snow White, after Ravenna takes over.
  • Fisher King: When Snow White's father dies and Ravenna takes over, the land withers. After Snow White is crowned, the land starts to return to normal.
  • Fisher Kingdom: When the land withers, the kingdom's population collapses into poverty and despair.
  • Foil: Snow White vs. Ravenna, and the Huntsman vs. William.
  • Fractured Fairy Tale: The film follows the general premise of the fairy tale, but twists its element in different ways.
  • Freudian Excuse: Ravenna's behavior is explained through a childhood flashback and the way a previous king treated her.
  • Friend to All Living Things/The Messiah: Snow White. As a child Snow White nursed a baby magpie back to health from a broken wing. When confronted by a hostile giant troll, Snow White screams at and stares at it sympathetically to diffuse the situation. The Sanctuary's deity, The White Hart, which hadn't shown itself to other mortals, appears for her and grants Snow White its blessing. And even towards Queen Ravenna Snow White feels sorrow rather than hatred and rage towards her for her actions.
  • From Nobody to Nightmare: Ravenna used to be a normal young girl who lived in an Arctic village. Now she is a powerful immortal sorceress determined to lay waste to kingdoms for the sole sake of maintaining her youth and powers.
  • Gender Bender: The Queen transforms into William to trick Snow into eating the apple.
  • Girl In the Iron Prison/GirlInTheTower: Once Ravenna usurps the kingdom, she locks Snow White away in a prison for several years instead of killing her immediately.
  • God Save Us From the Queen: Queen Ravenna seems to be a near-classic evil queen.
  • The Good King: Snow White's father is said to have been this.
  • Good Parents/Deceased Parents Are the Best: Snow White's parents were good and loving parents, and die minutes into the movie.
  • Guttural Growler: The Huntsman.
  • Guys Smash, Girls Shoot: Inverted with William (who fights almost exclusively with bow and arrow) and Snow White (using a sword and shield in the climactic battle).
  • Heartbroken Badass: Twice, sort of. Eric's wife died prior to the start of the story, and given the state he's in when the audience is first introduced to him, her death still badly haunts him. Then again, when Snow White falls into her death/coma. He tells the dead/unconscious Snow White that she had the same kind of strength and inspired similar feelings of worth in him that his wife did, and that they both deserved better.
  • Held Gaze: Snow White and William upon seeing each other for the first time since they were kids.
    • At the end of the movie between Snow White and the Huntsman, who also do this a couple of other times throughout the movie.
    • Ravenna and Snow White, after Snow White stabs her.
  • Helmets Are Hardly Heroic: Snow White rides into battle in full armour, but no helmet. In a battle where they are storming a castle and getting a lot of things dropped, poured and thrown on them. Actually that might qualify as Fridge Logic, Snow White is the leader and symbol of the rebellion, so she has to be recognizable to give hope to her fellow rebels and the oppressed population. Helmeted fighters tend to be Faceless Goons, and Snow White is a princess. But maybe they could have gotten a gold plated helmet for her that sort of looked like a crown.
  • Heroes Prefer Swords: Snow White is just about the only notable character who uses a sword. Everyone else uses axes, bows, daggers, a cane, and so forth. The only exception is her father, the King.
  • Heroic Sacrifice: Gus takes an arrow for Snow White.
  • High Collar of Doom: Ravenna has a particularly impressive cape featuring a feathered high collar.
  • The High Queen: Snow White's mother. Snow White herself becomes one in the ending.
  • Hollywood Tactics: Using cavalry in deep woods or during high tide? Storming a castle without siege engines or at least a battering ram? Don't worry, you'll get by thanks to Rule of Cool.
  • Hot Chick with a Sword: Snow White in the final act.
  • Hot Witch: Ravenna.
  • Hunk: Chris Hemsworth as the Huntsman.
  • Hurting Hero: The Huntsman, a war hero and a widower, turns to alcohol to ease his pain.
  • I Will Protect Her: Twice. Once from William, after he learns Snow White is still alive. Then later, from Eric once he learns of Snow White's identity and gets his head together.
  • Ice Queen: Queen Ravenna. As the Big Bad, she never gets defrosted.
  • Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: The Huntsman impales Finn on a tree.
