Snow White and the Seven Controversies

Disney’s new “Snow White” remake premiered in theatres on March 21. The movie’s release comes after it received several criticisms for a slew of controversies sparked by its’ cast, adaptation and production.

The Debrief

Disney’s original film, “Snow White and the Seven Dwarves” was released in 1936. The movie instantly became a classic. The story is based off of the German fairytale, “Snow White,” published in 1812 by the Brothers Grimm.

It was announced in 2016 that a remake would be made for the Disney classic. However, it wasn’t until 2019 that Marc Webb, director of movies such as “500 Days of Summer” and “The Amazing Spider-Man,” would be directing it.

Rachel Zegler, best known for her roles in “West Side Story” and “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes” was cast as Snow White in 2021, and Gal Gadot, best known for portraying Wonder Woman in the DC Comics Universe, was cast as the Evil Queen. Filming took place the following year.

Tension, Tension on the Wall

Gadot and Zegler have both been posting on their respective social media accounts about their political views. The two co-stars’ views often clash, causing tension between Gadot and Zegler.

According to Variety, as a result of the tension surrounding the film, Disney had a much more scaled back premiere. They decided to not invite viewers to the event, only photographers and the house crew.

“[The premiere is] basically going to be a pre-party, watch the movie and that’s it…because of all this controversy, they’re afraid of the blowback from different people in society.” – Martin Klebba, who plays Grumpy in “Snow White.”

American actor, Peter Dinklage, who has dwarfism, has spoken out about the film’s decision to not include people who actually have dwarfism, but rather use CGI instead. Only one actor in the movie, Martin Klebba, actually has dwarfism, the other six dwarves were created using CGI.

“Literally no offense to anyone, but I was a little taken aback when they were very proud to cast a Latina actress as Snow White, but you’re still telling the story of Snow White and ‘the seven dwarfs.’ Take a step back and look at what you’re doing there. It makes no sense to me. You’re progressive in one way but then you’re still making that f–king backwards story about seven dwarfs living in a cave together. What the f–k are you doing, man?” – Peter Dinklage

Zegler stirred up quite a bit of controversy for her remarks in interviews about the movie. In the interviews, she is extremely outspoken and appears to have issues with the original movie.

“There’s a big focus on her love story with a guy who literally stalks her. Weird! 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” – Rachel Zegler

Critics on social media feel that Zegler’s remarks show that she is ungrateful for her role, while others feel that she had not had enough media training.

The Reviews

Since its premiere in movie theatres, “Snow White” has a rating of 41% on Rottentomatoes.com. The film’s reported budget was $250 million, however it has only grossed a little over $40 million. The film’s ticket sales are expected to continue to drop.

What are your thoughts on the new “Snow White?” Let VALLEY know on Instagram or X @VALLEYmag!