“Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the fairest of them all?” This question has lived in the minds of countless children who grew up reading fairy tales before bed. The story of an evil queen who, jealous of her lovely stepdaughter, took her revenge in the form of a poisoned apple– all of this underscored by classical characters like the seven dwarves and the weak-willed huntsman. Widely known as the “first true Disney story”, it was only natural for Snow White to be next in line for Disney’s live action craze, with the original movie dating back to 1937. As the earlier version was the first full-length animated feature film, the live-action cast had big shoes to fill. But after early public relations turned out to be as poisonous as one of the Evil Queen’s apples, the chances of this happening appear incredibly low. Snow White grossed $42 million in its original debut but fell sharply the following weekend, yet even that first weekend’s profit is far below other Disney remakes.
23-year-old Rachel Zegler, best known for her roles in West Side Story and The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, was announced as live-action Snow White in the summer of 2021. Zegler is of Colombian descent, and racist backlash against her was instantaneous. Internet trolls used the original depiction of Snow White, with “skin as white as snow,” as a way to attack the Latina actress. The new movie tweaked this part of the story slightly, tying the origin of Snow White’s name to a snowstorm she survived as a child. Zegler, for her part, didn’t allow their intolerance to faze her. According to CNN, the actress claimed “At one point, you just have to shut it all off…I’m just going to believe in what I believe in,” Director Marc Webb saw the spark in Zegler instantly, casting her for her angelic singing voice, grace, and poise – qualities more integral to Snow White’s character than her skin color.
Still, discriminatory complaints were far from the only hurdle this movie faced. One clip in particular has dominated social media pages, overwhelming any other thoughts Zegler shared on the movie. According to NBC News, the actress explained, “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.” The criticism was immediate, with many arguing that her comment had anti-feminist tones. The general argument was that a woman doesn’t have to be a hyper-independent “girl-boss” to be strong, and that wanting to be married or stay at home is just as valid of a life-choice as being a leader. Others took up a semi-defense of Zegler, attributing her words to a lack of media training by her publicity team. On the other side, many believe that the hate has gone too far. While she could have said certain things differently, the attacks on her personality and appearance have reached an unwarranted level. On TikTok, brand strategist Ashten Stein remarked, “There’s one thing to critique someone’s actions, and it’s another to start bullying or feeding into cancel culture.” In any case, judging a public figure by their appearance rather than their talents and character is neither courteous nor acceptable.
While Snow White’s critiques have been far more numerous and intense then those of other live-action Disney remakes, there is no shortage of dislike for the practice of remaking older films as a whole. Whether due to an overuse of CGI, excessive changes to the story, or less than enthusiastic actors, some fans are begging Disney to stop remaking movies, claiming they end up far inferior to the original versions. A good deal of the motivation for these movies is thought to be financial, possibly contributing to the duller, less soulful nature of these new features. Commenting on a TikTok that compared Rachel Zegler to her cartoon counterpart, @helloeleana pronounced, “It is the old Disneys who made me fall in love [with] love,” voicing generations of Disney fans who share her attitude.
