*This article contains spoilers*
The original 1937 version of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves made history by setting the stage as the first Disney princess movie. As this was almost a century ago, there are clearly a lot of social differences between then and now. The reboot Snow White debuted on Mar 21, 2025, and has received intense backlash compared to any other Disney movie for controversy around things like casting, gender representation, and the integrity of classic stories. Because of this, the film faced one of the most unsuccessful opening weekends for a live-action remake and is expected to have a 115 million dollar loss. This remake seems to raise questions among viewers as to whether the film should prioritize social messages over traditional storytelling. But was the movie really that bad, or are critics just holding onto their and their grandparents’ childhood without recognizing how much has changed in our society?
One plot change was Snow White’s love interest, formerly known as Prince Charming, was changed into a Robin-Hood-like thief played by Andrew Burnap, named Jonathan. Viewers first meet this character as he is trying to steal from the Evil Queen to help the poor. Throughout the movie, Snow White and Jonathan embark on a love-hate relationship and are described as opposites.
Personally, I liked this change compared to Prince Charming. It made more sense with the plot and gave Snow White a driving force by illustrating how deeply the poor people were struggling, encouraging her to actively help the community. Although longing for love is not a bad thing and princess stories are supposed to be fairytales, I think the newer generation will benefit from realizing that love is not the sole driving force for someone but instead a supporting factor. This is especially shown by how he supported her in the end without taking over her leadership role.
A significant change that I thought was beneficial was the film’s ending. In the original, Snow White is awoken by a true love kiss, and the Evil Queen dies from falling off of a cliff, and Snow White and the Prince can now live happily ever after. However, in the reboot, after Snow White is awoken, she goes back and leads a rebellion against the Evil Queen and confronts her. Ultimately, the queen gets killed by the Magic Mirror, and Snow White becomes the new ruler. I think this ending was more climactic and generally made more sense than the original. It was a lot more uplifting and sent more of a message of empowerment specifically to women. I appreciated how they kept the original aspects of the film, with Jonathan waking her with true love’s kiss, but also added on to promote a message to children about the importance of standing up for yourself and others.
One of the major controversies among fans was the casting of this movie. Rachel Zegler plays Snow White and is of Colombian-Polish descent. Critics believe Disney should’ve kept the original race of the character so the character had “skin as white as snow” and matched the description from the original. Also, in interviews, Zegler has expressed how she didn’t enjoy the original Snow White, which has disheartened some fans. She has revealed how the original plot with Snow White dreaming of a prince to save her is outdated and even called Prince Charming a “stalker” and “weird”. Although Zegler’s comments on the original movie initially made me believe she wouldn’t be a good choice, the movie convinced me otherwise. Zegler was a light throughout this movie, with her talented singing dominating every song, especially the seven new songs. Even with the critiques of the classic Snow White dress and her haircut, Zegler captured a certain princess quality, although not as dainty and gentle as the original character. I do wish that they kept some of these qualities in the new Snow White, but it wouldn’t have fit as well with the plot of her being a brave leader.
A strange choice by Disney was to make all seven dwarves using computer-generated imagery (CGI) instead of casting actual little people. Although they did this, they cast George Appleby, who is a little person, as Quigg, a member of Jonathan’s team of bandits. Even with this addition, showcasing real people with dwarfism was a missed opportunity in this movie. Multiple actors and actresses with dwarfism, such as Fats Timbo and Ali Chapman, agree that there are already limited opportunities for little people, and this would’ve been a great way to cast seven talented actors for this role. On the contrary, Disney wanted to avoid stereotypes, as other famous little people, such as Peter Dinklage, said the original portrayal of the dwarves was offensive. This caused Disney to lean into the fantasy side of the movie and have the seven dwarves as magical creatures, therefore using CGI.
As I grew up with Snow White being my favorite princess, originally hearing about these changes was disappointing to me. But, after watching the movie with my little sister, I found myself enjoying it. This movie is for the new generation, not the old, something we will have to accept as times change and movies want to promote more modern messages to the youth. Disney prioritized newer messages over traditional storytelling, which is something that the original Snow White lovers did not appreciate. Although I personally believe that fairy tales can be about someone finding true love, I think it is also important to express that you don’t need romantic love to be a leader. Even though it didn’t feel exactly the same as the original, it was overall still a good movie with a powerful message.
