Snow White– a beloved Disney classic, was just recently remade into a live action by Disney. Disney is infamous for its live action remakes from Mulan to Dumbo. Snow White (the remake) was released on March 21, 2025, and was not well received by audiences and the media. There are many reasons behind the failure with the release of Snow White.
The cast was one of the main reasons this movie faced backlash. Rachel Zegler made multiple comments on the original Snow White, calling it “weird” and “outdated.” She also said that the prince “stalks” Snow White in the movie, indicating a darker message that would not be suitable for an audience of children. Many fans felt disrespected by these comments as the classic Snow White movie was something they enjoyed watching throughout their childhood. Many fans also felt that Rachel Zegler didn’t physically match Snow White, as she doesn’t share the same features, such as having “skin white as snow” like Snow White does. Many people also felt like Gal Gadot, playing the Evil Queen, did not perform well due to her acting.
The remake of Snow White also changed major elements from the original. For one, they changed the love interest of Snow White. The Prince in the original was a huge part in Snow White’s story with the iconic scene of when he kissed Snow White and saved her. Removing this part was not a smart decision because that scene is what most people think of when they think of Snow White. Instead, they replaced her love interest with Jonathan, a Robin Hood-like bandit who leads a group of rebels.
The iconic dwarfs that we all know and love about the original also stirred up some controversy among audiences. Originally they scrapped the whole idea of having seven dwarfs and replaced them with seven “magical creatures.” This change received a lot of hate as many people in the dwarfism community felt that they were having opportunities taken away from them and felt as though there was a lack of representation for actual dwarfs. Ultimately, Disney ended up using CGI to animate seven dwarfs. This was not received any better than their first idea, as it still did a poor job to represent dwarfism. Actors with dwarfism, such as Peter Dinklage, known for his role in “Game of Thrones,” was outraged by this, calling it “backwards.”
What went from being a childhood classic that we could all enjoy became what would be known as one of the worst remakes made by Disney itself. From the cast to removing essential parts of Snow White’s story, the hate it received was nothing that wasn’t foreseeable.