Within the past few weeks of March 2025, the new Snow White movie was released by Disney on March 21st of 2025 and has faced plenty of backlash. Let’s talk about it:
One of the main criticisms that was brought up right when the movie trailer and interviews were released was that the new movie completely missed the point of the original story. In the original Snow White released in 1938, the innocent and soft princess is saved by a Prince by a true love’s kiss.
However in the new movie, lead actress Rachel Zegler stated in an interview, “I just mean that it’s no longer 1937,” when commenting on the film’s new direction. “We absolutely wrote Snow White that… she’s not going to be saved by the prince, and she’s not going to be dreaming about true love; she’s dreaming about becoming the leader she knows she can be,” according to Variety.
Although some agreed with the progressive spin on an old tale, others say that it misses the mark on the true meaning of the tale. Many argue that if Disney wanted to make a movie about a progressive feminist character, then they should have come up with a new and creative movie rather than just recreating an old story.
Along with the criticism on the plot and message of the movie, lots of criticism has been made about the so-called “diversity” advertised in the film. The producers made a point to cast an ethnically Colombian actress to play Snow White. However when it came to the seven dwarves, there was no effort to hire any actors who were actually born with dwarfism or include other diverse actors. Critics say that the diversity claim is only half way executed and lazy.
Lastly, lots of comments have been made about the lead actress Rachel Zegler. In multiple interviews she is seen bashing the original story which made many people feel like she wasn’t fitted for the role. For example she is seen saying this to Disney’s D23 expo in 2022:, “I mean, you know, the original cartoon came out in 1937 and very evidently so. There’s a big focus on her love story with a guy who literally stalks her. Weird!”
This comment and many others made in the interview left a bad taste in some people’s mouths. Recently, the director Marc Platt’s son Joah Platt blamed Zegler for the film’s ultimate failure when released in an interview. Platt said to Forbes, “She is dragging her personal politics into the middle of promoting the movie for which she signed a multi-million dollar contract to get paid and do publicity for.”
Some say it is not fair to blame the actress for the films lack of success saying there were many problems in the movie. Others say that she had a direct cause in the dissent given by the public. You’ll have to see the movie and decide for yourself.
