ELLA:
Hey, y’all, it’s Ella.
STELLA:
And Stella. Welcome back to another episode of “Media Meltdown.”
ELLA:
Today, we will discuss the backlash the recent live-action movie “Snow White” has faced and the media’s opinions about it. Why don’t you give us a background context, Stella?
STELLA:
Yeah, Disney made the movie “Snow White,” which is a live-action adaptation of the original 1937 classic. The story revolves around a young woman named “Snow White,” named for her pale white skin, who encounters seven dwarfs living together in a cottage who show her kindness for the first time. She ends up getting poisoned by the evil queen and falls into a death-like sleep until the Prince rescues her with true love’s kiss. At least, this is how the original story goes. The live-action version, released March 21 of this year, has been a different story.
ELLA:
Well, in this version, Snow White’s name comes not from her skin color, but from being caught in a blizzard as a small child. The dwarves were also not cast by actors at all. Instead, they were called magical creatures and were computer-generated imagery characters. In addition, the prince who saves her isn’t a prince at all and doesn’t save her. Instead, he is a character similar to Robin Hood and works with Snow White to take down the Evil Queen.
STELLA:
Currently, Snow White has been tanking at the box office. Unlike past live-action films like The Little Mermaid, the media’s top complaints are not about the performance of the actors, but about the casting and decisions made by Disney. Firstly, many people are complaining about the lead actress, Rachel Zeigler, and her race. Zegler’s mother is of Colombian descent, and her father is of Polish descent. Many believe that because Snow White gets her name from being very fair-skinned, Disney should have chosen an actress who looks the part, as Zegler has a darker complexion, instead of changing the actress. Disney changed the Brothers Grimm fairy tale to fit her race. I’m curious, Ella, do you have any particular opinion about this?
ELLA:
To be honest, I can understand where the backlash is coming from. The original movie is from 1937 and is Disney’s first ever movie. It’s a classic. I mean, come on, and to change something as closely related to the name would undoubtedly make die-hard Disney fans angry. That being said, I know Rachel Ziegler has a background in musical theater and was in West Side Story, so she may have just been the best actress for the job. I don’t know if there is a correct answer here. I would also like to add [that] I do see the side of making it more diverse to fit the 2024 standard, making sure that movies have more identities being shown. But I also, again, do see the side of Disney Vance just wanting that movie to be recreated in more of today’s time, and just with better CGI and overall better quality.
STELLA:
Yeah, in 2025, it’s expected to have more diversity in movies. It’s not 1937 anymore.
ELLA:
However, there is a part of the movie that was changed that I think deserves major backlash. Disney’s new thing now is all about representation, which, again, I think we’ve talked about, is very important. Yet they got rid of the only representation that was already in the movie.
STELLA:
Which part?
ELLA:
The dwarves in the making of the live-action movie Disney failed to cast actors with dwarfism to play the seven dwarves, instead making the beloved characters CGI. The only reasoning for the switch was that the dwarves are portrayed badly in the original; this can be very much seen as true, as the dwarves bathe together and are made to seem more like animals in the 1930s of a classic. But this begs the question: if Disney so easily changed the origin of Snow White’s name, why couldn’t they represent the dwarves better and give actors with dwarfism the job? Seems a little bit suspicious. I also definitely find that weird, and I see why people gave major backlash, because there’s a lot of actors with dwarfism who are now coming into media who are so talented and skilled so to take that opportunity away from them, and actors with dwarfism have so many push backs and aren’t able to get a lot of acting jobs. So, for a role that’s just purely made for actors with dwarfism, not allowing them to have that role seems a little bit weird.
STELLA:
Yeah, I see what you’re saying for sure.
ELLA:
Isn’t it weird?
STELLA:
Oh, yeah.
ELLA:
Another significant change the story made by Disney was the prince’s change. In the original, his name is likely known as Prince Florian. Sorry if I mispronounced that, and he victoriously saved Snow White with a true love’s kiss. In this version, the kiss is still present, but it is deemed as love’s first kiss, and Prince Florian is instead Jonathan. Jonathan’s a thief who steals bread for the starving townspeople. In the end, Snow White and Jonathan work together to defeat the evil queen. So there’s more of a twist on this.
STELLA:
These minor changes may not seem so important to Disney, a large corporation, but the fans who grew up loving it could see a very big deal. As little children grow up, they see the story and memorize the characters. Just to change the names, it can be a big deal.
ELLA:
Yeah, I agree.
STELLA:
It’s also not just the movie itself that rubs people the wrong way, but also the press that surrounded the film. Fans spoke negatively about the press tour, criticizing how Rachel Zeigler hated the story. She said a big focus on her love story with a guy who stalks her, weird, weird. She continues to say that Snow White doesn’t need a prince to save her. And I think lots of fans may think she’s missed the entire point of the story.
ELLA:
You know what? I kind of agree with the statement coming from the lead actress who has gained fame from the film. It sounds a little bit ungrateful, if you kind of hear where I’m coming from. I also don’t believe that it’s a stalker story. It’s meant to be a story of true love, which isn’t wrong for girls to want.
STELLA:
Yeah, I know personally, as a kid, I would rather watch a romantic love story than one about a female character not needing a man. I already know that I’m a little girl, and I know I don’t need a man. What I want is to see the love story.
ELLA:
Yes, I agree. I can see where Rachel Ziegler is coming from, but the story is made to be a love story, not a hero story. Disney has many of those.
STELLA:
Yes, and I think a lot of fans agree, which is why the movie tanked at the box office, causing remarkably low scores compared to the other live-action films.
ELLA:
Unfortunately, I hate to say that Disney dug its own grave for this, but Disney didn’t listen and brought the poor reviews upon itself, making actors that should have a casted into CGI animals, and changing some major events in Snow White that definitely should not have been changed, which definitely turned off a lot of very big die hard Disney fans.
STELLA:
Well, that’s all!
ELLA:
Thanks for listening to another episode of Media Meltdown. It’s Ella.
STELLA:
And I’m Stella,
ELLA AND STELLA:
And this Media Meltdown.
ELLA:
Bye, yall!
