Disney’s latest live action adaptation Snow White is set to release Mar. 22, 2024; however there are rumors that it’ll be canceled due to controversies around Rachel Zegler, the leading actress for the film.
The animated Disney classic Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was released in 1937 and has remained a beloved film since its creation. However, in 2016, Disney confirmed that a remake of the feature film was in development, with production and filming starting in March 2022 and ending in July 2022.
In June 2021, Disney announced that Rachel Zegler would be playing Snow White. This sparked backlash from people who didn’t think she should play the part because the character is described as having skin “as white as snow” and Zegler is Latina.
This controversy has only been worsened by comments made by Zegler. At the D23 (Disney 1923) Expo Zegler criticized the 1937 film in an interview, claiming that:
“The original cartoon came out in 1937 and very evidently so. There’s a big focus on her love story with a guy who literally stalks her…Yeah, we didn’t do that this time.”
“She’s not going to be saved by the prince, and she’s not going to be dreaming about true love. She’s dreaming about becoming the leader she knows she can be.”
”It’s not 1937 anymore”
Many critics claim that the classic Snow White story is being changed to include feminist archetypes, as Snow White isn’t about becoming a leader. And by changing the film and criticizing the original, many people are marking both the film and Rachel Zegler as marketing disasters for Disney.
“For one, she needs PR training. There’s already controversy about her comments, and she’s digging herself into a bigger hole. Second, Snow White not dreaming about true love but instead dreaming about becoming a leader is not what the story is about. It’s about finding love and her saying it isn’t is directly contradicting the original story.” says Casa Grande Senior Angelica Summary.
Many people are even saying they are going to boycott the film because they don’t want to see how drastically it was changed from the original. There are rumors that Disney will even cancel the film, but it is confirmed that they are NOT canceling it, and Snow White is still set to release in March, but people are predicting cancellation is still up in the air.
“I think they should have followed the old version, and not make it a new one.” Says Sophomore Jackie Magana.
Another major controversy is the change of the dwarfs in the film. The original motion picture is named Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, and the remake is just Snow White. This is due to the fact that they have casted only one actor in the dwarfism community. This is because in Jan. 2022 actor Peter Dinklage made comments about how the story was about seven dwarfs living a cave, and that it wasn’t progressive for the dwarfism community. In response, Disney, not wanting to use old stereotypes, casted six non-dwarf actors to play six of the individuals, with only one actor with dwarfism.
In spite of all the backlash including Zegler’s ethnicity, her comments, and the lack of dwarfism representation, Disney is unlikely to cancel this film. But as critics have stated:
“I think they should just make new stories.” says Sophomore Emily Sims.
