In June 2021, Rachel Zegler was announced as Snow White for the upcoming live action remake, bringing a wave of backlash from people worldwide for both her darker skin tone and the feminist viewpoint that the live action will focus on.
However, Disney’s goal for diversity and empowerment is faced with irony, as they eradicated opportunities for actors with dwarfism, with only one actor with this condition cast in the movie.
On Marc Maron’s January 24 “WTF” podcast, Peter Dinklage, an Emmy-winning actor with dwarfism, said, “They were very proud to cast a Latino actress as Snow White, but you’re still telling the story of ‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.’ It makes no sense to me. You’re progressive in one way, but you’re still making that backward story about seven dwarfs living in a cave together.”
Backlash further elevated when it was announced that the movie has changed Snow White’s main value of finding love. In an interview with Variety in September at the Disney Fan Club’s D23 Expo, Zegler said, “It’s no longer 1937… She’s not going to be saved by the prince, and she’s not going to be dreaming about true love. She’s dreaming about becoming the leader she knows she can be.”
“It almost makes it seem like Hollywood is saying a woman cannot be powerful while also looking for love,” Sarah Kim (10), drama student, said. “I don’t understand why they cannot remake ‘The Frog Princess’ or make an original Disney princess of color.”
There have been many live adaptations of “Snow White and the Seven Dwarves” throughout the years, and in particular, “Mirror Mirror” (2012) and Snow White from “Once Upon a Time” (2011-2018), have balanced between both themes of love and female leadership.
Beyond such adaptations of “Snow White,” replacing originally white Disney princesses with actresses of color has been seen before with Halle Bailey, a black actress, portraying the role of Ariel. Yet, Zegler has experienced more fallout on multiple media platforms due to the difference between her negative attitude about the original “Snow White” plot and Bailey’s enthusiasm toward the original “The Little Mermaid.”
Yet, there are others who are willing to see this change from a different perspective. “Maybe it is for the better because our children will grow up seeing diversity portrayed in the media, which will shape their minds when they become adults with influence,” Hailie Lee, English teacher, said. “If you and I cry over the fact that our ‘childhood princess’ is not the way we remembered, we can’t really be the ones asking for any change, right?”
