Disney’s Snow White was released in theaters on Friday, March 21st, a live-action musical reimagining of the classic 1937 film. This seemingly innocent remake of the first film Disney produced has received an unprecedented amount of backlash and controversy. Directed by Marc Webb and written by Erin Cressida Wilson, the movie has been lacking in praise, and more so engulfed in bad reviews by the public. With the initial trailer of this movie on YouTube surpassing 1 million dislikes, it was easy to infer that the film wouldn’t go far with being admired or talked about fondly. In fact, staggering reviews have been published, such as CNN’s ‘Snow White’ box office more sleepy than happy, The Los Angeles Times’ Disney’s ‘Snow White’ opens with a lackluster $43 million amid controversies, poor reviews, and National Review’s Snow White Is a Box Office Dwarf.
In the start of the movie, Snow White (who is played by Rachel Zegler) is shown as a child whose childhood and country was overtaken by the Evil Queen (played by Gal Gadot) after her fathers disappearance. As she grows up, she begins to wish that her country could be the way it was before, restoring it to its former glory. Snow White’s wishes are showcased when she sings her version of the “Big I Want” song called “Waiting on a Wish”. The song replaces both the “I’m Wishing” and “Someday My Prince Will Come” songs featured in the original film.
Snow White becomes a servant, practically revoking her princess status. One day, she sees a bandit stealing potatoes from the queen. When he gets caught and the queen wants him sent to the dungeon. Snow White tries to intervene to aid the bandit and yet worsens the situation as the queen now calls for the bandit to be executed. However, Snow White frees him from being bound to the castle gates and gives him a piece of bread before telling him to leave. This scene really reminds me of The Hunger Games, where a boy named Peeta gives the female protagonist Katniss a piece of bread, and they happen to be each other’s love interests, and go through a similar conflict with a dystopian regime at hand. The Evil Queen finds out she freed the bandit and is livid. She is then shown admiring herself in a magic mirror, and asks, “Mirror mirror on the wall, who’s the fairest of them all?” The mirror replies that it is no longer herself, but the beautiful Snow White. Fueled with rage, she goes to talk to a huntsman, (played by Ansu Kabia), and asks him to take Snow White to the forest to pick apples, conveniently masking her death. The huntsman eventually tells Snow White the truth and advises her to run away into the forest. Snow White ends up finding a little cottage, where she lays down and falls asleep.
Next, the dwarves are shown, and they are made from CGI (Computer-generated imagery). This decision sparked controversy, with some actors and members of the dwarfism community expressing concerns that it would take away opportunities for actors with dwarfism. Famous actor Peter Dinklage, who has dwarfism, voiced his concerns about the film’s portrayal of the dwarfs, which may have influenced Disney’s decision. The article Replacing the 7 dwarfs in ‘Snow White’ with CGI is not ‘progressive’, states a quote from Dinklage himself. There have been various sentiments about Zegler playing Snow White, that she is not fit for the role in general. The article Rachel Zegler ‘Snow White’ Controversy Explained, sheds light on this, touching upon the racist views people have on Zegler, and that people took issue with a renowned Disney Princess being a woman of color. Zegler in this case is half Polish-Colombian. The dwarf, Dopey, (voiced by Andrew Feldman) also happens to speak in this version as opposed to the original, where he remains nonverbal. Personally, him speaking or not doesn’t affect the plot overall, and wouldn’t have changed the final outcome of the movie, so I think it’s a little childish that this aspect of the movie got such an uproar. As with the other dwarves, they play their part successfully in the film, regardless of their appearance. Would I have liked to see humans? Sure, but the CGI didn’t necessarily scare me off either, they just seemed funny-looking.
As Snow White and the bandit named Johnathan meet in the forest, they grow closer as a pair, exchanging songs with one another such as, “Princess Problems,” and “A Hand Meets A Hand,” which adds to the warmth and chemistry of their relationship. After the queen realizes the princess is still alive, she sends guards to try and find her. One of them tries to shoot Snow White, and Johnathan saves her. Being wounded, the dwarves help him recover. The group dances to “The Silly Song”, and Snow White and Johnathan sing. As the movie reaches its climax, Snow White explains she still wants to look and find her father, while Jonathan is eventually captured by the guards. The rest of the movie falls into place, with Snow White eating the poisoned apple, and falling into a deep sleep. Jonathan escapes the castle and sees the Seven Dwarfs mourning her in a glass casket. In response, he kisses her, waking her. The queen then meets her demise, and Snow White and Jonathan soon marry where they are crowned the new king and queen of the kingdom.
Unfortunately, the once hyped live action film is now on track to be one of Disney’s worst misfires in years. The film will have to do lots of business in the coming weeks to break even, not to mention more competition on the way, such as, “A Minecraft Movie”, and “Lilo & Stitch”.
While parts of the movie differ from the original, I really enjoyed how Snow White and the bandit build up their relationship, rather than the original’s “Love at first sight” trope. It’s nice to see a real connection, and that Snow White here has real feelings and thoughts for the people in her life, and realizing that maybe she does like Johnathan. Rachel Zegler did a great job playing Snow White with this more modernized take, although I understand why people wanted a princess like the original. However, that doesn’t justify the belittlement she gained after the movie’s release. She is an actress solely doing her job, and putting a mixed Latina figure on the big screen- it’s a win in my eyes. Even though the movie did explicitly substandard in the box office and has been marked as a flop, there were remarkable parts of it where you could see amount of dedication it received, the effort the actors put into their roles, and most of all, my theater being filled with kids laughing and indulging in the film. Because that’s what a princess move should be about, isn’t it?
