\n Rachel Zegler.<\/span> Photo Image Press\/Shutterstock<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
After the success of 2023\u2019s The Little Mermaid<\/em><\/a>, Disney\u2019s next live-action project is a remake of Snow White<\/em><\/a> \u2014 but not everyone is excited about the new movie.<\/p>\n A live-action version of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs<\/em> has been in development since at least 2016, but production didn\u2019t kick off in earnest until 2021. In June of that year, Deadline<\/em><\/a> reported that Rachel Zegler<\/strong><\/a> had landed the role<\/a> of the titular princess, who made her Disney debut in 1937. (Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs<\/em> was Disney\u2019s first full-length animated film.)<\/p>\n \u201cPeople are making these jokes about ours being the PC Snow White<\/em>, where it\u2019s like, yeah, it is \u2014 because it needed that,\u201d Zegler, who is of Colombian and Polish descent, told Vanity Fair<\/em><\/a> in October 2022. \u201cIt\u2019s an 85-year-old cartoon, and our version is a refreshing story about a young woman who has a function beyond \u2018Someday My Prince Will Come.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Almost as soon as her casting was announced, however, Zegler had to fend off<\/a> racist trolls who were upset about a Latina woman landing the role of Snow White. Other critics, meanwhile, were skeptical about how the film would handle the titular dwarves.<\/p>\n \u201cIt makes no sense to me,\u201d Peter Dinklage<\/strong><\/a>, who has a form of dwarfism known as achondroplasia, said during a January 2022 interview on Marc Maron<\/strong>\u2018s \u201cWTF\u201d podcast. \u201cYou\u2019re progressive in one way and you\u2019re still making that f\u2013king backward story about seven dwarves living in a cave together. What the f\u2013k are you doing, man?\u201d<\/p>\n Set photos have since started to leak online, and the chatter has only continued. Keep scrolling for a full breakdown of the controversy surrounding Snow White:\n<\/p>\n Since Zegler was confirmed<\/a> as the new Snow White in 2021, racist trolls have been complaining that the new movie will be \u201cwoke\u201d because Zegler is Latina. (Their complaints are similar to those of social media users who were unhappy about Halle Bailey<\/strong><\/a> playing Ariel in the live-action version of The Little Mermaid<\/em><\/a>.)<\/p>\n Despite internet complaints about her casting, Zegler is proud to play the iconic princess, who originated in a Brothers Grimm fairy tale. \u201cNever in a million years did I imagine that this would be a possibility for me,\u201d Zegler explained during a January 2022 interview with Variety<\/em>. \u201cYou don\u2019t normally see Snow Whites that are of Latin descent. Even though Snow White<\/em> is really a big deal in Spanish-speaking countries. Blanca Nieves is a huge icon whether you\u2019re talking about the Disney cartoon or just different iterations and the Grimm fairy tale and all the stories that come with it. But you don\u2019t particularly see people who look like me or are me playing roles like that.\u201d<\/p>\n When her participation in the movie became a trending topic again in July 2023, Zegler asked fans not to alert her to trolls complaining about her role in the film. \u201cExtremely appreciative of the love I feel from those defending me online, but please don\u2019t tag me in the nonsensical discourse about my casting,\u201d she tweeted alongside several throwback photos of her younger self dressed in princess costumes. \u201cI really, truly do not want to see it. so I leave you w these photos! I hope every child knows they can be a princess no matter what.\u201d<\/p>\n Bailey, meanwhile, chimed in with a message of support, tweeting: \u201cWe love you so much, truly the perfect princess.\u201d<\/p>\n Dinklage was one of the first public figures to speak out about the new Snow White<\/em>, saying in January 2022 that he was \u201ca little taken aback\u201d by the production\u2019s existence. \u201cLiterally no offense to anything, but I was sort of taken aback. They were very proud to cast a Latina actress as Snow White, but you\u2019re still telling the story of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs<\/em>,\u201d he told Maron. \u201cHave I done nothing to advance the cause from my soapbox? I guess I\u2019m not loud enough.\u201d<\/p>\n In response, Disney said that the new movie\u2019s filmmakers planned to take the dwarfs in a different direction. \u201cTo 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,\u201d a rep for the company said in a statement at the time. \u201cWe look forward to sharing more as the film heads into production after a lengthy development period.\u201d<\/p>\n In July 2023, photos purporting to show Zegler and the new \u201cdwarves\u201d appeared online, but social media users were quick to note that some of the actors didn\u2019t seem to have dwarfism. Some racist and sexist commenters also complained about the fact that the group included both Black actors and women. A Disney rep initially told The Daily Beast<\/em><\/a> that \u201cthe photos are fake and not from our production\u201d but later said the snaps were from the real set but not \u201cofficial.\u201d The Daily Mail<\/em><\/a>, meanwhile, clarified that Zegler was not pictured in the photographs.<\/p>\n David Hand<\/strong>, whose father of the same name was one of the directors of the 1937 Disney film, slammed the remake<\/a> during an August 2023 interview with The Telegraph<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cI mean, it\u2019s a whole different concept, and I just totally disagree with it, and I know my dad and Walt [Disney] would also very much disagree with it,\u201d he said, adding that many younger people have \u201cnever seen the original\u201d and \u201cdon\u2019t know what they\u2019re talking about.\u201d<\/p>\n Hand, whose father died at age 86 in 1986, also slammed Disney for adopting a \u201cradical\u201d approach to updating its older films.<\/p>\nRachel Zegler\u2019s Casting<\/h3>\n
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\n Halle Bailey.<\/span> Zabulon Laurent\/ABACA\/Shutterstock<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nThe Dwarves \u2014 or Lack Thereof<\/h3>\n
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\n Peter Dinklage.<\/span> Gregory Pace\/Shutterstock<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nThe Initial Set Photos<\/h3>\n
One of the OG Filmmakers\u2019 Sons Speaks Out<\/h3>\n