Disney’s never-ending quest to remake its animated classics has landed on Snow White, and boy, is this one a doozy. Probably the most anticipated movie trailer (for all the wrong reasons) dropped yesterday, giving us a first look at the Snow White remake that’s battling a minefield of cultural expectations, fan backlash, and creative reimagining.
Rachel Zegler, the Latina actress who stars as Snow White, has already weathered a storm of criticism since her casting. Zegler herself isn’t even particularly attached to the original story, as she’s previously stated that it contains some problematic elements like the whole “guy who literally stalks her.” According to her unconvincing pitch, Snow White should be a coming-of-age story about self-discovery.
Disney seems to be drinking this Kool-Aid as the trailer suggests a more politically charged storyline, with Snow White potentially leading some kind of uprising against the Evil Queen’s totalitarian regime.
Back in 2022, Peter Dinklage called out the outdated portrayal of the seven dwarves in a podcast. Guess what Disney’s solution was? Make them CGI creatures that look like they’ve wandered out of an uncanny valley nightmare. If those dwarves from the trailer make the final cut of the film, you can be sure kids will have nightmares for weeks after leaving the theater.
At least Gal Gadot as the Evil Queen looks appropriately menacing, though her delivery sounds about as wooden as the forest where the dwarves live. God, I hope we get some memes out of this film.
Between accusations of being “too woke” and criticisms about representation, the Snow White remake has somehow managed to become a microcosm of larger cultural conversations. The Daily Wire even went so far as to produce their own version of the film, seemingly just to make a point. Maybe they’ll both be released on the same day, and we can create a wokeness Bingo card to see which one wins, haha!
What’s surprised me the most, though, is that despite all the noise, box office numbers suggest audiences might still show up. Disney’s live-action remakes have consistently been cash cows, warping animated classics into lackluster, but apparently profitable, live-action experiences.
By now, we all know that Disney’s remake strategy is a corporate scheme to mine nostalgia for maximum profit. The Jungle Book, Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, The Lion King, Mulan, The Little Mermaid, and now Snow White. All these are remakes from a studio that once prided itself on groundbreaking animation but has now turned into a recycling factory, content to rewrite its own history (and they’re not alone in this).
Let me save some ranting for March 21 next year when Snow White opens in theaters.
