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20 Mar 2025, Thu

Disney’s Snow White remake blends bold politics and eerie CGI in divisive fairy tale reboot

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Disney’s latest live-action remake, Snow White, hit theaters with a mix of daring political undertones and unsettling CGI that has left audiences and critics divided. Released in March 2025, the film, directed by Marc Webb and starring Rachel Zegler as Snow White and Gal Gadot as the Evil Queen, attempts to reimagine the 1937 animated classic, Walt Disney’s first full-length feature. While the original remains a timeless masterpiece, this adaptation struggles with an identity crisis, torn between paying homage to its fairy-tale roots and pushing a modern, revolutionary narrative. Running at 1 hour and 49 minutes, the movie features Andrew Burnap as Jonathan, a Robin Hood-inspired love interest, alongside a cast of digitally-rendered dwarfs that have sparked both intrigue and unease.

The remake arrives amid a storm of pre-release backlash. Fans of the original criticized the casting of Zegler, a Colombian-American actress, as the traditionally pale-skinned princess, while others slammed the use of CGI dwarfs as outdated and caricatured. Political controversies surrounding Zegler and Gadot’s statements on the Israel-Gaza conflict further fueled the fire, making this one of Disney’s most polarizing releases. Yet, the film itself is far from a flop, offering a unique—if disjointed—blend of old-school charm and radical ideas that sets it apart from other live-action remakes like Pinocchio or The Lion King.

Despite the criticism, the movie showcases moments of ambition. Early scenes introduce a Snow White shaped by a blizzard at her birth, not her complexion, and a kingdom once ruled as a utopian collective—ideas that flirt with socialist ideals. However, as the story unfolds, it pivots to a near-identical recreation of the 1937 cartoon, complete with a whimsical forest and eerie digital dwarfs, leaving viewers caught between two vastly different visions.

A tale of two films

Disney’s Snow White kicks off with a bold reinterpretation of the classic tale. An extended opening sequence redefines the princess’s name as a nod to a snowstorm, distancing it from the traditional focus on her fair skin. Zegler’s Snow White emerges as the daughter of a benevolent king and queen who ruled a land where resources were shared among all who worked it—a stark departure from the feudal simplicity of the original. These early moments paint a picture of a progressive kingdom, with lyrics and dialogue hinting at a collective spirit rarely seen in Disney’s princess canon, setting the stage for a story that feels politically charged.

Gal Gadot’s Evil Queen enters as a manipulative tyrant, exploiting fears of an external threat to seize wealth and power after the king’s remarriage. This shift transforms the narrative into a critique of authoritarianism, with the queen’s actions echoing real-world political maneuvers. Snow White’s love interest, Jonathan, played by Andrew Burnap, isn’t a prince but a rugged leader of outlaws, urging her to take action in the song “Waiting on a Wish.” This anthem of empowerment challenges the passive princess archetype, marking a sharp break from Disney’s early fairy tales and surprising viewers with its audacity.

Once Snow White escapes to the forest, however, the film takes a jarring turn. The lush, artificial scenery mimics a theme-park ride, complete with oversized flowers and cartoonish animals. Zegler dons the iconic puffy-sleeved dress, and the CGI dwarfs—meant to echo the original seven—appear as uncanny, animatronic-like figures. This faithful recreation clashes with the earlier revolutionary tone, leaving the movie feeling like a patchwork of competing ideas.

Politics meets nostalgia

The film’s dual nature becomes even clearer as it oscillates between gritty rebellion and nostalgic whimsy. After meeting Jonathan’s band of thieves, Snow White sings “Princess Problems,” a catchy duet that channels a Princess Leia-Han Solo vibe, blending romance with defiance. Yet, the inclusion of the CGI dwarfs alongside this human outlaw crew creates a confusing overlap—two groups of forest-dwellers with little narrative purpose. The dwarfs, despite their prominence in the title, play a minimal role, while a magical mine introduced in the story goes unused, hinting at a script that couldn’t reconcile its drafts.

Visually, the movie swings between extremes. One moment, it’s a dark, grounded tale of a kingdom under threat, with Snow White dreaming of a peasant uprising. The next, it’s a vibrant fantasy land of cheerful aristocrats and chirpy tunes. The soundtrack mirrors this split, pairing modern, self-empowerment anthems by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul—known for The Greatest Showman—with the jaunty 1937 classics by Frank Churchill and Larry Morey. This tonal whiplash keeps the film from finding its rhythm, though it avoids total collapse.

Marc Webb’s direction, paired with Erin Cressida Wilson’s writing, shows flashes of brilliance amid the chaos. Zegler delivers a solid performance as a determined Snow White, while Gadot brings a commanding menace to the Evil Queen. Burnap’s Jonathan adds a rugged charm, though his role feels underdeveloped. The CGI dwarfs, however, stand out as the film’s biggest misstep, their photorealistic yet creepy design drawing more unease than enchantment.

