When it was first announced almost a decade ago, Disney’s big-budget, live-action remake of their beloved 1937 animated classic Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs looked like a straightforward money-spinner for the studio.
Following the success of Kenneth Branagh’s 2015 version of Cinderella and Jon Favreau’s 2016 adaptation of The Jungle Book, bringing Snow White back to the big screen seemed like a relatively simple way for Disney to cash in on one of their most popular pieces of intellectual property while also reviving a traditional fairytale.
However, a string of controversies beset production, leaving a film intended to be crowd-pleasing labeled as one of the most unexpectedly divisive of the year.
The film quickly drew the ire of right-wing commentators when it was announced that West Side Story star Rachel Zegler had been cast in the title role. Critics claimed that Zegler, who is Latina, should not play a character who is referred to as having “skin as white as snow.”
Zegler further provoked traditionalists by arguing the plot needed to be updated as, in the original film, Prince Charming “literally stalks her.”
“It’s no longer 1937,” Zegler added. “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.”
In a 2023 discussion with Halle Bailey, who herself received similar backlash over the color of her skin when she was cast in 2023’s The Little Mermaid, Zegler said she was “thankful” for the resistance to her casting because those moments “make me feel like solid Teflon.”
Speaking to Variety in 2024, Zegler explained that the new film has a different origin story for the character’s name than the 1937 cartoon. “It fell back to another version of Snow White that was told in history, where she survived a snowstorm that occurred when she was a baby,” said Zegler. “And so the king and queen decided to name her Snow White to remind her of her resilience.”
However, a perceived double standard was called out by Game of Thrones actor Peter Dinklage, who, in 2022, called the idea of remaking Snow White “f***ing backwards.”
“I was a little taken aback when they were very proud to cast a Latina actress as Snow White,” Dinklage told Marc Maron on his WTF podcast. “You’re still telling the story of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Take a step back and look at what you’re doing there. It makes no sense to me. You’re progressive in one way and you’re still making that f***ing backwards story about seven dwarfs living in a cave together, what the f*** are you doing man?”
Disney responded to Dinklage’s comments, saying: “To avoid reinforcing stereotypes from the original animated film, we are taking a different approach with these seven characters and have been consulting with members of the dwarfism community.”
“We look forward to sharing more as the film heads into production after a lengthy development period.”
Dinklage was then criticized by actor and professional wrestler Dylan Postl, who argued that his comments were reducing job opportunities for actors with dwarfism.
“I don’t have a problem with Snow White. What I do have a problem with is Dinklage putting himself on a pedestal and looking down on jobs that countless dwarfs in the entertainment industry would love to fill,” said Postl, who was also born with dwarfism.
He continued: “Now Disney says they’re ‘taking a different approach with these seven characters and have been consulting with members of the dwarfism community’. Really, who in the dwarfism community?
“I would have told them to fill each one of those jobs with a dwarf actor. (Hey Disney, call me! I will take every role that you have.)
“Dinklage is not the spokesman for little people and to believe that one person represents an entire community is ridiculous.”
As the Snow White release date approached, further controversy erupted over the contrasting political allegiances of the film’s lead actors. Israeli actor Gal Gadot, who plays the evil queen in the new movie, has been an outspoken supporter of Israel during its war in Gaza.
Zegler, meanwhile, is a passionate defender of Palestinian causes. She was also criticized by Donald Trump supporters for her reaction to the US president’s re-election when she posted on Instagram about “four years of hatred” he would bring about in America. She later apologized for “contributing to negative discourse”
It was widely reported that behind-the-scenes political tensions as well as the film’s other controversies were behind Disney’s decision to scale back the Hollywood premiere. According to Variety, the March 15 premiere, which would typically have included a large-scale red-carpet event with multiple media outlets invited to interview the stars, was reportedly reduced to only photographers and in-house crew.
Nevertheless, Zegler and Gadot appeared all smiles as they were photographed side-by-side at the premiere along with the remake’s director Marc Platt.
Meanwhile, the film’s various controversies failed to put off critics, who hailed the film as “enchanting.”
One reviewer wrote on social media: “The biggest surprise of 2025 is that the most ‘controversial’ and most hated film of the year is actually a decent live-action remake.”
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