The upcoming live-action Snow White remake is already facing criticism for its departure from the original film, with star Rachel Zegler calling it “extremely dated” and focusing on the protagonist’s inner journey instead of a love story.
The son of one of the original film’s directors, David Hand, disagrees with the remake and finds it a “disgrace” that Disney is changing the story and characters.
The casting choices for the new film, including a diverse group of seven people instead of traditional dwarfs and a Latina actress as Snow White, have also been met with backlash and accusations of taking roles away from little people.

Disney’s live-action Snow White remake isn’t due to hit theaters until 2024, but the film is already receiving its share of criticism. Past interviews with the film’s star, Rachel Zegler (who portrays the titular character), have recently made headlines. Zegler has said that the old film, which was released in 1937, is “extremely dated when it comes to the ideas of women being in roles of power” and called The Prince a stalker. She added that the new film is less a love story and more about the protagonist’s “inner journey that she goes on to find her true self.” While all that may seem appealing to some, there are others that have slammed the actress and the upcoming remake.

The 1937 film was Disney’s first ever animated film and was a critical and commercial success. In 1989, the United States Library of Congress selected it as one of the first 25 films for preservation in the National Film Registry. The film counted on a number of directors, including production supervisor David Hand. In a recent interview with The Telegraph, Hand’s son, who shares his father’s name, revealed his feelings about the upcoming remake:

“It’s a whole different concept and I just totally disagree with it, and I know my dad and Walt would also very much disagree with it. I disagree with this whole new concept…”

Hand added that it was a “disgrace” that Disney is “trying to do something new with something that was such a great success earlier…their thoughts are just so radical now. They change the stories, they change the thought process of the characters…they’re making up new woke things and I’m just not into any of that. I find it quite frankly a bit insulting [what] they may have done with some of these classic films…There’s no respect for what Disney did and what my dad did … I think Walt and he would be turning in their graves.”

More Backlash for Snow White

Zegler’s comments and the “woke” update to the original film are not the only thing that seem to be rubbing people the wrong way. While the original film had “the Seven Dwarfs” take in and befriend Snow White after she flees her home, the new live-action adaptation will instead feature seven people of different races, sizes and genders. Before Disney moved in that direction, Peter Dinklage discussed why he thought sticking to the old story of “seven dwarfs living in a cave together” was dated on an episode of Marc Maron’s WTF podcast:

“Literally no offense to anything, but I was sort of taken aback. They were very proud to cast a Latino actress as Snow White, but 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, but you’re still making that f—ing backward story about seven dwarfs living in a cave together. Have I done nothing to advance the cause from my soapbox? I guess I’m not loud enough.”

While Dinklage felt that way, others saw the change in casting as taking roles away from little people.

Even Zegler’s casting as Snow White has been met with criticism, as she is half Colombian and half Polish. While this casting seems to be less triggering than Hailee Bailey’s The Little Mermaid casting, there are some that are not pleased with a Latina portraying the titular character. It’s interesting to note that Snow White is a popular fairy tale in many Spanish-speaking countries (titled Blanca Nieves).

Snow White is set for release March 22, 2024. The film is directed by Marc Webb, from a screenplay by Greta Gerwig and Erin Cressida Wilson. Along with Zegler, the film stars Gal Gadot as the Evil Queen.