Key moments in the remake’s journey

Disney’s Snow White has been a lightning rod since its announcement. Here’s a timeline of its path to release:

  • 1937: The original animated film debuts as Walt Disney’s first feature, setting a high bar.
  • 2023: Casting of Zegler and Gadot sparks debates over representation and politics.
  • March 2025: The film releases, blending progressive themes with nostalgic nods.

This chronology reflects the challenge of updating a beloved classic while navigating modern expectations, a balancing act the film never fully masters.

A divisive cinematic experiment

Disney’s Snow White doesn’t match the airy magic of the 1937 original, but it’s not without merit. The film’s attempt to weave radical ideas into a fairy-tale framework offers a fresh lens, even if it stumbles in execution. The opening’s socialist undertones and the Evil Queen’s power grab give it a contemporary edge, while the forest scenes lean hard into nostalgia with mixed results. At 1 hour and 49 minutes, it’s a compact yet cluttered narrative that struggles to merge its two identities.

The decision to keep both the CGI dwarfs and Jonathan’s gang underscores the film’s indecision. The dwarfs, with their unsettling digital look, feel like a relic awkwardly tacked onto a story that could have thrived with just the human rebels. Meanwhile, the magical mine—a potential plot device—dangles as an unresolved thread, further muddling the pacing. Still, the performances hold it together, with Zegler and Gadot anchoring their roles amidst the tonal shifts.

Highlights and missteps

The remake offers moments worth noting, alongside clear flaws:

  • Zegler’s Snow White shines in empowerment anthems like “Waiting on a Wish.”
  • Gadot’s Evil Queen delivers a chilling take on tyranny.
  • The CGI dwarfs, though innovative, unsettle more than they charm.
  • Jonathan’s outlaw crew adds a modern twist but lacks depth.

These elements showcase the film’s ambition and its struggles, making it a curious outlier among Disney’s remakes.

A film for debate, not enchantment

Disney’s Snow White stands as a cinematic oddity, neither a triumph nor a disaster. Its bold political slant—evoking Marxist ideals in a princess tale—clashes with its nostalgic recreation of the 1937 cartoon, resulting in a disjointed experience. The pacing falters as it veers between grim rebellion and bright fantasy, while the soundtrack’s mix of old and new songs mirrors the visual confusion. At its core, it’s a film that tries to serve two masters but satisfies neither fully.

For all its flaws, the movie’s identity crisis makes it intriguing. Students of film and politics might find more to dissect here than young viewers seeking Disney magic. The studio’s choice to blend reverence with revisionism delivers a product that’s fascinatingly flawed—less a cohesive story and more a conversation starter. While it won’t topple the original’s legacy, it carves its own niche as a bold, if messy, experiment.

Disney’s latest live-action remake, Snow White, hit theaters with a mix of daring political undertones and unsettling CGI that has left audiences and critics divided. Released in March 2025, the film, directed by Marc Webb and starring Rachel Zegler as Snow White and Gal Gadot as the Evil Queen, attempts to reimagine the 1937 animated classic, Walt Disney’s first full-length feature. While the original remains a timeless masterpiece, this adaptation struggles with an identity crisis, torn between paying homage to its fairy-tale roots and pushing a modern, revolutionary narrative. Running at 1 hour and 49 minutes, the movie features Andrew Burnap as Jonathan, a Robin Hood-inspired love interest, alongside a cast of digitally-rendered dwarfs that have sparked both intrigue and unease.

The remake arrives amid a storm of pre-release backlash. Fans of the original criticized the casting of Zegler, a Colombian-American actress, as the traditionally pale-skinned princess, while others slammed the use of CGI dwarfs as outdated and caricatured. Political controversies surrounding Zegler and Gadot’s statements on the Israel-Gaza conflict further fueled the fire, making this one of Disney’s most polarizing releases. Yet, the film itself is far from a flop, offering a unique—if disjointed—blend of old-school charm and radical ideas that sets it apart from other live-action remakes like Pinocchio or The Lion King.

Despite the criticism, the movie showcases moments of ambition. Early scenes introduce a Snow White shaped by a blizzard at her birth, not her complexion, and a kingdom once ruled as a utopian collective—ideas that flirt with socialist ideals. However, as the story unfolds, it pivots to a near-identical recreation of the 1937 cartoon, complete with a whimsical forest and eerie digital dwarfs, leaving viewers caught between two vastly different visions.

A tale of two films

Disney’s Snow White kicks off with a bold reinterpretation of the classic tale. An extended opening sequence redefines the princess’s name as a nod to a snowstorm, distancing it from the traditional focus on her fair skin. Zegler’s Snow White emerges as the daughter of a benevolent king and queen who ruled a land where resources were shared among all who worked it—a stark departure from the feudal simplicity of the original. These early moments paint a picture of a progressive kingdom, with lyrics and dialogue hinting at a collective spirit rarely seen in Disney’s princess canon, setting the stage for a story that feels politically charged.

