Disney’s recent movie, the Snow White remake, has worked up heated controversy, with fans differing over the changes to the original elements.
Once Disney announced that it would star Rachel Zegler as the role of Snow White in the new remake, it began a ripple of racist backlash. With Zegler’s Colombian and Polish heritage, many were outraged that she was cast to play an originally white character. Fans didn’t want the movie to betray Snow White’s earliest description of skin as white as snow, lips as red as blood, and hair as black as ebony.
“I personally don’t mind Rachel Zegler playing Snow White,” junior Parnika Palavalli said. “I think that the main reason people are so mad is because of the style choices.”
The consuming and style choices of the new remake have sparked frustration amongst the audience. Snow White’s iconic yellow and blue dress was replaced with what fans believe is a “discount party store ensemble”. Zegler’s signature dark bob has been declared unconvincing and unflattering, while her downplayed makeup just added to the already underwhelming wardrobe.
“Rachel Zeglers version of the Snow White look takes away the enchanting mood,” sophomore Sri Avalaa said. “Her new costumes and makeup just offend the authors of the original look.”
Appearance is not the only thing that fans are worried about, as the negative reaction to the remake was further fueled by Zegler’s vocal critique of the original story. During many interviews, it was made clear that the actress believes that the Snow White story is outdated and weird. This made people believe that the storyline is going to be different, and will not capture the initial magic.
“‘The Snow White’ story should be about love and being saved by the prince,” junior Nora Hattabaugh said. “Instead, the actors are supporting a more ‘modern’ Snow White who does not represent the original story.”
Despite severe backlash on social media, Disney’s final decision was to use CGI for the seven dwarfs, effectively removing people with dwarfism from the movie. Many believe that this was a lost opportunity for an authentic representation of dwarfism. This was a blow for actors with dwarfism who are actively working for representation, and were not given the option of partaking in this movie.
“This is Snow White and the seven dwarfs, not Snow White and the seven digital little people,” Hattabaugh said. “I think that it was the perfect time to cast people with dwarfism, but they decided to CGI instead.”
The remake opened to a low profit, as the controversy prevented many people from watching the movie. Its financial failure and backlash caused a temporary pause in the future Tangled remake. Fans are advocating for Disney’s reevaluation of their remake process and decisions, because so many previous adaptations have ended in controversy.
“Disney definitely didn’t earn as much from this movie as they wanted to,” junior Sarah Abdulkareem said. “Their failure wasn’t surprising to me as my family and I have never really liked the remakes.”
