Disney’s live-action ‘Snow White’ has sparked controversy

BY MACKENZIE JOHNSON

Managing Editor

It's common knowledge that Disney's live-action movie adaptations often struggle to win fan approval.

Disney’s 2025 released “Snow White” seems to be no exception, with an IMBd user rating of 1.6 out of 10 right out of the gate. 

“Snow White” hit the big screens on March 21, 2025, and the generalized census is that it is a movie best kept in the vault, permanently. 

However, much of this instant backlash for the film is a direct product of the controversy surrounding the actress who plays Snow White, Rachel Zegler. 

Zegler is most prominently recognized for her 2021 role in “West Side Story” and 2023 role in “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.” 

Although Zegler had faced previous criticism for her behavior in press interviews, this disliking of the 23-year-old star escalated at first word of her being cast as Snow White. 

The criticism consisted of complaints regarding Zegler’s physical, vocal and personality deviation from the animated Snow White princess, and the resistance kept climbing once Zelger began the press tour for the movie and expressed that the original “Snow White” movie was “dated” and “weird.”

Zegler’s claim that her rendition of the trailblazing classic wouldn’t follow the typical “princess waits to be saved by a prince” cliche (as well as her shared political stance) only added fuel to this backfire.

All this to say, 2025’s “Snow White” was doomed from the start based solely on the opinions of the film’s leading lady. However, this review remains unbiased when evaluating the performance of the actress and how that correlates to the film. 

Although I lean in no specific direction involving Zegler in general (and still don’t), after watching her performance in “Snow White,” I now have a fully formed opinion of the reimagined fairy tale itself. 

The blueprint of the primary “Snow White” remained, for the most part, intact in the 2025 version. 

There is still an Evil Queen, seven dwarfs, a love interest, a poisonous apple and a true love’s kiss. 

However, one major difference is that the rendition moves up the timeline in which the story begins to unfold. 

Instead of beginning with Snow White already in the clutches of her vile stepmother, the Evil Queen (played by Gal Gadot), the movie opens with a glimpse into Snow White’s childhood – one filled with loving parents who ruled the kingdom with grace and benevolence. 

Of course, something must happen to both of these parents in order for Snow White to fall under the complete guardianship of the Evil Queen, but the departure of Snow White’s father, in particular, becomes a major and consistent component to the plot. 

Another variation is the matter of Snow White’s love interest. 

Unlike the original, Snow White’s true love is no longer a prince but rather a thief and bandit of a group that opposes the Evil Queen named Jonathan (played by Andrew Burnap).

This change explains Zegler’s previous statements on how Snow White won’t be waiting to be saved by a prince this time around.

In an attempt to make Snow White more independent and fierce, the decision was made to cast her love interest in a way that creates an opposites-attract dynamic, reflecting the strength and growth of the princess. 

This creative decision didn’t have much of an impact on me personally and didn’t seem deserving of the pushback Disney (and Zegler, primarily) received for making the change. Perhaps, though, the potential influence was diminished due to the lack of chemistry between Zegler and Burnap.

There have definitely been worse on-screen pairings, as well as much better ones – and these two simply fall flat.

However, the two’s voices mesh well in their duet called “A Hand Meets a Hand.”

Alongside this musical addition in the 2025 “Snow White,” roughly six new songs (excluding the multiple reprises) are also introduced. 

Zelger’s solo in “Waiting on a Wish” is the song included in the initial trailer of the movie that sparked the debate on whether Zelger’s voice is too “broadway” and “belting” to fit the elegant nature of Snow White’s original voice. 

Yet, whether too powerful or not, it’s undeniable that Zegler has an incredible voice, and her musical capabilities align with the “rebranded” version of Snow White – regardless of whether you agree with those changes.

Beyond “A Hand Meets a Hand” and “Waiting on a Wish,” the rest of the new musical soundtrack is very underwhelming. 

Although original songs “Heigh-Ho” and “Whistle While You Work” defended their rightful spots in the movie (just with some minor expansions), “Someday My Prince Will Come” didn’t make the cut. 

I have no personal attachment to any of these original songs, so my distaste doesn’t stem from the removal or slight changes of them, but it does stem from the quality of the other added songs. 

Listening to “Princess Problems,” a song primarily performed by the character of Jonathan in which he sings to Snow White about her seemingly narrow-minded view of the world, almost made me get up out of my seat for a refill – and my drink was full to the rim. 

However, the goofiness of that song doesn’t hold a candle to that of the Evil Queen’s solo in “All Is Fair.” 

Although Gadot, the actress portraying the Evil Queen, is not universally beloved and has faced controversy over her own political viewpoints, Zegler bore the brunt of the criticism leading up to the release of “Snow White.” Now, however, it seems the tables are turning on Gadot.

Gadot, star of the 2017 “Wonder Woman” franchise, is constantly facing accusations of being a poor actress. Her performance in “Snow White” may just be prime evidence of this. 

Gadot’s striking looks perfectly fit the bill of the Evil Queen, but her line and song delivery throughout the whole movie is unfortunate. 

Disney princess movies are inevitably cheesy to some extent, but Gadot’s role—a crucial one in the movie, might I add—plays a significant part in the disdain for “Snow White.”

Her performance added zero depth to the Evil Queen, and this is especially evident in her song “All Is Fair.” 

We also are given no backstory on the queen herself and why she can harbor magical powers and has a talking mirror. I feel like if Snow White’s backstory was expanded, the lack of expansion on the Evil Queen’s was simply a missed opportunity. 

Another missed opportunity is the costumes. 

I understand replicating the pieces created in an animated classic over 80 years ago is challenging, but the costumes to me appeared mainly cheap and tacky. 

I personally would like to know why Jonathan is wearing a renaissance-style sweatshirt throughout the duration of the movie. 

The questionable styling choices also extend to the hairstyle chosen for Snow White. Although I respect the commitment to Snow White’s staple short hair in this live-action version, the best option for how to bring this to life on Zelger was not chosen. 

Zelger already harbors such natural beauty, but her stylist simply didn’t do her justice in this movie. 

Lastly, and potentially most controversially, we have the matter of CGI. 

The visual appearances of the film in general are vibrant and capture that “magical” essence needed in a Disney movie, but the CGI-generated characters of the dwarfs may have been a misstep. 

Disney chose a CGI route for the dwarfs to avoid potential accusations of reinforcing stereotypes, which I understand. However, the final result feels slightly uncanny and unsettling.

For a reason beyond my very limited CGI knowledge, the programmed animals appear much more natural and expressive than the dwarfs. 

It seems Disney’s attempt in keeping conflict at bay with the CGI dwarfs actually seemed to generate it instead. 

Considering Zelger is technically a cast minority as a Latino, it is believed by many that the failure to hire actual people with dwarfism to depict the dwarfs is hypocritical and unfair. 

Regardless of these many debatable factors included in the movie, you shouldn’t let the opinions flying around about the movie deter you from seeing it yourself. 

Was the movie the worst thing I’ve ever seen? 

No. 

Was it also the best thing?

Absolutely not. 

But it did provide me with the opportunity to form my own opinion of it and see where I fall on the scale of its low review. 

Although I found myself holding back intense laughter at times—despite it not being a comedy—and feel its lower rating is somewhat justified, Rachel Zegler is undoubtedly a talented actress, and I certainly don’t think this will be the last we see of her. 

And at the very least, I am feeling inspired to go back and watch the original and eccentric version of “Snow White,” and I probably wouldn’t feel that nostalgic urge if not for viewing 2025’s “Snow White.”