Gal Gadot’s Evil Queen enters as a manipulative tyrant, exploiting fears of an external threat to seize wealth and power after the king’s remarriage. This shift transforms the narrative into a critique of authoritarianism, with the queen’s actions echoing real-world political maneuvers. Snow White’s love interest, Jonathan, played by Andrew Burnap, isn’t a prince but a rugged leader of outlaws, urging her to take action in the song “Waiting on a Wish.” This anthem of empowerment challenges the passive princess archetype, marking a sharp break from Disney’s early fairy tales and surprising viewers with its audacity.

Once Snow White escapes to the forest, however, the film takes a jarring turn. The lush, artificial scenery mimics a theme-park ride, complete with oversized flowers and cartoonish animals. Zegler dons the iconic puffy-sleeved dress, and the CGI dwarfs—meant to echo the original seven—appear as uncanny, animatronic-like figures. This faithful recreation clashes with the earlier revolutionary tone, leaving the movie feeling like a patchwork of competing ideas.

Politics meets nostalgia

The film’s dual nature becomes even clearer as it oscillates between gritty rebellion and nostalgic whimsy. After meeting Jonathan’s band of thieves, Snow White sings “Princess Problems,” a catchy duet that channels a Princess Leia-Han Solo vibe, blending romance with defiance. Yet, the inclusion of the CGI dwarfs alongside this human outlaw crew creates a confusing overlap—two groups of forest-dwellers with little narrative purpose. The dwarfs, despite their prominence in the title, play a minimal role, while a magical mine introduced in the story goes unused, hinting at a script that couldn’t reconcile its drafts.

Visually, the movie swings between extremes. One moment, it’s a dark, grounded tale of a kingdom under threat, with Snow White dreaming of a peasant uprising. The next, it’s a vibrant fantasy land of cheerful aristocrats and chirpy tunes. The soundtrack mirrors this split, pairing modern, self-empowerment anthems by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul—known for The Greatest Showman—with the jaunty 1937 classics by Frank Churchill and Larry Morey. This tonal whiplash keeps the film from finding its rhythm, though it avoids total collapse.

Marc Webb’s direction, paired with Erin Cressida Wilson’s writing, shows flashes of brilliance amid the chaos. Zegler delivers a solid performance as a determined Snow White, while Gadot brings a commanding menace to the Evil Queen. Burnap’s Jonathan adds a rugged charm, though his role feels underdeveloped. The CGI dwarfs, however, stand out as the film’s biggest misstep, their photorealistic yet creepy design drawing more unease than enchantment.

Key moments in the remake’s journey

Disney’s Snow White has been a lightning rod since its announcement. Here’s a timeline of its path to release:

  • 1937: The original animated film debuts as Walt Disney’s first feature, setting a high bar.
  • 2023: Casting of Zegler and Gadot sparks debates over representation and politics.
  • March 2025: The film releases, blending progressive themes with nostalgic nods.

This chronology reflects the challenge of updating a beloved classic while navigating modern expectations, a balancing act the film never fully masters.

A divisive cinematic experiment

Disney’s Snow White doesn’t match the airy magic of the 1937 original, but it’s not without merit. The film’s attempt to weave radical ideas into a fairy-tale framework offers a fresh lens, even if it stumbles in execution. The opening’s socialist undertones and the Evil Queen’s power grab give it a contemporary edge, while the forest scenes lean hard into nostalgia with mixed results. At 1 hour and 49 minutes, it’s a compact yet cluttered narrative that struggles to merge its two identities.

The decision to keep both the CGI dwarfs and Jonathan’s gang underscores the film’s indecision. The dwarfs, with their unsettling digital look, feel like a relic awkwardly tacked onto a story that could have thrived with just the human rebels. Meanwhile, the magical mine—a potential plot device—dangles as an unresolved thread, further muddling the pacing. Still, the performances hold it together, with Zegler and Gadot anchoring their roles amidst the tonal shifts.

Highlights and missteps

The remake offers moments worth noting, alongside clear flaws:

  • Zegler’s Snow White shines in empowerment anthems like “Waiting on a Wish.”
  • Gadot’s Evil Queen delivers a chilling take on tyranny.
  • The CGI dwarfs, though innovative, unsettle more than they charm.
  • Jonathan’s outlaw crew adds a modern twist but lacks depth.

These elements showcase the film’s ambition and its struggles, making it a curious outlier among Disney’s remakes.

A film for debate, not enchantment

Disney’s Snow White stands as a cinematic oddity, neither a triumph nor a disaster. Its bold political slant—evoking Marxist ideals in a princess tale—clashes with its nostalgic recreation of the 1937 cartoon, resulting in a disjointed experience. The pacing falters as it veers between grim rebellion and bright fantasy, while the soundtrack’s mix of old and new songs mirrors the visual confusion. At its core, it’s a film that tries to serve two masters but satisfies neither fully.

For all its flaws, the movie’s identity crisis makes it intriguing. Students of film and politics might find more to dissect here than young viewers seeking Disney magic. The studio’s choice to blend reverence with revisionism delivers a product that’s fascinatingly flawed—less a cohesive story and more a conversation starter. While it won’t topple the original’s legacy, it carves its own niche as a bold, if messy, experiment.

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