A familiar dress, whistle, and story will fill the theaters starting March 21 with the release Snow White. Rachel Zegler takes on the titular role in Marc Webb’s live action adaptation of the old Disney movie. Although some younger viewers are excited to see this Disney princess come to life, multiple concerns have been expressed among Disney movie fans. A main controversy that has surfaced during this movie’s production is the casting choices and the classic story being altered to focus on self-empowerment for young girls. I believe the casting choices for this movie were awful and they should have considered a more inclusive cast as well as someone who appreciates the classic story.
There has been a lot of controversy surrounding the recent Disney live action movies, but Snow White has had the most discussion by the fanbase by far. From the first look at the trailer, many Disney fans noticed that there was something off about the dwarfs in the film, this is because the dwarfs are CGI. Although acting as a dwarf in Snow White wouldn’t have been a dream job for some, it is still a job and could be a life changing opportunity for actors with dwarfism to be represented. There is already a limited amount of roles/jobs available for the dwarfism community and when an opportunity to include and feature these people comes up, I believe they should get the chance they deserve. I also discovered that casting live actors as opposed to using CGI cost less! They spent more money attempting to create these fake characters instead of giving people with dwarfism a chance to shine. To me this is simply just wrong and they shouldn’t have even considered CGI, especially if it cost them more money anyway.
Rachel Zegler, an extremely musically talented actress, has taken the iconic role of the Disney princess, Snow White. While I did initially believe she was an outstanding choice for the role, many people have questioned the casting choice. In a recent interview, Zegler made a comment saying “I just mean that it’s no longer 1937, we absolutely wrote a [new] Snow White and she is not going to be saved by the prince.” This comment gave me, and many Disney fans, the impression that she didn’t appreciate the classic story. The reason this film is a classic is because of the story, a damsel in distress hoping to find true love. Why are we letting someone play this iconic role who doesn’t appreciate the nostalgia of the 1937 film? While this bothers me, I cannot deny her talent. She is a wonderful singer and has starred in many movies including the iconic screen adaptation of West Side Story. On another note, some of the fans have raised concerns about her skin tone being “too dark” for the role of Snow White. The princess was originally called Snow White because “her skin was as white as snow,” and since Rachel Zegler isn’t white, some fans were questioning her casting in articles and on social media. I don’t believe that her skin tone should be sparking controversy, I believe the focus should remain on the story and her talent.
Lastly, the story of Snow White has been around since 1937, introducing the first Disney princess to viewers around the world. The original film follows a damsel in distress running away from an evil queen and finding true love through an enchanted kiss that wakes her from eternal sleep. When I first heard about the movie adaptation I was thrilled to hear that one of my favorite childhood films was coming to life. However, I was unaware that writers were changing the story. Webb took the original story and made it geared toward empowering young girls. Contrary to the original animated film, the princess’s goal is no longer to find true love, instead she wants to be a leader and save her kingdom. While this might feel like an interesting take on the film, I believe the change is unnecessary. When I watched the movie as a kid I never felt like I couldn’t be a leader, I enjoyed the charm of the classic love story. I believe that we should rely on adults to teach their kids the difference between reality and fantasy, and that their children can be leaders, not the writers of a live action adaptation.
The discusion and changes throughout the story left me wondering, isn’t the point of a live action movie to bring the animated version to life? Overall, I believe that live action failed to accomplish the changes made for this film. The alterations have driven me away from the original excitement I had when it was first announced. I don’t appreciate the disclusion of the dwarfism community, Rachel Zeglers low level of appreciation towards the 1937 film, and the total story change. If they were going to go through the trouble of making a live action movie, I believe they should have done it right.