  • Incest Subtext: Queen Ravenna's relationship with her brother Finn flirts with incest several times. Especially when Ravenna bathes in front of him and, later, he gives her a not-so-brotherly kiss on the shoulder. She repeatedly reminds him that he vowed to protect her.
  • Just in Time: The Huntsman, William and the Dwarves arrive just in time to stop Ravenna from cutting out Snow White's heart.
  • Karmic Death: Ravenna.
  • Keystone Army: Seemingly played straight with the Dark Army in the opening who shatter like glass upon any heavy impact. Double subverted in that the Dark Army was just bait and a way for Ravenna to gain acces to the king to seduce him, with her real human army easily taking over the castle, and in the climax the Dark Army returns in a more primitive form and slaughtering the rebel forces with ease.
  • Kneel Before Frodo: The people at the Duke's castle kneel in awe before Snow White.
  • Kneel Before Zod: The Queen's guards force the Huntsman to kneel before Ravenna.
  • Lady of War: Snow White becomes one to take back her kingdom.
  • La Résistance: The Duke leads a fairly ineffective one until Snow White shows up and galvanizes them.
  • Large Ham: The Queen.
  • Life Drinker: The Queen is shown draining the Life Energy of an unfortunate woman to rejuvenate herself.
  • Light Feminine and Dark Feminine: Snow White and Ravenna.
  • Like Brother and Sister: William and Snow White. They used to play with each other as kids and were constantly bickering.
  • Literally Shattered Lives: The soldiers in the Queen's army are seemingly made of obsidian, and shatter when attacked. This is how they are killed in the first battle by the King's army. However, in the end battle, the soldiers are shown to be able to Pull Themselves Together when shattered by William and the Huntsman.
  • The Lost Woods: The dark forest and the Sanctuary. One is an evil forest and one is full of fairies, but they're both undoubtedly ancient forests filled with strange creatures.
  • Love Interests: Even though there was No Romantic Resolution at the end, William is assumed to be a love interest for Snow White as she kissed him (even though it was actually Ravenna). The Huntsman may also qualify, but it is never made clear as to whether or not he actually developed romantic feelings towards Snow White. Before she is revived, he mentions that she inspires feeling of worth in him in a fashion similar to his late wife.
  • Love Triangle: Subverted. You'd expect one between William, the Huntsman, and Snow White, but it is only implied and never directly addressed, to some people's frustrations and others' jubilation.
    • It is speculated that if there is to be a sequel, this would be an important part of the plot, as it is never made clear if Snow White did end up falling in love with the Huntsman or William.
  • Magic Mirror: Here, it is an outright Mirror Monster which at one point looks like a shout-out to this sculpture.
  • Make-up Is Evil: Ravenna wears Excessive Evil Eyeshadow. Snow White's red lips do not qualify as they were supposedly natural.
  • Mama Bear: Ravenna's and Finn's mom invoked dark powers to protect her children. But whenever she intended for her daughter to become a monster it is not clear.
  • Manipulative Bastard: This is how Ravenna usurped Snow White's kingdom in the first place. And she'd already done it to countless other kingdoms in the past, considering her immortality...
  • Manly Tears: The Huntsman cries Tears of Remorse over Snow White's comatose body, lamenting the fact that he failed to protect her and his wife.
  • Meaningful Name: Snow White, naturally. Also, the the Queen's name, Ravenna, is clearly a reference to her Ravens and Crows theme.
  • Medieval European Fantasy: Christianity exists among natural deities, fairies, dwarves, and dark magic.
  • Medieval Stasis: Assuming Ravenna's boast about how long she's lived is accurate and not simply hyperbole (which could be debatable based on her less-than-stable state of mind), than in the past 800 to 1400 years humans have not progressed at all past the plate armor knights on horseback phase (seen in her childhood flashback).
  • More Deadly Than the Male: Ravenna.
  • Mordor: Ravenna's Fisher King influence has turned the land into this.
  • Mr. Fanservice: Chris Hemsworth (the Huntsman) and Sam Claflin (William).
  • Ms. Fanservice: Kristen Stewart and Charlize Theron both.
  • Mushroom Samba: The Dark Forest is filled with hallucinogenic spores.
  • My Greatest Failure: The Huntsman letting his beloved wife out of his sight only for her to be captured, raped and eventually killed.
