The Snow White Situation
I've been stepping around the controversies regarding Disney's new Snow White movie for some time now. Several new revelations have come out in the past few days, so it's time to discuss it. Everything about this movie has gone up in flames, sometimes quite literally. The fact that Disney is remaking the first feature-length animated movie of all time in live-action was already a sign of poor showmanship. After adding the fact that the lead actress Rachel Zegler seems to hate the original film and that the leaked photos so far have been less than flattering, many people are wondering if it's a good idea for this movie to still happen at all. As it turns out, so is Disney. As of today, Snow White has been officially delayed from its March 2024 release date to March 2025. Although Disney is blaming the Hollywood strikes for this more so than the controversy, it does give them some extra time to smooth out the movie's rough edges that have had countless fans up in arms about the mockery it has made of Walt's first cinematic masterpiece. One good thing that came out of this announcement is that it was accompanied by the first official promotional image of the film.
Following the tradition of Disney's other live-action remakes, the photo features a dimly lit room that requires the viewer to squint if they want to make out any details of the characters' facial expressions. Snow White sits in a chair in the dwarfs' cottage wearing her classic yellow and blue dress surrounded by seven crudely rendered CGI dwarfs that vaguely resemble the ones from the original movie. There was much conspiracy over whether or not the dwarfs would retain their original image or be replaced by seven "magical creatures" following some backlash caused by actor Peter Dinklage. The initial leaked image of the characters that represented the seven dwarfs portrayed something very different from this official photo and was never confirmed by Disney as the final look of the characters. However, this CGI catastrophe is allegedly the final look of the film in which Disney again opts for the easy way out with lazy animation instead of casting real actors with dwarfism who rarely have opportunities to portray such iconic characters.
The backlash against this movie has blown up so much that the conservative conglomerate The Daily Wire decided to make their own version of "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" to retaliate against Disney's. Their direct-to-streaming independent production, Snow White and the Evil Queen, was set to release the same week as Disney's until Disney announced the delay on their film earlier today. As much as I love the idea of new princess media, I personally do not think the best solution to an unnecessary film based on "Snow White" is to make another one. Even if they attest that this is not the Disney version but instead an alternate retelling of the fairy tale, this character has already been portrayed in many other films and media outside of Disney, so there is no need for another one outside of pure spite. If the Disney movie retained its original release date, the year 2024 would have been a repeat of 2012, in which there were two very different theatrical versions of "Snow White" out at the same time, Mirror Mirror and Snow White and the Huntsman. You can watch the trailer for Snow White and the Evil Queen starring Brett Cooper below and form your own opinion.
The controversies surrounding Disney's new Snow White movie have caused quite a stir and raised doubts about its success. The decision to remake the first feature-length animated film in live-action already sparked criticism, and leaked photos of the film have not helped the situation. The delay of the movie's release gives Disney additional time to address the concerns raised by fans and smooth over any rough edges. However, the backlash against the film has been so significant that it led to the creation of an alternative version by The Daily Wire. While it's encouraging to see new adaptations, the abundance of existing portrayals of "Snow White" suggests that another film may not be necessary. It's important to embrace the spirit of Snow White's character, which teaches us to be gentle, optimistic, and inclusive, while also considering the diversity of interpretations already available. What are your opinions on these upcoming adaptations? Are you planning to see one of them, both of them, or rewatch some of the older classics instead?
Comments
I remember the whole thing about "Mirror, Mirror" and Snow White and the Huntsman, I saw both then and I liked Mirror, Mirror more simply that Snow White was more like "Snow White" while Snow White and Kristen, more than kind and gentle, was expressionless.
I simply understand why now that Disney, in its desire to "modernize" everything, insists on doing things like this, alternative media would come out with their own version. I don't think it's always just spite but also "well, let's give people some options." I know that if I had the means to not only dedicate myself to making fanfic of a series or movie whose ending or development I didn't like, but to make an entire alternate series with a similar premise or even use the same basic story with a development and ending that I and others like. People with similar tastes would do it hahaha.
For example, many former fans of "Star vs" lost interest in the series in seasons 3 and 4 due to the selfishness represented in all its characters and the loss of the essence of the program from being a magical girl to a teenage drama with some magic, we secretly hope that a remake will be made in the future, fixing the plot errors and everything that the public hated, giving the romance a better development, etc. or even that someone made an alternate version of "magical princess goes to live on earth with a socially awkward boy." It's a "someone give me what I wanted from the beginning" thing.
I also preferred Mirror Mirror to Snow White and the Huntsman. I would be willing to give The Daily Wire's version of Snow White the benefit of the doubt if it wasn't for the fact that their figureheads regularly trash talk modern media, culture, and anyone who thinks differently from the status quo. They are an unapologetically biased group with some very close-minded views, which makes their reasoning behind this project very transparent. I would be more open to an independent production or something from another streaming service.