By now, the images of Julia Roberts as Evil Queen (in one of two upcoming Snow White adaptations) while clad in an array of budget-looking costumes has been ingrained within our collective gossip memory. If those stills accurately portray the characters’ appearances, Julia looks truly ridiculous in her role and almost like she’s prematurely tossing in the towel to Kristen Stewart’s movie in her corner of Snow White Battle of the Bitches. It’s just as well, because Kristen’s movie really does look better anyway.

However, Julia has a much more pressing matter on her mind in relation to her take on the Evil Queen. As the mother of three children, Julia’s hoping that no one will dare tell them that she’s playing a character that scares the hell out of them. Such a calamity!

SHHH! Don’t tell Julia Roberts’ kids that their mommy is a monster — at least, on the big screen!

The Pretty Woman star recently revealed that she hasn’t told her three children she’s playing the Evil Queen in a live-action version of the animated Disney classic Snow White — because they’re terrified of the character!

“I haven’t spelled it out that I’m the Evil Queen,” Julia admitted in a recent interview. “Because I showed them [Disney’s] Snow White and they had nightmares and they cried.”

Julia, 44, has three children with cameraman hubby Danny Moder — fraternal twins Hazel and Phinnaeus, 6, and Henry, 4 — and she never dreamed they’d react so violently to the Evil Queen in Disney’s feature-length cartoon.

“When the kids cried and had nightmares, Julia went to Danny and asked him, ‘Now what do I do?'” a source close to the Moder family told The ENQUIRER.

“She’s afraid to break it to them that she’s now playing that horrible, mean character. So, she’s putting it off as long as possible, and hoping no one else will tell them!”

But a top psychologist believes that Julia should explain her movie character to her kids.

“Children that young are still confused about the difference between reality and fantasy,” famed psychologist Dr. Judy Kuriansky told The ENQUIRER.

“Julia should tell her kids that she can pretend to be mean in a movie, but she’ll never treat them that way.”

Thankfully, Julia’s got some time. The still untitled film won’t be released until March 2012.

[From Enquirer, print edition, 10/31/2011]

Well, I guess this rules out Julia offering up the “I did it for my kids and not the money” excuse when someone inevitably asks why she did this movie. Still, she’s in quite a pickle because, sooner or later, someone’s going to end up telling Julia’s kids that their mommy is playing the Evil Queen, so she may as well ‘fess up to them while they’re still young and capable of virtually unconditional forgiveness. Either that, or perhaps Julia should start being nicer to everyone around her so that she doesn’t have to live in fear of retaliation, including the overweight sister that she takes such joy in tormenting. With stories like that, Julia really seems fit for the Evil Queen role in real life too.

Photos courtesy of Photos courtesy of Relativity Media/The Mail and Fame.