Disney's Snow White debacle: can the remake be saved?

At this point, does anyone look forward to a Disney remake?

Dylan Seymour
24th March 2025
Image source: IMDb
Putting it lightly, cultural norms and standards have shifted slightly since 1937 and the release of Disney's original Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. The thirties saw ineffective centrist government give way to fascism, a war in Europe, and open rhetoric of ethnic cleansing, all armed and funded by the ultra-rich. Such a concept seems otherworldly to us today, so it's no wonder the upcoming live-action remake needed to tweak its source material. Let's see how they're getting on, shall we?

Let's start with former soldier for the Israeli Defence Forces, actress Gal Gadot. Some would deem it irresponsible of Disney to cast an actress who had joined the IDF and has been seen to collaborate with Israeli Prime Minister Isaac Herzog since 2019. Herzog has been found to claim that there are "no innocent civilians in Gaza", so the controversy that followed Gadot's casting has certainly done nothing for the film's prospects.

Next up, in the saddest corner of internet discourse, we have the anti-woke warriors. They haven't left their childhood bedroom yet, but you'd better believe they're scouring every single media release to see whether it fits into "woke" and "anti-woke" boxes. The casting of Latina actress Rachel Zegler as Snow White's titular princess, then, set alarms blaring in the reactionary community. "It's not realistic, It's a European story" shout racists on the internet about a children's movie featuring a talking mirror and dancing squirrels. As ridiculous as their complaints are, if 2024 taught us anything it's that riding the anti-woke gravy train is a popular substitute for having a brain, so the remake will no doubt take another hit.

Image source: IMDb

Dwarfs were always going to be a difficult topic for any remake to cover. Those with dwarfism have historically been ridiculed, both in media and in public - a trend which continues today. Exemplifying this difficulty, actor Peter Dinklage, who lives with the dwarfism-causing condition achondroplasia, criticised Disney. In his view, the media company feigned progressivism by casting a Latina actress yet still wanted to tell a harmful story of "seven dwarfs living in a cave." It's arguable that the film should have just never been remade, and Dinklage is a prominent figure voicing this sentiment.

Oh dear Disney, what a mess you've made! Whether out of silly culture war delusion or not, nobody likes your film anymore!

Snow White is, in this veritable Mickey Mouse expert's opinion, likely to be simply another movie in the long, long list of "crap Disney live action remakes". I still have nightmares after watching the 1h45m of slop that was the live action Lion King, and I doubt things are going to get any better. All signs point to an underwhelming release, followed by the board condemning the film to a life on the Disney+ recommended tab.

AUTHOR: Dylan Seymour
Sports Sub-Editor | BA Politics and History Student | Vegan

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