Disney

Kennedy Felton Lifestyle Correspondent/Producer

Lifestyle

Disney’s live-action ‘Snow White’ trailer debuts after years of public critique

Dec 06, 2024

Kennedy Felton Lifestyle Correspondent/Producer

By Kennedy Felton (Lifestyle Correspondent/Producer), Zachary Hill (Video Editor)

Disney released the trailer for its live-action remake of “Snow White” earlier this week. For years, the movie’s development has drawn criticism and continues to spark debates just months before its release.

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The film, a reimagining of the 1937 animated classic, dropped its first trailer on Tuesday, Dec. 3. The trailer’s release has reignited long-standing discussions about casting, representation and CGI. It also raises broader questions about how classic stories are updated for modern audiences.

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A delayed production

The new “Snow White” is scheduled to hit theaters on March 21, 2025. Production faced delays due to multiple reshoots, though Disney has not disclosed the reasons. While reshoots don’t always spell trouble, the yearlong delay has fueled speculation about potential issues behind the scenes.

Casting debates

Casting for the film drew significant attention. Rachel Zegler, known for her role in West Side Story, took on the lead role. Critics online argued that Zegler, who is of Polish and Colombian descent, doesn’t match the original description of Snow White’s character as having skin “as white as snow.”

Zegler addressed the backlash in an interview with Variety, saying, “At the end of the day, I have a job to do that I’m really excited to do. I get to be a Latina princess.”

CGI and representation

Another point of contention was Disney’s depiction of the seven dwarves. The studio opted for CGI to create the characters, referring to them as “magical creatures” instead of dwarves.

Actor Peter Dinklage, a vocal advocate for representation, criticized the decision on a 2022 podcast. He called the remake “backwards” for continuing the traditional depiction of dwarves living in a cave.

In response to criticism, Disney released a statement to Good Morning America:

“To avoid reinforcing stereotypes from the original animated film, we are taking a different approach with these seven characters and have been consulting with members of the dwarfism community.”
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Leaked set photos published by Daily Mail from July 2023 added to the conversation. The images showed Snow White alongside seven companions of different genders, ethnicities and heights, further highlighting the film’s departure from the original.

Disney originally dismissed the photos as fake, but later backtracked, saying the photos were “not official,” The Daily Beast reported.

The CGI debate

The trailer shifted attention to the film’s visual effects. The enchanted forest and film characters, rendered heavily with CGI, have drawn mixed reactions. Some viewers feel the CGI looks overly artificial, while others argue that strong storytelling could make up for any visual shortcomings.

This isn’t CGI’s first controversy. In 2020, Sonic’s character in “Sonic the Hedgehog 2” faced backlash over its original design. After fan criticism, the filmmakers redesigned Sonic to align more closely with its traditional look.

Tags: Disney, Entertainment, film, movies

[KENNEDY FELTON]

DISNEY’S LIVE-ACTION SNOW WHITE IS ALREADY STIRRING UP CONTROVERSY MONTHS AHEAD OF ITS RELEASE. WITH THE TRAILER JUST DROPPING, DISCUSSIONS ABOUT CASTING… REPRESENTATION… AND C-G-I ARE TAKING CENTER STAGE. BUT THIS REMAKE IS ALSO REIGNITING DEEPER DEBATES ABOUT HOW WE UPDATE CLASSIC STORIES FOR MODERN AUDIENCES.

ANOTHER DAY, ANOTHER DISNEY LIVE-ACTION REMAKE.

THIS TIME, IT’S “SNOW WHITE” – A REIMAGINING OF THE 19-37 ANIMATED CLASSIC.

SET TO RELEASE IN MARCH 20-25… PRODUCTION WAS DELAYED FOR A YEAR DUE IN PART TO MULTIPLE RESHOOTS… THOUGH THE REASONS BEHIND THAT REMAIN UNCLEAR. WHILE RESHOOTS DON’T ALWAYS INDICATE MAJOR PROBLEMS, THEY’VE ADDED TO THE SPECULATION SURROUNDING THE FILM.

[SNIPPET FROM “SNOW WHITE” TRAILER]

“MAGIC MIRROR ON THE WALL… WHO IS THE FAIREST OF THEM ALL?”

AS WITH MANY LIVE-ACTION ADAPTATIONS… THE CASTING HAS BEEN A LIGHTNING ROD FOR DEBATE. RACHEL ZEGLER – KNOWN FOR HER ROLE IN “WEST SIDE STORY” – WAS CAST AS SNOW WHITE.

