As Disney’s first feature-length animated classic, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is one of the studio’s best-loved films.
Now, the 1937 original has received the live-action treatment, but it has faced all kinds of controversy since filming began three years ago.
Aside from casting West Side Story’s Rachel Zegler (a Lantina actress) in the title role, Daily Mail posted set photos of the Seven Dwarfs seemingly being replaced by a diverse group of men, women, and just one dwarf.
Additionally, the leading lady has been unapologetically vocal in bashing the original fairy tale classic.
The 23-year-old said in 2023: “It’s no longer 1937… she’s not going to be saved by a prince! And she’s not gonna be dreaming about true love. She’ll be dreaming about becoming a leader she knows she can be. 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! Weird.”
Disney’s Snow White remake was then delayed by a year from March 22, 2024 to March 21, 2025. This was accompanied by a first-look image of Zegler’s princess surrounded by CGI versions of the 1937 classic’s dwarfs with no sign of the seven politically correct companions from the set photos. Following the delay, the actress totally changed her tune on the Snow White fairy tale and original movie in a dramatic U-turn, saying how she didn’t want to “mess this up for anybody”.
Now there may have been some anti-woke backlash to Zegler, but there’s also been controversy around Evil Queen star Gal Gadot.
The Israeli actress has been outspoken on the ongoing Israel-Gaza war, while Zegler has posted “Free Palestine” on her social media account, leading to speculation of an unconfirmed rift between the two co-stars.
Amid all this, MovieWeb reported that the UK premiere was scrapped for fear of “anti-woke backlash”. On top of that, Variety claims Disney has cancelled the red carpet for Snow White’s Hollywood premiere on Saturday, which would usually feature dozens of journalists ready to interview the cast. Instead there will only be photographers at the ready. Additionally, the latter outlet’s sources claim the premiere’s scaling back has more to do with the stars’ controversies than it is with the “anti-woke backlash”.
Snow White is released in UK cinemas on March 21, 2025.