My Own Personal Nerdy Disney and Animation Scrutinizing Analyses: "Snow White" - An Analysis About the Live Action Remake and it`s Criticisms and Controversy

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First of all I want to give an apology if this entry comes across as controversial or offensive. But I still wanted to give it a try to make one about this very fragile subject...

Disney are still on a roll with their remakes, a trend that has officially

lasted over 10 years now. It`s been a trend that`s a double edged sword. A decision that is based on money grabs and commercialism and has usually been commercially successful. But also a trend that many critics have loathed and irked purism. After turning many of their properties into live action remakes, Disney essentially decided that it was time to turn one of their most cherished and worshipped properties, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, to a live action remake last year. To turn Snow White into a live action property is no small task, due to it being the one who started it all (pardon this intended pun).

And therefore it has it`s significance in Disney`s history for that

reason. However, it`s remarkable that after turning both Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella into remakes, Snow White happened to be the last of Walt`s Princess triology (sorry for using that term, but we know that it`s the truth) to receive the live action treatment. Simply titled Snow White (without the dwarfs). Unfortunately, the remake turned into a flop (which is contradictory. With a production budget of $240–270 million, it`s one of Disney's most expensive films) and receiving mostly hostile reviews. But despite how the Box Office results are one of the bad staples of this remake, the truth is that Snow White has suffered various bad staples. But most of them regards the controversies which has surrounded it.

The Stigma of Walt`s Remakes

It`s hard to believe that this trend of remakes have now lasted officially over ten years to this date. Sure, it would be tempting to bring in both Tim Burton`s Alice in Wonderland and Maleficent into this equation. But frankly, there was a little gap between them and Kenneth Branagh`s Cinderella. But the truth is that both Wonderland and Maleficent felt fanficky enough to feel like alternative retellings of their predecessors and simply not remakes. But when the trend of remakes officially started, it soon made most of the Disney classics remakes (at least those who were popular enough to warrant one, despite how there are a couple of movies who`s most likely never be remade.

Like Pocahontas and The Hunchback of Notre Dame). However, regarding turning Walt`s properties to remakes, we`ll have to remember that the trend officially began with two of his properties. With Cinderella and The Jungle Book, two of Walt`s most cherished and beloved properties. And both of them happened to be released Theatrically. But when the Live Action remake of Dumbo was released in 2019, it flopped. So therefore most of Walt`s remakes were released straight to Disney Plus (considering that we live in a World of streaming, it would be tempting to call it the new way of direct-to-video properties). But due to Snow White`s immortal position, it was essentially not strange that it eventually received a Theatrical release. But unfortunately, despite it`s position, it couldn`t truly give the property a renewed success.

The Criticisms Hurled at Walt`s Princess Movies

Despite how cherished, beloved and worshipped Walt`s official triology of Princess movies are, we`ll have to remember that they are products of their times. And also been the targed for criticism for their anti-feminist content (by portraying the Princesses as anti-feminist). Whether they were truly so, is essentially up to you to decide (as there are many opinions about that fragile subject). However, if there has been a staple about these remakes, is how they`re essentially made to fix the scrutinies lobbed at their originals.

While it`s been the case with some of the remakes, it`s not been the case of all of them. But if we`re going to look closer at the remakes of Walt`s Princess movies, the truth is that the previous remake, Cinderella, did little to fix the ongoing criticism lobbed at it`s predecessor. In fact, it was a pretty straightfoward retelling of the story, with very little changes (with the exception of having the lovebirds meet before the ball). But yes, since Snow White is being retold in modern time, it was expected that it would have some mandatory changes. Cause no matter how much you dislike it, the truth is that changes are inevitable. But more about those later.

The Controversies Regarding the Remake

However, despite the shrugs and the yawns of transferring Snow White into a live action, the unfortunate truth is that this remake has been lobbed with various controversies. The first one was the a similar case that with the remake of The Little Mermaid: To cast a Semi-Latina as the role of the titular Princess (despite how Rachel Zegler looks somewhat white enough to pass. No offense, though). Zegler responded to the criticism in January 2022, stating that Snow White is popular in Spanish-speaking countries. And that casting a Latina actress was significant due to its rarity. But Zegler wasn`t the only Latina auditioning for the part, as Mexican actress Renata Vaca was also a finalists. Revealing that the casting was open for all ethnic groups. Even Peter Dinklage called the choice somewhat regressive. However, the second criticism is how Zegler herself bashed the original Princess and called her dated.

While it is of course a subject that could be interpreted differently, the truth is that it has received backlash (despite how Zegler said that her comments were misunderstood). The third criticism is making the Seven Dwarfs themselves to CGI. But the biggest controversy is how both of the main actresses, Zegler and Gal Gadot, were on opposite sides of the Palestina conflict (despite how they had a positive relationship during the filming). And how Zegler tweeted free Palestine. And no matter what could be said about the subject, it`s a pity that it`s affected Snow White. Because it simply has given it a staple that is simply not needed or relevant to the picture. Because the movie itself simply doesn`t have anything to do with the conflict. And a movie (regardless of it`s cynical intentions) should be regarded as pure escapism, regardless.

