The Disney live-action remake of Snow White is about to hit cinemas, and with it, fans are reviewing the controversies that have plagued the film’s entire production. Since it was first announced, fans and industry members have lashed out at the production and its stars. To be fair, given the original Disney film was made in 1937 and is in itself more-than a little problematic, it’s fair to ask: Why even make this movie at all?
For those who don’t remember, the 1930s Disney animation, Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs, focused on an orphaned princess (Snow White) who lives with her jealous stepmother, the Evil Queen. After Snow White finds out the queen is trying to have her killed, she flees into the woods where she takes up residence with a group of dwarves, finding peace and happiness ’til she eats a poisoned apple, ends up in a coma and is reawakened by a prince’s kiss.
The live-action version stars Rachel Zegler, 23, as Snow White with Wonder Woman actress Gal Gadot, 39, taking the role of the Evil Queen. The premise itself is rather controversial, but below we unpack the surrounding scandals that have plagued the film.
All The Snow White Live Action Controversies, Explained
The beef with the Snow White remake first started when the lead actresses made a point of painting the titular character as a hero of feminism who doesn’t need a prince—ideas that some suggested were misguided attempts at feminism, which aren’t actually feminist at all. But it didn’t end there. From the criticism of remaking a movie with antiquated views on people of short stature, to an alleged feud between the film’s stars, Snow White has been mired in controversy. Here’s a round-up.
Snow White And ‘Girl Boss’ Feminism
At the announcement of Disney’s live-action remake of Snow White in 2023, a few comments from the film’s stars alluded to some key tweaks to the tale… “The movie came out in 1937—and evidently so,” Rachel Zegler (West Side Story) told Extra while promoting the film. “There’s a big focus on her love story with a guy who literally stalks her. Weird! So we didn’t do that this time.”
Then, in another interview with Entertainment Weekly, Zegler, who will play Snow White, and Gal Gadot (Wonder Woman), who is stepping into the role of the Evil Queen, continued the line of finding Snow White’s empowerment.
“The cartoon was made 85 years ago and therefore it’s extremely dated when it comes to ideas of women being in roles of power and what a woman is fit for in the world,” Zegler said. “So, when we came to reimagining the actual role of Snow White, it became about the ‘fairest of them all’ meaning who is the most just and who can become a fantastic leader, and the reality is Snow White has to learn a lot of lessons about coming in to her own power before she can come into power over a kingdom.”
“She’s not going to be saved by the prince. She’s the proactive one,” Gadot added. “She’s the one who sets the terms. It’s [these factors] that make it so relevant to today.”
While the statements sound pretty fair, TikTok was not happy. Not at all.
“The point of Snow White’s fairytale isn’t that she’s going to try and become a leader,” TikTok user @reubenwoodall said in a video amassing 1.2 million likes and counting. “She’s not supposed to be this girl boss, leader, queen, feminist icon. And I don’t know why every reimagining, it has to be that the woman is in a position of power, otherwise it’s not feminist.”
The video goes on to point out that Snow White, per the original tale, survived multiple assassination attempts, and now she lives in a house—rent free—and is “pretty much free to do whatever she wants”.
Reuben adds that Snow White was not responsible for her own downfall, and was manipulated by the Evil Queen.
“[Snow White didn’t escape the apple] because she wasn’t proactive enough or because she wasn’t, you know, this feminist, go-getting leader woman. She took a bite of the apple because she was manipulated to,” they offered. “Snow White couldn’t girl boss her way out of that predicament.”
TikTok is also asking why the Snow White stars appear to mock the main character’s desire to find love—a theme which doesn’t actually occupy much of the Disney original.
“I don’t know why in order to make a film more progressive the woman can’t have a focus on love or finding true love. They almost act like it’s something to make fun of,” Reuben said of Zegler and Gadot. “I would have hoped that we had reached a point in feminism and gender equality where every female-led story doesn’t have to have the woman being extraordinary. Snow White wanted to find true love. That’s fine, most of us do. She didn’t really set out to be a leader, not all of us do. Sometimes you just want to be in the middle of a forest baking pies.”
Fair play, Snow White.
Peter Dinklage Criticises Snow White And Depiction Of Dwarfism
Another question that has been asked repeatedly online is “why is this movie even happening?” One such person is Game Of Thrones star Peter Dinklage, who has publicly criticised the idea of the reboot.
