A film production that was meant to be a recreation of the original movie makes audiences change their feelings from excited to not wanting to see the film at all.
The new ‘Snow White’ live-action remake has turned heads now that conversations aren’t just about the film anymore, but rather the choices relating to the casting and their own opinions.
Some may describe the press for the ‘Snow White’ movie as an ethical nightmare for all involved, with actresses speaking out against the original ‘Snow White’ film and using their platform to share their own personal beliefs with the world.
It’s not just the casting that seems to be the problem, but also the changes that have been made to this new project in contrast to the original.
With new storylines swirling around, it leaves onlookers somewhat disappointed that they won’t get the picture-perfect version they hoped for.
Outrage over the casting of Snow White
Actress Rachel Zegler was announced as the casting for the new Snow White in the summer of 2021, when most of the public sentiment turned unpleasant, and didn’t decline until a while after the movie’s release.
Whether it be for her outspoken political opinions, her view on the original film, or the idea that she doesn’t fit the mold for what fans pictured as a typical Snow White.
In 2022, Zegler was talking about how she believed the original film to be “extremely dated when it comes to the ideas of women being in roles of power.” This critique of the original created huge amounts of backlash for the supposed “woke” actress.
She also commented on the idea that “people will assume it’s a love story just because we cast a guy in the movie, Andrew Burnap, great dude… But it’s really not about the love story at all, which is really, really wonderful,” when speaking with Extra TV.
Non-Dwarf role casting sparks upset within the community
When the Daily Mail provided fans with photos from the new ‘Snow White’ that showcase the seven dwarfs characters. These photos bring on the realization that the roles of the seven dwarfs were not actually going to be given to real dwarfs but rather handed over to CGI.
This decline of real-life dwarf casting has sparked upset within the dwarfism community. Peter Dinklage commented on this saying “You’re progressive in one way, …but then you’re still making that f—–g backward story about seven dwarfs living in a cave together?”
Some are seeing this as Disney picking and choosing which parts of the original they want to change to make the story seem more “woke”.
However, combining the non-dwarf casting roles with a Latina actress as ‘Snow White’ has only caused more problems for the movie itself.
Gal Gadot’s overshadowing pro-Israel views
After the attacks by Hamas on Israel on October 7th, 2023, Gadot decided that the attacks were an “urgent emergency that demands a decisive response.“
By declaring her own political views, she has made the ‘Snow White’ movie more political than it was ever meant to be.
People who were going to go see the movie, who were against Israel, might not want to after hearing what Gal Gadot has to say about the October 7th attacks.
Gadot’s political views also appear to clash with co-star Rachel Zegler’s pro-Palestine stance. Even though there have been no reports of clashes between the two.
It seems that the casting and the changes to the original storyline have done more harm than good. Whether it be CGI dwarfs or a political nightmare casting choice.