We’re still the better part of a year away from the release of Disney’s next big live-action remake in Snow White and we’ve seen no trailers, official images, or even so much as a poster. Yet the backlash to the movie is already strong. Like The Little Mermaid before it, a vocal contingent is taking issue with the new remake, and now an interview with star Rachel Zegler from last year has them finding new reasons to be upset.
In an interview from Variety from last year’s D23 Expo, Rachel Zegler and Gal Gadot talked about the fact that the new Snow White will see significant updates from the 1937 animated film, with Snow White herself having significantly more agency than in the previous story. Check out the comments below.
While Rachel Zegler’s statement that it’s not 1937 anymore might seem obvious, some corners of social media are apparently upset by any form of update to the story, including the fact that Snow White will no longer be “saved” by the Prince in this new version of the film. The fact that an interview from months ago is being dredged up at this point shows a concerted effort by some to want to slam the movie over stuff we already knew was happening-- despite the fact that any actual live-action Snow White movie details are few.
This specific backlash follows a lot of voices who were previously critical of Rachel Zegler’s casting in the film, which itself followed some leaked shots of the Snow White production, and included confirmation that the live-action movie will not include seven dwarves, a fact that has been pretty clear from the beginning, as the live-action film has always been called simply Snow White. The idea that the movie would even contain dwarves was the subject of criticism of its own from many including Peter Dinklage.
It’s difficult to argue with Rachel Zegler’s initial point here. Snow White has almost zero agency in the 1937 animated movie. The plot mostly happens to her, and she simply reacts to various characters’ influence upon her. While that may have been enough 90 years ago, most audiences today would want to see a main character who takes a more active role in their own story.
This sort of negative dogpile can’t usually sustain itself for long periods, so there’s a good chance it will all die down soon. Of course, when we do eventually get a trailer for Snow White we will likely hear plenty from these voices about what they don’t like about it, since they have already made their decision regarding the movie.
For her part, Rachel Zegler has declared she will be staying out of the backlash surrounding the movies, as she simply doesn’t want to deal with it. It’s the same tactic that Halle Bailey employed when dealing with the racist backlash to her casting in The Little Mermaid. She never addressed any of the criticism directly, instead focusing only on the messages of support she received. And while Zegler may be dealing with a similar backlash now, there are also loud voices supporting her.
