Why Disney’s Direct Action ‘Snow White’ is causing controversy

After the success of 2023 MessengerOther Disney direct action project is a shoot of snow – But not everyone is excited about the new movie.

A direct action version of White Snow and the Seven Dwarf been developing since at least 2016, but production did not start diligently by 2021. In June of that year, term reported that Rachel Zegler She had dropped the role of the title princess, who made her debut at Disney in 1937. (White Snow and the Seven Dwarf was the first animated film with full Disney length.)

“People are making these jokes about ours that are PC snowWhere it is like, yes, it is – because it needed it, “said Zegler, who is of Colombian and Polish origin Vanity in October 2022. “Next to an 85-year-old cartoon, and our version is a refreshing story for a young woman who has a function beyond ‘one day my prince will come.” “

Almost as soon as her casting was announced, however, Zegler had to remove racist trolls that were upset for a Latin woman who descended the role of Snow White. Other critics, meanwhile, were skeptical of how the film would handle the title dwarfs.

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“It doesn’t make sense to me”, Peter Dinklagewho has a dwarf form known as Achondroplasia, said during an interview in January 2022 in Marc MaronPodcast ‘wtf’. “You are progressive in a way and you are still making that backward story around the seven dwarf living together in a cave. What are you doing, man? “

Pictures placed since then have begun to flow online, and the conversation has continued alone. Continue moving for a full division of the surrounding controversy snow:

A premiere escalated

The film premiere, set for March 15, 2025, at the El Capitan theater of Los Angeles, will not receive ordinary fanaticism, Variety Reported on March 11. While Zegler and Gadot are expected to participate, they are reported to have no interviews as no press will be there. The weekly has reached Disney for comment.

Rachel Zegler

Since Zegler was confirmed as the new snow in 2021, Racist trolls have complained that the new film will “wake up” because Zegler is Latin. (Their complaints are similar to those of social media users who were unhappy Halle Bailey playing Ariel in the direct action version of Messenger.)

Despite the internet complaints about her casting, Zegler is proud to play the iconic princess, which originated in a tale of Grimm brothers. “Never in a million years I never imagined this would be an opportunity for me,” Zegler explained during a January 2022 interview with Variety. “You don’t normally see the snow whites of Latin origin. Though snow It is really a great job in Spanish -speaking countries. Blanca Nieves is a big icon if you are talking about Disney cartoon or just different repetitions and the Grimm tale and all the stories that come with it. But you don’t especially see people who look like me or am I playing such roles. “

When her participation in the film again became a trending topic in July 2023, Zegler urged fans not to warn her of trolls by complaining about her role in the film. “Extremely extracted to the love I feel from those who protect me online, but please do not label me in meaningless discourse on my casting,” she tweets in Tweet along with some returned photos of her newest princess costumes. “I really, really don’t want to see it. So I leave you w these pictures! Hope every kid knows they can be a princess no matter what.”

Bailey, meanwhile, tried with a message of support, tweeting: “We love you so much, really the perfect princess.”

Dwarf – or lack of them

Dinklage was one of the first public figures talking about the new snowsaying in January 2022 that he was “a little stunned” by the existence of production. “Literally no insult for nothing, but I was amazed. They were very proud to throw a Latina actress like Snow White, but you are still telling the story of White Snow and the Seven Dwarf“He told him Maron.” Have I done anything to move the cause out of my soap box? I think I’m not that loud. “

In response, Disney said the new film filmmakers planned to take the dwarfs in another direction. “To avoid reinforcing stereotypes from the original animated film, we are taking a different approach to these seven characters and consulted with members of the dwarf community,” said one representative for the company in a statement at the time. “We look forward to dividing more as the film goes into production after a long development period.”

Initial photos located

In July 2023, the photos claimed to show Zegler and the new “dwarfs” appeared online, but social media users were quick to note that some of the actors did not seem to have dwarf. Some racist and sexist commentators also complained about the fact that the group included black actors and women. Initially it was told a Disney representative The daily beast That “the photos are false and not from our production”, but later said Snaps were from the real group, but not “official”. Daily mailMeanwhile, he explained that Zegler was not photographed in the photograph.

One of the boys of the og filmmakers speaks out

David Handwhose father of the same name was one of the 1937 Disney filmmakers, clashed the shoot during a 2023 August interview with Telegraph.

“I mean, it’s a completely different concept, and I just disagree with him, and I know that my father and Walt (Disney) would also disagree with him,” he said, adding that many young people have never seen the original “and” I don’t know what they are talking about. “

Hand, whose father died at the age of 86 in 1986, also slammed Disney to adopt a “radical” approach to update her oldest films.

“They change stories, they change the processes of characters’ thoughts, they are simply no longer the original stories. They are creating smart new things and I’m just not in any of that,” he said. “I see him, honestly, a little offensive (those they) have done with some of these classic films. There is no respect for what Dis did and what my father did. … I think Walt and he would return to their graves.”