  • Natural Spotlight: On Snow White in the scene with her lying comatose in a white gown.
  • Never Trust a Trailer: The quote at the top of the page is never said by Ravenna, and the Magic Mirror never shatters like it does in one of the trailers.
  • No Immortal Inertia: Both Finn and Ravenna age rapidly upon their deaths.
  • No Romantic Resolution: Due to the film's strong focus on feminism. This left fans divided on the topic of whether or not they should have wrapped up Snow White's love life, as the ending was a bit of a let-down for some without it.
  • Not So Different: Said almost verbatim by Ravenna to Snow White during the climax.
  • Of Corsets Sexy: The dress which we first see Snow White in has one.
  • Offing the Offspring: Ravenna wants to take Snow White's heart because this will give her Immortality.
  • One for Sorrow, Two For Joy: Magpies are all over this film. One appears right before Snow White is to be led to the Queen and murdered, two appear later to lead her to her horse. Basically, any time something happens, either one or two magpies will appear to portend it, whichever is appropriate. Not that anybody comments on this.
  • One-Scene Wonder: Early on, one of the resistance fighters and his son are captured and brought before the Queen. The father stays silent and ignores the Queens taunting, but the son grabs a dagger and stabs her in the stomach. Granted, it doesn't kill her but you have to admire his spirit.
  • Ooh, Me Accent's Slipping: The Huntsman has a Scottish accent, which clashes with Chris Hemsworth's lovely Australian accent every so often, but for the most part it holds up well.
  • Our Dwarves Are All the Same: Yep. They're no different here than they are in any other fantasy setting.
  • Perma-Stubble: Both the Huntsman and William have short facial hair which is longer than usual stubble but still not quite a beard.
  • Pimped-Out Dress: Ravenna wears many elaborate dresses throughout the course of the movie.
  • The Power of Love: Interestingly, never really touched upon in the film. True Love's Kiss is never mentioned, although some think that the Huntsman was thinking of his wife when he kissed Snow White awake, and that was what made the kiss proportionate to one of true love.
  • Pretty in Mink: One of Ravenna's many elaborate outfits.
  • Princely Young Man: William is advertised as "The Prince" in the movie posters, but he is actually a Duke's son, not a real prince.
  • Rain of Arrows: As Snow White and her followers are riding towards the castle. The Queen's archers send a barrage of arrows through the air, taking down a number of Snow White's army.
  • Rated "M" for Manly: Snow White might be the Xenified heroine, but between the axe-wielding Huntsman who has gone into the dark forest and survived twice and the arrow shooting William who attacked the queen's men on a regular basis, there's loads of testosterone to go around.
  • Ravens and Crows: The queen's theme, including her name.
  • Raven Hair, Ivory Skin: Snow White.
  • Real Men Love Jesus: The adult Snow White, and future action heroine, are The Lord's Prayer.
  • Really 700 Years Old: In Queen Ravenna's words, she has lived at least 20 lifetimes. It's also implied that her sorcery allows her brother immortality through her healing his injuries.
  • Rebel Leader: Snow White becomes this when she reaches the Duke's castle.
  • La Résistance: Those who oppose the Queen flock to the Duke's castle.
  • Reverse Mole: William joins Finn's pursuit of Snow White because he knows it will lead him to her.
  • Rightful King Returns/In Its Hour of Need: The climactic battle.
  • Romantic False Lead: An interesting example. Viewers who are familiar with the fairy tale may assume that William (the Prince Charming figure) will be Snow White's love interest. Although it's left ambiguous, the Huntsman is a more clear love interest due to his kiss breaking the spell. The character was intended to be much older and harbor fatherly feelings for Snow White.
  • Rousing Speech: Snow White gives one to the Resistance to inspire them to take back Ravenna's kingdom rather than continue hiding.
  • Royal Blood: Snow White's royal ancestry is part of why she is The Chosen One.
  • Royals Who Actually Do Something: You could say this about both Snow and Ravenna, though what they're fighting for is obviously on completely opposite ends of the spectrum. King Magnus also leads his knights into battle in the prologue, and William and his father go with Snow White's army to assault Ravenna's castle.
  • Rule of Symbolism: The film makes heavy use of symbolism and foreshadowing.
