I am Mexican. I am not a trained actress. But I’m pretty sure I could’ve played Snow White better than Rachel Zegler.
I had the misfortune of watching the new live action Snow White movie on Saturday, March 22. Let me tell you: never again. The first full length Disney movie, Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, was released in 1937, and it captured the hearts of those in America and beyond, bringing visions of ball gowns and dreams of charming princes. 87 years later, it is still a wonderful story, truly. So did it have to be remade?
Disney has been on this “live action remake” streak for a while. With the release of Lily James as Cinderella in the 2015 movie, Cinderella, it all just snowballed. After Cinderella came Beauty and the Beast starring Emma Watson, followed by Aladdin, Mulan, and my personal favorite, The Little Mermaid…then Snow White.
Now, Snow White is one of the two live action princess movies that has received tremendous backlash. The other movie, unfortunately, is The Little Mermaid. This was due to Halle Bailey playing the role of Ariel. Critics were upset due to the fact that Halle Bailey is a Black actress, and her hair wasn’t as red as the original 1989 cartoon, however, she’s a mermaid…either way, she’s not real.
So does it matter in this case? No, no it does not. However, Rachel Zegler was just downright the wrong person to cast. While her voice sounds like a bell and is quite lovely, her acting was much better in West Side Story and The Hunger Games: A Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.
I stand with the crowd that claims there were many actresses that deserved this part more than Rachel Zegler. But it’s more than just casting that made Snow White the disaster it was.
In trying to understand the trainwreck that this was, my resources led me to Ms. Adler, Atholton’s drama teacher, has not yet seen the new Snow White movie, but she saw the original 1937 Snow White when she was little, and it opened the floodgates, “I love Disney, but I wouldn’t call myself a Disney adult…Snow White is special because Walt Disney himself worked on that project.”
When asked if she was going to see the new Snow White, Adler’s response was, “you know…I don’t know if I would spend money on that.” I wish I had thought that before. While I have spent most of my time hating this movie, there are some things that I and others did like, but very few things.
To start, the dwarves in the movie were trash, which fueled the fire of criticism. To say I’m disappointed in this is an understatement, for I too am furious, seeing as little people who are professional actors were almost completely disregarded.
Peter Dinklage, who was the only little person cast in the movie, had criticized the movie before shooting even began, making an explicit comment to portray his anger with the casting. Who came up with the idea to cast a single little person as a crossbow master, and make seven CGI dwarves? I’ll never know.
Considering the budget being a whopping $209 million, one would assume that they could have cast real people for roles like this. However, other than the fact that the dwarves are fake, Disney did a good job of bringing the characters of said dwarves to life.
Grumpy was super grumpy and had incredible comedic timing, Sneezy sneezes every third sentence, and Dopey was dopey despite the fact that he broke the “Dopey rule” and spoke.
My friend who accompanied me to the theater, Joseph Woldemichael, stated that he would recommend this movie, but as a comedy.
“Watch it with friends if you are able, as that multiplies the comedy, which I would say was a positive if it was meant to be funny when it wasn’t.”While the dwarves were CGI and the pores on their faces were wildly unsettling and uncanny, the CGI otherwise was fantastic. The animals and skies, the grass and the scenery. It’s safe to say that our technology is evolving drastically, so it’s no surprise that the CGI is amazing. Sadly, some of us didn’t stay long enough to really see it.
Atholton freshman and professional movie abandoner, Michael Shumate, went and saw the Snow White movie with his family, but walked out in the first three minutes, “as soon as I saw the cast, I said ‘I’m out.”
I would’ve done the same if I didn’t pay $20 for my ticket. As his choice played out, Shumate stated that it wasn’t just him who walked out, but his mother as well, who said it was “complete trash.”
When faced with the smiles and joy of Shumate’s little sister, all he could do was pretend to like the movie (to which he was busted for later).
All in all, if I had to rate this movie on a scale of “need to see” to, “it belongs in a dumpster,” I’d put it in the dumpster, then light it on fire.
As Snow White collects money from the unfortunate souls of those who wish to see it, all I can do is wait for Moana to come out in 2026. Now that should be a treat. Hopefully not a poisoned one.