“I was a little taken aback when they [Disney] were very proud to cast a Latina actress as Snow White, but you’re still telling the story of Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs,” Dinklage told Mark Maron’s WTF podcast. “It makes no sense to me. You’re progressive in one way and you’re still making that f**king backwards story about seven dwarfs living in a cave together. What the f**k are you doing, man? Have I done nothing to advance the cause from my soapbox? I guess I’m not loud enough.”
In response, Disney released a statement saying, “To avoid reinforcing stereotypes from the original animated film, we are taking a different approach with these seven characters and have been consulting with members of the dwarfism community.” However, the Daily Mail later reported the film would focus on so-called “magical creatures”, in line with the original fairy tale. Photographs from behind the scenes published by the Daily Mail showed a cast of several characters standing in for the dwarves. In response, former Jackass actor Jason ‘Wee Man’ Acuna criticised the production for taking jobs away from little people. “You’re replacing jobs that people could have as little people. It’s for dwarfs. Why are you hiring ‘Snow White and the seven average people’?” he said in an interview with Movie Maniacs.
Actress Katrina Kemp, who was on Netflix’s GLOW, also said: “It’s a missed opportunity to make a movie with seven little people where they actually have intended characters. There will have been people who gladly would have taken those roles.”
Ultimately, the production went with CGI ‘dwarves’, with only one actor (Martin Klebba, who will voice Grumpy) having a form of dwarfism.
Rachel Zegler and Gal Gadot Feud
While they were chummy prior to production, Zegler and Gadot clashed on opposing views on the Israel-Palestine conflict. With Gadot being pro-Israel, and Zegler condemning the war, which the United Nations has dubbed a genocide, both supporters of Israel and Palestine called for boycotts due to the actress’ vocal stances. Zegler also shared a ‘F**k Donald Trump’ post on Instagram after the presidential election, which she was forced to apologise for.
On top of the political riff, sources told People Zegler and Gadot just have “nothing in common” as Gadot, 39, is a mum of four and the two have a “huge age gap”, with Zegler being 23.
Rachel Zegler’s Fair Pay Comments
While on the picket lines for the ongoing actors’ strike, Zegler made a comment about being adequately compensated by streaming services for her work on Snow White. “If I’m gonna stand there 18 hours a day in the dress of an iconic Disney princess, I deserve to be paid for every hour that it’s streamed online,” she said.
This also appeared to rub fans the wrong way, with many saying the star should be “grateful” for the opportunity, while others said she was already paid enough.
Rachel Zegler’s Apology
Zegler donning a Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs jacket.
(Credit: Instagram / @rachelzegler) (Credit: Instagram / @rachelzegler)Zegler has since attempted to clarify her comments in a teary video on social media. “I never wanted to come off as me being ungrateful for the opportunities I have,” she said, later adding: “As a huge Disney fan like all of you, this is the biggest dream come true.” She also mentioned she’d been receiving death threats.
Nevertheless, some fans were not satiated, with some doubling down their criticisms for the so-called “non-apology”. It’s been rough a ride for Zegler.
Zegler was also forced to apologise for her anti-Trump politics, and for saying “F**k Donald Trump” on her Instagram. “Hi everyone, I would like to sincerely apologize for the election post I shared on my Instagram last week. I let my emotions get the best of me,” Zegler wrote on Instagram. “Hatred and anger have caused us to move further and further away from peace and understanding, and I am sorry I contributed to the negative discourse.”
Rachel Zegler’s Casting
Another controversy was that Rachel Zegler wasn’t ‘white’ enough for Snow White, which, I think we can all agree is just racism in action. This isn’t the first time Disney has come under attack for casting non-white actresses in Disney Princess roles, with black American actress Halle Bailey facing huge backlash after being cast as Ariel in The Little Mermaid.
Zegler is an American of Colombian and Polish descent, and is ethnically classed as a ‘white Latina’.
How Is Snow White Performing At The Box Office?
Given the controversial start, it’s potentially unsurprising Snow White has had an underwhelming performance at the box office on its debut weekend. The film collected a disappointing $43 million from US audiences and $44.3 million internationally, according to Box Office Mojo. For context, the live-action remake was originally projected to amass $100 million across its worldwide debut, and given the $250 million Disney allocated to the remake, the film has some making up to do.
While analysts say the ongoing criticism prior to its premiere didn’t directly affect ticket sales, it’s hard to ignore the numbers.