  • Rule of Three: Three drops of blood, spilled three times.
  • Scenery Porn: The film has lots of incredibly beautiful nature shots. And no fewer shots of desolate and burnt-down landscapes.
  • Sequel Hook: It is likely that if a sequel is made, it will Clean Up Romantic Loose Ends left at the end of the first movie in regards to the Love Triangle between Snow White/William/The Huntsman.
    • Apparently, the second film's script is being written and there are plans for a franchise.
  • Sexy Back: Played straight when Ravenna is at full power, subverted when we see her again when her power is diminished, aged and haggard.
  • She Cleans Up Nicely: Snow White looks quite angelic in her white gown.
    • Played with when the only time the Huntsman comments on Snow White's beauty is when he tells her that she looks fetching in mail, not a dress.
  • Ship Tease: Mostly between the Huntsman and Snow White, because the only real moments she gets with William he turns out to be the Queen in disguise.
  • Shout-Out: The sleeves of Snow White's first dress are reminiscent of those on the dress worn by Disney Snow White.
    • The part where Snow White enters the Dark Forest while fleeing capture. The manner in which she mourns her horse's loss as it gets stuck in the bog is reminiscent of how Atreyu mournfully watching Artax die in the Swamp of Sadness.
    • The part where Snow White gets lost in the Dark Forest and gets into a Troubled Fetal Position is reminiscent of when an utterly dejected Bella Swan gets into that same position in the forest after Edward Cullen leaves her in the New Moon film.
    • When the eight dwarfs appear, their blind leader Muir is seen wearing a beaked mask like the ones worn by plague doctors during the Middle Ages. In effect, he's Doc. Could also be a mythology gag.
    • The White Hart in the Sanctuary is a clear Shout-Out to the Forest Spirit in Princess Mononoke. He even gets abruptly shot by the bad guys in a similar manner as he's meeting with the protagonist!
    • One of the dwarves starts singing the Disney film's "Heigh-ho" song while sneaking into the royal castle.
    • Halfway through her shapeshifting spell, the Evil Queen looks exactly like Lord Voldemort.
    • The coat-of-arms of Snow White's kingdom looks suspiciously like the The White Tree of Gondor.
  • Shut UP, Hannibal:
    • Early in the film, the Evil Queen walks up to a random prisoner and starts tormenting him with her usual Does Not Like Men spiel. Instead of politely listening to her ranting, in mid-speech the guy grabs an unsecured dagger from the guard holding him and straight up stabs her in the chest (which gives him more smarts and initiative than 99% of Fantasy genre characters). Sadly, she's enchanted and can only be killed by The Chosen One, and kills the poor guy for his defiance.
    • Snow White finally confronts Ravenna in battle and the latter has the former on the ropes. When Ravenna sneers at Snow White for having led her followers to their deaths in their attack on her kingdom, Snow White uses this chance to stab Ravenna in the stomach.
  • Sir Not-Appearing-In-This-Trailer: Sam Claflin (William) appears for about a second in the trailer, and even then you have a hard time telling that it's him.
  • Smug Snake: Queen Ravenna
  • Snow Means Death: Snow Whites takes a bite from the disguised Ravenna's poisoned apple while in a snowy forest, and subsequently enters a death/coma.
    • During a flashback revealing the time when Ravenna's childhood village was destroyed, this tragedy either occurs during a snowy season or in a snowy location.
  • Something About a Rose: Snow White's mother is inspired by a rose blooming in winter, and hopes that her child will have the strength and courage of the flower.
  • Spikes of Villainy: Ravenna's crown sports tall and menacing "spires".
  • Spirited Young Lady: Snow White.
  • Stalker with a Crush: It is mentioned that Finn watches Snow White quite often while she's in prison, but doesn't come in because his sister won't let him.
  • Storming the Castle: Snow White and her army attack Ravenna's castle in the climax.
  • Stupid Evil: When the Huntsman is about to deliver Snow White to Finn, Finn gloats that Ravenna will not keep her bargain and resurrect the Huntsman's wife. If he had kept his mouth shut, the bad guy's would have won.
  • Symbolic Blood:
    • When the king dies, he knocks over a chalice full of red wine.
