Everyone was right: The Snow White movie was disappointing and I would not watch it again. I love Disney, I grew up watching it. I will never not like Disney. However, nothing that anyone can ever do will make me warm up to this movie.
Back in 2016, plans began for this new take on Disney’s classic 1937 princess. Last year, filming started officially. The 2024 movie was long awaited and people were excited, probably because the original film was easy to follow and had catchy songs. I was certainly excited when I heard about the possibility of the Disney princess adaptation.
Unfortunately, after the movie came out, not everyone felt the thrill of a new movie. The show received harsh criticism and hateful backlash about the actors and crew, due mostly to what some cast members said publicly about their co-stars’ race or culture.
Honestly, I had a mixed reaction towards Snow White. I went into the theater ecstatic for the film, and I left the theater disappointed and deflated. Watching it once was plenty for me. The movie got a 1.6/10 from IMDb probably due to the racist backlash many of the actors faced onstage and off. Honestly I think that’s what it deserved; anything higher and I’d be shocked. I’m not joking when I say there were a total of six other people in the theater when I went to see it.
The plot was really disappointing because Disney completely changed it from the original movie. The filmmakers didn’t rewrite the entire movie. They kept the main characters – the Evil Queen, and of course Snow White and the seven dwarfs. But new adventures and people were sandwiched in places that they definitely didn’t belong in. Things like enhancing the characters’ personalities and backgrounds to be something different from the original characters we know and love. Such as the prince: instead of a prince he’s a bandit who lives in the forest and wants to help Snow White. To me, the film tried too hard to update itself, thinking that’s what audiences wanted. In reality, I just wanted to see the princess I grew up watching. They should stick to the original script and plot, thanks. That was disappointing, it felt like it wasn’t even the same princess anymore.
Another thing I disliked was how they changed the character of Snow White. Sure, they kept her name and her appearance. But they changed her personality. Rachel Zegler, the actress for Snow White, said she didn’t want a prince, but a modern fairy tale where the princess saves herself. I think that feminist attitude is good, but not in a remake of Snow White where the whole plot is about the princess finding her prince. This made me a little annoyed that they changed it that much, where I was expecting it to be at least a little closer to the plot line from the original film. I understand the push to make it feel more modern, I just got my hopes up too much for something similar to the original, and was let down.
The film is set to release on Disney Plus this summer, so there’s no need to go and spend $10 and 109 minutes on this movie that you will never get back.
I’m mad at this movie because it’s ruining future Disney productions such as Tangled. According to the Hollywood Reporter, Disney’s filmmakers have set aside time, money, and materials for a live-action remake of the classic Rapunzel story. This had been planned for years, but after Snow White’s poor critical reaction and low ticket sales, Disney has been hesitant to continue with production because they don’t want another failed movie. This single movie might have altered the way Disney filmmakers proceed with remakes for years to come.
