Disney’s newest project revives the oldest story produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios: Snow White. Presented as a live-action film, this classic tale of the Evil Queen’s envy toward the kind princess had its teaser released this August, at the D23 Expo in California. Although the backstory remains the same, some adaptations for the current context have elicited a strong reaction from fans.
Lights, camera, and action
The feature film, directed by Marc Webb (The Amazing Spider-Man) and starring Rachel Zegler (The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes), is set to debut in theaters on March 21, 2025. Another notable cast choice is actress Gal Gadot (Wonder Woman), who will portray the Evil Queen.
With an extraordinary scenario, soundtrack, and special effects designed to create a unique environment reminiscent of Disney’s magical world, the movie has already been deemed a success. The trailer, released within the first 24 hours, garnered 120 million views online.
Changed to be inclusive, but is it for everyone?
By betting on the profitable trends of bringing box office hits to life, the remake will be based on the timeless conflict between Snow White’s good heart and the Evil Queen, who wants to be the prettiest of all, so for that she decides to kill the princess. To keep faithful to the plot, this movie will count with a few adaptations.
One of the changes included in the script is the representation of female protagonism. In the 1937 animated version, Snow White is portrayed as a naive and defenseless princess who needs a prince to save her from the Evil Queen’s clutches. On the other hand, this live-action is shaped by a female perspective with a main character that is fearless and stronger than the first version.
To reflect society’s evolving context, one of the main changes was replacing the famous line “Who’s the prettiest of all?” with “Who’s the fairest of all?”. This alteration aims to move away from equating a woman’s value with beauty and instead highlights the opportunity for women to showcase their strength and power.
Another change to the story deals with Disney’s response to concerns about the “seven dwarves”. Since the 2021 announcement, the company has tried to balance keeping the classic tale while avoiding dwarfism stereotypes. Initially, they created a poster with people of different heights, genders, and ethnicities, but faced backlash. In response, they hired actor Martin Klebba (Mirror, Mirror), who has dwarfism, and used CGI for him to play all seven dwarves.
Adopting a contradictory stance, Disney’s studios didn’t hire other actors with dwarfism to avoid stereotypes, but at the same time, this decision took other actors’ opportunities to have visibility and improve their careers.
Repercussion on media
Since the 2021 casting announcement, Snow White’s new movie has sparked controversy over both the cast and its representation. Rachel Zegler (Snow White) received hate messages for being cast as a Latin woman in a role described as having “skin white as snow.” Despite the backlash, Zegler has stood by her role and is proud to represent Latin women on screen.
Another unexpected reaction from the public came after showing the trailer at the D23 Expo, who compared Rachel Zegler and Gal Gadot, insinuating that the Evil Queen actress looked “prettier” than Zegler and that would “end the plot”. However, it must be reinforced that the message behind the film is the importance of someone’s inner value, not the outside look.
As said previously, the presence of dwarves in the story can emphasize prejudices, as the actor Peter Dinklage (Game of Thrones) affirmed that roles like dwarves and elves are stereotyped and destined for people with dwarfism. The problem came this time with the public’s reaction, which refused Disney’s idea of changing the “dwarves” body type to be inclusive and rejecting these prejudices.
Other Snow White’s live actions
While the original Disney adaptation has not been released, there are other Snow White live actions to watch instead. Here is a sample of these works for the fans:
Mirror, mirror (2012): The British movie starring Lily Collins (Snow White) and Julia Roberts (Evil Queen). The plot is based on a queen who controls her stepdaughter, so she doesn’t lose all the power she has by the princess taking her throne. Unlike cliches, when the princess runs away from the queen, she realizes that a prince doesn’t need to save her, but she must take control and become a warrior to fight for her people, who are starving and poor because of the queen’s avarice.
Snow White and the Huntsman (2012): The American movie starring Kristen Stewart is an adaptation of Snow White’s original story, but with a twist in the romantic scenario. In other versions, the Evil Queen is obsessed with being the prettiest woman in the kingdom, that’s why she sent the Huntsman (Chris Hemsworth) to kill the most beautiful – Snow White -, but this time the hunting became different because the Huntsman fell in love with the princess and decided to help her escape.
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The article above was edited by Beatriz Oliveira.
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