    • When Finn is killed by the Huntsman, Ravenna spills black ink on a piece of parchment.
  • Taking the Bullet: One of the dwarves saves Snow White's life by taking the arrow aimed at her.
  • Tall, Dark and Bishoujo: While she is a blonde, the darkly-dressed, statuesque, beautiful, and ruthless Queen Ravenna fits this trope very well.
  • This Is Reality: Invoked. One of the trailers states that "this is not a Fairy Tale".
  • Through the Eyes of Madness: Very likely, the mirror. All of Ravenna's magic is perceived by the other characters... except for the talking mirror. When Finn watches Ravenna speaking to the mirror, he sees only her.
  • Tonight Someone Kisses: The trailer left people thinking that William's kiss would wake Snow White. But as it turns out, the Huntsman kiss does, and William's kiss pretty much didn't mean anything.
  • Too Dumb to Live: Sure Finn, keep taunting the Huntsman about how you raped and murdered his wife. It's not like he won't get pissed at you.
  • Toplessness From the Back: Ravenna on several occasions, although not always in a good way.
  • Troubled Fetal Position: When Snow White is lost in the Dark Forest.
    • Queen Ravenna writhes into this position whenever her magically conjured youth and/or sorceress powers falter significantly.
  • True Beauty Is on the Inside: Whilst the film recognises Snow White as the Fairest of Them All, what defines her from Ravenna and what is ultimately more important is her inner beauty.
  • True Love's Kiss: Made obvious by the Climactic Music that plays after the Huntsman kisses Snow White.
  • Unexplained Recovery: It's surprising how little anyone bats an eyelid when Snow White casually walks out, perfectly alive, of the castle wherein she was laid out while dead. Apparently, in this universes, True Love's Kiss can just do that.
  • Unlucky Childhood Friend: William. His kiss fails to awaken Snow.
  • Vain Sorceress: Ravenna.
  • Victorian Novel Disease: During Snow White's childhood, her mother suffered from and died from some malady that involved a fever.
  • Villain Song: Ravenna gets one that plays over the credits.
  • Villainous Breakdown: Ravenna has one rather early one when Snow White first escapes the castle.
  • Warrior Prince: William.
  • What Happened to the Mouse?: We never found out what became of the Magic Mirror.
  • What the Hell, Hero?: The Huntsman tries to leave Snow White, and is asked how he can possibly be that cold.
  • When Trees Attack: Snow White is clawed at by trees in the Dark Forest.
  • Wicked Stepmother: Only barely. Ravenna did marry the king before she took over.
  • Will They or Won't They?: Snow White and William/The Huntsman.
  • Wolverine Claws: Ravenna wears some intimidating-looking silver claws on her hands as a part of her elaborate outfits.
  • Woman in Black: Ravenna, in most of the movie. Part of being a foil to a girl named Snow White and all.
  • Woman in White: Snow White. The Resistance dresses Snow White in a white gown when she's in her coma/death. When Snow White later wakes she gives the Resistance a Rousing Speech while wearing this white gown.
    • Ravenna also has a moment where she submerges herself in a white liquid and emerges white from head to toe.

'Bold text'* World's Most Beautiful Woman: Snow White. Played with in that the movie emphasizes that this a combination of both her inner and outer beauty.

  • Worm That Walks:
    • The Queen can turn herself into a huge flock of ravens.
    • The soldiers in the Dark Army at the beginning as well as the monsters at the end are both made up of some kind of magical glass or other substance.
    • In a rare non-evil version of the trope, the White Hart can discorporate into a flock of white doves.
  • Wounded Gazelle Gambit: Ravenna pulls one to gain the king's sympathy.
  • Xenafication: In this version, Snow White goes Joan of Arc on her enemies.
  • X Meets Y: Snow White meets Lord of the Rings.
  • Ye Goode Olde Days/The Dung Ages: Both are used, depending on whether times are good or times are bad. In the beginning of the movie under the reign of King Magnus, the kingdom was prosperous, while everything is dirty and grimy when Ravenna is queen.
  • You Killed My Father: Invoked during the climax, by Ravenna rather than Snow.
  • 0% Approval Rating: Everyone hates Ravenna. They're also completely terrified of her. While talking with Snow White in the forest in the guise of William, she even admits this.