“Disney’s Snow White” (2025) may be the most troubled release the studio has ever had in its over century-long history. Many online were outraged with the casting of Rachel Zegler as the titled character. Boasting white-nationalist-aligning arguments crying for the preservation of Snow White’s “whiteness,” many conservatives were upset with Zegler’s Latin ethnicity. Zegler’s negative remarks towards the original 1937 movie and Trump supporters further sparked controversy online.
Along with the controversial zionist association of co-star Gal Gadot and the horrifically uncanny CGI used for the “seven dwarfs,” the film seemed destined for disaster from its conception. The original teaser trailer of the movie, at 11 million views, had a modest 102K likes but reportedly holds an overwhelming 1 million dislikes. It’s safe to say no one wants this movie, but is it too soon to judge a book (or in this case, movie) by its cover? It’s certainly debatable, as nothing in this universe can ever prepare you for this absurd movie.
“Snow White” (2025) expands upon the original 1937 animated movie it’s based on. The film follows the fair Princess Snow White as she must reclaim her kingdom from her nasty, tyrannical stepmother, the Evil Queen. Along the way, she gathers help from seven mythical beings, a quirky band of bandits and their cynical, yet charming leader. All the while, the Evil Queen plots to capture and kill Snow White to become “the fairest one of all.”
Much of the film’s performances feel painfully half-assed. It felt as if none of the actors cared enough to engage with the lousy script except for the film’s two stars, Zegler and Gadot. Both actors deliver iconic performances in the movie, albeit not for the same reasons.
Despite comments she made regarding the original film, Zegler shows a sincere passion for the character she plays. She has a natural onscreen charisma and builds depth to a character as sweet as she is heartfelt. Furthermore, her singing vocals carry a lovely sweetness perfect for the character, despite complaints from fans claiming they’re too modern and “pop-like.”
On the other hand, Gadot’s devoted enthusiasm for the role amazingly lands her a career-worst in her filmography. I’ll admit, her vocals aren’t so shabby, but she brings out the most hilariously abhorrent delivery I have ever seen. It astonishes me to see so much passion and effort being given to produce something so inherently awful.
In an attempt to prevent offensive depictions of little people, Disney has instead controversially replaced the seven dwarfs with seven small, computer-generated, mythical forest dwellers. Although, for many, the change is seen as more harmful for the representation of little people.
Speaking with Sky News, comedian and disability activist Fats Timbo said, “Our representation is already small as it is – no pun intended. It’s already limited. To erase that and use CGI, like we’re mythical creatures or people that could be made on computers, it’s disregarding us in general.”
I do appreciate Disney’s decision to cast a little person in a supporting role in the film. George Appleby plays Quigg, a fellow bandit aiding Snow White in her quest to reclaim her kingdom. Although his screen time was limited, his performance and character left an endearing impression.
As with all the other Disney live-action remakes, this film is plagued by a painful corporate blandness. For much of the movie, there is, what I like to describe as, an egregious “iPhone framing” look. This refers to a look in which the shot could be easily cropped to a 9:16 vertical smartphone image to be adapted to short-form video content on platforms such as TikTok. As a result, subjects are surrounded by a bland, negative space containing no relevant information. This ultimately makes much of the film’s cinematography feel empty and soulless.
Despite all these shortcomings, “Snow White” does manage to be quite a charming film. My main complaint with many of Disney’s live-action remakes is that they strip away all personality the original animated films contained in favor of realism. Newsflash, Disney: people don’t want realism from a story about a bunch of fairy tale creatures!
With “Snow White,” Disney abandons the strive for realism and essentially creates a “live-action cartoon.” Much of the charm and tone of the original film is pleasantly preserved in this remake, with efforts made to make the world feel more animated and colorful. The cartoonish personalities of Snow White’s animal followers are even translated to this film, unlike the soulless animals in the 2019 “The Lion King” remake.
As terrible as the film is and can be, it’s so genuinely earnest in what it’s striving to accomplish. In turn, the unintended amalgamation of all these ironic, incongruous elements arguably grants the movie a campy charm. I had an absolute blast watching “Snow White,” although maybe not for the intended purposes. In my near-empty theater, I constantly had to restrain myself from exploding in laughter out of respect for fellow audience members, who eventually walked out of the film anyway.
Is “Disney’s Snow White” a good movie? No. Did I regret seeing it? Absolutely not! For those looking for quality cinema, avoid this movie. But for anyone looking for a ridiculously fun and stupid experience at the movie theater, “Snow White” is just the trash for you. It’s certainly the strongest “so-bad-it’s-good” movie I’ve seen released in years. But there’s also a genuine delight to the film beneath its layers of garbage.
2.5/5
