Despite being Disney’s prized possession, the 2025 Snow White movie might struggle in its cultural appeal, as it’s faced backlash for years prior to its release. The original “Snow White” fairy tale dates back centuries and was initially published by the Brothers Grimm, but the title has been popularized in contemporary culture by Disney’s 1937 film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Nearly a century later, this film is still regarded as one of the best Disney movies of all time, as it’s a classic of childhood animation that nearly every movie lover has seen at some point.
With great cultural reverence comes great responsibility in adaptation, and recent years haven’t seen the most kind public perception to the rebooted titles of classic Disney films. 2019’s The Lion King, 2020’s Mulan, and 2023’s The Little Mermaid are just a few examples of films in the past decade with live-action remakes that received divisive responses. Now, Marc Webb’s Snow White is the next beloved title to enter the risky ring of remake critique, and the $209 million budget means that a lot is at stake.
Snow White Received Backlash For Casting Rachel Zegler, CGI Dwarfs, & More
Disney’s Casting Choices Have Been Divisive With Fans
The 2025 version of Snow White stars Rachel Zegler as the titular character and Gal Gadot as the Evil Queen. The casting of a half-Colombian and half-Polish actress as Snow White caused immediate controversy despite Rachel Zegler’s career kicking off to an exciting start with Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story, reigniting the ongoing and often heated discussions about representation and diversity in Hollywood. The same can be said about 2023’s The Little Mermaid, which received a 67% critic score and a 94% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.
While a vocal minority argued that casting a person of Latin descent as Snow White was off-putting regarding the story’s European origins, others suggested that this fairy tale, like many others, is one of universal appeal. Rachel Zegler even took to social media to respond to the matter, saying, “Blanca Nieves is a huge icon whether you’re talking about the Disney cartoon or just different iterations and the Grimm fairy tale and all the stories that come with it.”
Rachel Zegler’s social media response was positive and encouraging, but she continued to face backlash when she criticized the 1937 version of the film, suggesting that the new version would fit modern ideals. She highlighted that her version wouldn’t revolve around Prince Charming and that her Snow White would be a leader in her own right. She even went as far as to call the prince “a guy who literally stalks her,” further inciting contention from fans of the original. Read her full quote below:
“I just mean that it’s no longer 1937. We absolutely wrote a Snow White that… 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.”
Regarding the seven dwarves, Disney’s remake has been critiqued for using CGI to depict the characters rather than casting real-life actors with dwarfism. Game of Thrones star Peter Dinklage even spoke out against the film, calling out Disney for the irony of flaunting a progressive Latina casting for Snow White but maintaining that “backward story about seven dwarfs living in a cave together.” Dinklage has long been a role model for people sharing his condition, but his critique here only added fuel to the fire and was met with mixed responses.
Snow White Is One Of Disney’s Most Important Movies
Snow White Launched Disney Into Its Success
There are so many iconic Disney movies, but Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was the first animated feature film produced by the company. It was followed by titles like Fantasia, Bambi, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and so many others, establishing a legacy of beautifully crafted, family-friendly films. This is one of the movies that made Disney the powerhouse company it is today, over a century after it was founded, with tens of billions of gross at the box office and dozens of classic movies.
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Dwarfs vs Dwarves: Is Disney Right Or… Am I Just Too Much Of A Lord Of The Rings Fan?
Despite the many controversies surrounding Disney’s Snow White, a more light-hearted topic of debate pertains simply to the proper plural of “dwarf.”
Not only is Snow White’s legacy important, but the original film still holds up, with numerous fans that consider it among their favorite movies. With such a long-standing passion for a piece of media, it’s understandable that audiences are so fiercely dedicated to it and want to protect its cultural meaning. Whether one loves or hates the new movie, it’s important to understand part of why many have taken such a particular stance on the remake.
Snow White’s Backlash Is Directly Connected To The Love For The Original Film
The 1937 Version Is Still A Beloved Movie
The 2025 Snow White movie is experiencing backlash due to strong emotions toward the 1937 film, and it’s not the first title for this to happen. Recently, the Harry Potter HBO remake has seen controversies surrounding rumored castings. The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power experienced a similar outcry during its first season from fans of Peter Jackson’s movies. There are significant portions of the audience pools for these titles, and many others, that want adaptations to be “faithful.”
There are significant portions of the audience pools for these titles, and many others, that want adaptations to be “faithful.”
The difficulty with remakes, in general, is that rather than creating fresh material, studios are risking tampering with media that their viewer base already has pre-determined emotions for. Some people who love the original are going to be hopeful about a fresh interpretation, while others just want the new version to be exactly the same as what they already know and love. No matter how one views it, that controversy is going to exist time and time again.
The Backlash To Snow White Shows The Difficulty With Live-Action Remakes
Remakes Can Never Please Everyone
Live-action remakes, let alone remakes in general, are faced with the Herculean task of trying to appease the masses. It’s challenging to appease the masses with an original idea, let alone the reconstruction of a beloved story. If the studio doesn’t change enough and creates a shot-for-shot remake but in live-action, then it will be critiqued for not providing anything fresh or original. If it swings too far in the other direction, it experiences criticisms like Snow White has.
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Predicting Snow White’s Rotten Tomatoes Score Using Disney’s Live-Action Remakes & Franchise History
Disney’s Snow White is a little over a week from its premiere, and based on past performances of live-action Disney movies, this is how it will do.
It’s impossible to appeal to everyone, but trying to appeal to the largest demographic isn’t always the proper strategy either. Movies and art are meant to push boundaries, and venturing into new territory is often going to have pushback. Snow White might not be a groundbreaking work of art, but the act of taking that risk speaks to a degree of integrity. Now, what matters most is whether they’ve made a good movie that holds up to the entertainment and inspiration of the original.
Disney’s Snow White
- Release Date
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March 21, 2025
- Director
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Marc Webb
- Producers
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Callum McDougall, Marc Platt