CRITICS ONLINE ARGUED THE ACTRESS – WHO IS OF POLISH AND COLOMBIAN DESCENT – DOESN’T ALIGN WITH THE ORIGINAL DESCRIPTION OF THE CHARACTER AS HAVING SKIN “AS WHITE AS SNOW.”

IN AN INTERVIEW WITH VARIETY… ZEGLER ADDRESSED THE BACKLASH, SAYING, At the end of the day, I have a job to do that I’m really excited to do. I get to be a Latina princess.”

ANOTHER POINT OF CONTENTION HAS BEEN DISNEY’S APPROACH TO THE SEVEN DWARVES. THE STUDIO OPTED TO USE C-G-I TO CREATE THE CHARACTERS… NOW REFERRING TO THEM AS “MAGICAL CREATURES” INSTEAD OF DWARVES.

[Peter Dinklage | ACTOR]

“but it it’s this weird thing where he’s saying like ‘oh it’s bad that we’re still doing snow white in the seven dwarves’ so he doesn’t necessarily want that but as little people actors it’s like well we kind of want to work we kind of want that part and if that’s what’s available then that’s what we’d like to do.”

ACTOR PETER DINKLAGE – A VOCAL ADVOCATE FOR REPRESENTATION – CRITICIZED THE FILM’S PORTRAYAL OF THE DWARVES. ON A DIFFERENT 20-22 PODCAST… CALLING THE REMAKE “BACKWARDS” FOR CONTINUING THE TRADITIONAL STORY OF DWARVES LIVING IN A CAVE, EVEN AS DISNEY CELEBRATED CASTING A LATINA SNOW WHITE.

DISNEY SOON AFTER RESPONDED TO THE CRITICISM… SAYING THEY AIMED TO AVOID STEREOTYPES BY REIMAGINING THE CHARACTERS AND CONSULTING WITH MEMBERS OF THE DWARFISM COMMUNITY.

FAST FORWARD TO JULY 20-23… WHEN LEAKED SET PHOTOS PUBLISHED BY “THE DAILY MAIL” SHOWED SNOW WHITE SURROUNDED BY SEVEN COMPANIONS OF DIFFERENT GENDERS… ETHNICITIES… AND HEIGHTS – NOT TRADITIONAL DWARVES.

DISNEY INITIALLY DISMISSED THE PHOTOS AS FAKE BUT LATER CONFIRMED THEIR AUTHENTICITY WITH “THE DAILY BEAST”… STATING THEY WERE UNOFFICIAL SET IMAGES.

DISNEY RETOOLED THE FILM YET AGAIN, GOING BACK TO A FANTASTICAL STYLE FOR THE CHARACTERS AND BRINGING THE LOOK OF THE 19-37 FILM INTO A NEW DIMENSION WITH DIGITAL ANIMATION. AND WITH THE RECENT RELEASE OF THE TRAILER… IT SEEMS ONE OF THE BIGGEST PROBLEMS PEOPLE ARE HAVING NOW ARE THESE C-G-I CHARACTERS.

FROM THE ENCHANTED FOREST TO THE MAGICAL CREATURES… VIEWERS RAISED CONCERNS NOTING THE HEAVY RELIANCE OF C-G-I FEEL OVERLY ARTIFICIAL. SOME ARGUE THIS COULD BE OVERLOOKED BASED ON THE STRENGTH OF THE FILM’S STORYTELLING.

SNOW WHITE ISN’T THE ONLY FILM TO FACE BACKLASH OVER CGI. IN 20-20, SONIC THE HEDGEHOG WAS CRITICIZED FOR ITS ORIGINAL DESIGN AHEAD OF THE RELEASE… FEATURING SMALL EYES AND HUMAN-LIKE TEETH.

FANS WERE VOCAL… PROMPTING THE FILMMAKERS TO REDESIGN SONIC INTO A MORE TRADITIONAL VERSION OF ITSELF.

DISNEY’S “SNOW WHITE” IS SET TO HIT THEATERS ON MARCH 21-ST.-^

WILL IT RISE ABOVE THE CONTROVERSY OR FALL SHORT OF EXPECTATIONS? ONLY TIME WILL TELL. I’M KENNEDY FELTON WITH STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS. FOR THE LATEST UPDATES, DOWNLOAD OUR APP.

Disney’s live-action ‘Snow White’ trailer debuts after years of public critique

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