The Changes From the Animated Version

But regarding the mandatory changes of Snow White, it did essentially

what the remake of Cinderella did: Introducing the heroine as a child and setting up a happy childhood, And also establishing her relationship with her parents. But it shows also the death of her parents (despite how both of them dies vaguely and the movie skips over the grieving part). And it establishes Snow White`s relationship with the Queen (something that was non-existent in the original). And sure, since Disney have regarded a love interest or a royal love interest for a heroine/Princess as sexist now, it wasn`t strange that the love interest was now a thief named Jonathan. As opposed to a Prince. However, the following parts of the movie were similar to it`s animated predecessor (Snow White being tricked into the forest by the hunter, her escaping the forest and finding the cottage), until the part where Jonathan finds Snow White again.

And sure, there`s of course essentially a sense of woke to the cast (no offense). The only thing that follows the original is how the Queen turns herself into a witch, poisons our titular Princess and having her love interest wake her with a true kiss. But a departure is having Snow White returning to the Kingdom and confronting the Queen (despite how the climax and confrontation is kinda vague). Another change is how the Dwarfs are even more secondary in the remake, as opposed to what they were in the original. Which is a pity, since they were good characters in the original. And Dopey is given a mandatory voice. But what`s also more notable is how most of the original songs are gone and only three of them remained (despite how The Silly Song is barely played). And most of them are replaced with new songs by Justin Paul and Benj Pasek (and yes, Waiting on a Wish sounds similar to This Wish from Wish).

The Fragile Subject of Correcting the Mistakes of the Animated Predecessors

But as for the staple of the purpose of the Disney remakes to correcting the mistakes of their animated predecessors, the question is it right to remake them for the purpose to fix their mistakes? It`s of course a fragile subject with many different opinions. Well, the truth is yes and no. It`s needed to correct a mistake if the mistake is dangerous and hampering. However, it`s needless to correct it if the purpose is to erase the animated predeccesor completely. But in that regard, that purpose is mostly stillborn and contradictory. Mostly because the animated predecessors have managed to live beyond these remakes.

And the remakes have been considered as being inferior copies (with the exception of Jon Favreau`s The Jungle Book). So despite how these remakes corrects the mistakes of the predecessors, their corrections are simply dismissed by the public at the end. And sure, 2025`s Snow White wasn`t the only version of the story where it was made with feminist changes, as Mirror Mirror (with Lily Collins), Snow White and the Huntsman (with Kristen Stewart, Chris Hemsworth and Charlize Theron) and Girls Made of Snow and Glass also made changes. But since the Disney remakes are stuck with that staple, they`ve now been panned for it.

The Reasons for it`s Underperformance

But the big question is why exactly did Snow White underperform? Well, there are many reasons for it. Many of these aforementioned reasons who caused the controversies around these remake are the reason why it underperformed. But the truth is that many divisions, as Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) and the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) and Arab organizations actually boycotted the film (the former for Gadot's past service in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and pro-Israel stance).

Republican supporters boycotted due to Zegler`s tweet to Donald Trump supported (for which she apologized). But also for how this remake was considered as both unecessary and woke. So it flopped due to a mix of creative missteps, poor communication, and an audience caught between wanting something new and clinging to what they remember. But despite how Snow White was a massive bomb at Theaters, it still was a hit when it premiered on Disney Plus and streaming. So regardless of it`s controversy, it found it`s audience at the end

Epilogue

So yeah, regardless of how the various controversies surrounding this remake of Snow White, it`s a pity that it has received such a staple of controversy. But to even defend it is pretty much a minefield of itself. In fact, it is truly a minefield to defend a live action remake, for their final reputation and how they`re essentially regarded as cashgrabs and inferior copies. But as my for my experience of Snow White, did I like it? Yes, despite how it doesn`t need to be regarded as a superior to it`s animated predecessor. The film was cute and endearing enough. With great visuals and animation and frankly didn`t insult the original movie. Zegler did essentially a fine job as the titular heroine and most of the new songs were catchy enough.

My problems with it was how some pivotal scenes were simply too rushed. However, the delution of the King was essentially vaguely played and the final climax was essentially vague. However, does it mean that this film deserves redemption? Yes and no. While the remake does exist for the cynical and manufactured reasons of commercialism, the truth is that I didn`t found it to be completely awful either. However, for all of the controversies surrounding it, it`s nice how it found a bigger audience on streaming devices. But at the end, regardless of how this remake is dismissed as being inferior, we`ll have to remember that the legacy of the animated predecessor will live on forever. And it will live beyond this remake.