Snow White Movie Controversy
On March 21st, Disney’s live-action Snow White was released, starring Rachel Zegler as the titular princess. The movie is based on the plot of the 1937 animated classic, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. The original film follows Snow White who escapes to the forest after her stepmother tries to have her killed. She hides out with seven dwarfs, prior to being poisoned by the Evil Queen with a red apple.
Zegler has faced major backlash from critics and is believed to be Disney’s scapegoat for the movie’s failure. When the movie was first announced with Zegler as Snow White, there was immediate backlash because of the actress’s ethnic background. Zegler is a Colombian-American, and in the original animated movie, Snow White is described with skin “as white as snow.” This detail is based on the original Brothers Grimm fairy tale, which the animated film is based on. Thus, the movie faced major criticism for having Zegler in the role.
The West Side Story actress also has an extensive online media presence that may have affected the media coverage of the film. Zegler had many controversial online posts involving current political topics. The post came after the release of the Snow White movie trailer, Zegler posted about the positive reaction to the trailer and added at the end, “and always remember, free Palestine.” The movie producer, Marc Platt, flew to New York to ask Zegler to take the post down; she refused. The son of the producer, Jonah Platt, also posted on the matter, saying she “[dragged] her personal politics” in it and “her actions clearly hurt the film’s box office.” It said that after the incident, Disney hired a social media guru whom Zegler had to work with before posting anything.
Zegler’s co-star, Gal Gadot, has also faced criticism and backlash for her involvement in the film. The Wonder Woman actress has been criticized for her poor acting in the film. Gadot’s acting has been called “emotionless” and “awkward” by fans, blaming her for the movie’s box office flop. Gadot’s political views have also been under discussion, as she is an Israeli-born actress and has been voicing her support for the country. Critics believe this may be another reason for the movie’s failure, as many people are now boycotting the actress.
The remake itself is another reason why the movie hasn’t had any success, with the movie costing about $300 million dollars to create and only earning about $87.3 million at the box office. The plot has also strayed from the original film, taking on a more modern approach. In the original film, Snow White falls in love with a prince and is rescued by him, waking up from true love’s kiss after eating the poisoned apple. However, in this version, the prince is a Robin Hood-type nomad who steals from the rich to give to the poor. The remake also cuts multiple songs from the original movie, leaving “High-Ho” and “Whistle While You Work” as the sole pieces from the animated film.
Snow White has gone from bad to worse in the eyes of critics and the media, and things are only going to go downhill. The remake is said to drop at least 60% of viewership in its second weekend at the theaters. The film also lost its number one spot to the new movie, A Working Man, starring Jason Statham. Unfortunately, Snow White is a box office and critical flop.