The internet is up in arms over Disney’s live-action ‘Snow White’ remake — here’s why (2024)

“Snow White” has joined the ranks of Disney’s latest classic movie reboots — and not everyone is happy with the direction it seems to be taking.

In multiple interviews, “Snow White” star Rachel Zegler — who plays the titular character — has voiced her opinion on the 1937 version of the film. She called the film “extremely dated when it comes to women being in roles of power” in an interview with Variety, and said that this version of Snow White will become “a fantastic leader.”

In another interview with Variety, Zegler said, “We absolutely wrote a Snow White that is not gonna be saved by the prince.”

“She’s not going to be saved by the prince and she’s not going to be dreaming about true love,” the “Snow White” star continued. “She’s dreaming about becoming the leader she knows she can be.”

Zegler’s comments on the original film, and the direction that the new “Snow White” seems to be going in, has created discourse and criticism online.

“On TikTok, some users said they think that in an effort to make Snow White more feminist, Zegler inadvertently assigned anti-feminist sentiment to the character,” per NBC News.

Additionally, Zegler’s casting has sparked racist backlash online, per NBC News, due to the fact that Zegler is a Latina actress. “The Little Mermaid” reboot star Halle Bailey, a Black actress, received similar racist criticism when Disney announced she was cast as Ariel.

Some are accusing the live-action ‘Snow White’ of being ‘too woke’

Some are criticizing the casting of Zegler, a Latina actress, as a traditionally white character.

On her YouTube channel, former Fox News host Megyn Kelly criticized the casting of Zegler in a German fairytale, saying that “Snow White herself is not white” and that the character is supposed to have “skin as white as snow.”

Beyond the comments on the casting of Zegler as Snow White, many have criticized the film’s seeming lack of actors with dwarfism cast as the seven dwarves.

Peter Dinklage, an actor with dwarfism, called the portrayal of dwarves in “Snow White” “backwards” after Zegler’s casting was announced, per The Hollywood Reporter.

But after photos of the alleged “Snow White” set were leaked earlier this year — with a lack of actors with dwarfism — many are saying that the live-action remake is too woke.

“New ‘Snow White’ from Disney gets woke washed,” one user tweeted.

“Looks like the Woke don’t care much for dwarves. And... They have a girl dwarf now,” another user tweeted.

Disney said that the photos, which were obtained by the Daily Mail, were “fake and not from our production,” per the Independent. The Daily Mail said that the production studio “confirmed that stand-ins were used for both Rachel Zegler and Andrew Burnap in these images.”

Dreaming of true love isn’t anti-feminist, TikTok says

Zegler has garnered significant criticism due to her perceived dismissal of romance and love in “Snow White,” especially on TikTok. Many TikTok users have called out Zegler for her comments, pointing out that they are actually anti-feminist and regressive.

“You’re right, it’s no longer 1937. And you know what else women no longer have to do? Choose between a career and love,” one TikTok user said. “We can have both.”

“Girl, we know it’s not 1937,” another TikTok user said. “But guess what? There are women that are still quiet, that are still passive, that are still soft, that are still docile and that’s okay.”

“And some women do dream about true love,” they continued. “And there’s nothing wrong with that. Dreaming about true love doesn’t mean that you’re not independent and that you’re not strong. ... Those two things can exist at the same time.”

Robyn Muir, author of “The Disney Princess: A Feminist Analysis,” told BBC, “Love and feminism are not mutually exclusive.

But, as Muir points out, romance isn’t necessary for all female-centric stories. “But there doesn’t always have to be a relationship in it,” Muir continued. “It’s not the be-all and end-all. Think of the amount of war epics that don’t include romance for any of the male titular characters.”

Other critics have pointed out that not every woman wants to be a leader — which is, they point out, still feminist. “Criticizing Disney princesses is not feminist,”one TikTok user said. “Not every woman is a leader. Not every woman wants to be a leader. Not every woman wants or craves power, and that’s OK.”

Others defend Rachel Zegler, saying that the criticism is sexist

While many have called out Zegler’s attitude and ideas around “Snow White,” some have come to her defense, calling the criticism sexist.

One TikTok user called the criticism around Zegler “misogynist” and “racist.” “(It’s) weird and (expletive) ironic that so many people were willing to jump on here and attack every aspect of this woman’s character ... because she’s not the pinnacle of modern feminist theory.”

Muir told BBC that the controversy around Zegler is rooted in sexism. “To just share your opinion on something and to receive such a significant amount of backlash ... shows the wider issue of sexism that we still have in Hollywood.”