Ask your friend for a film recommendation in 2025 anything besides “Minecraft: The Movie”? Did they mention “Snow White”? Based on the conversation all over the Internet or in The Village School halls, the chances for Snow White are very slim. At this point, one thing’s clear: Disney’s live-action “Snow White” has become one of the most controversial films in cinemas.

As its theatrical run comes to an end, the live-action “Snow White” remake has officially cemented its place as one of Disney’s biggest box office failures. More than 10 days after its release, the film has hit a grim record with its IMDb rating plunging to an all-time low of just 1.5/10, putting it on track to become the lowest-rated Disney movie in IMDb history. Since its debut on March 19, “Snow White” wrapped up its box-office run by late April, grossing just over $195 million worldwide, falling a significant $215 million short of breaking even. This outcome not only marks a financial “flop” for Disney but also shows how “Snow White” appeared as one of the studio’s most disappointing remakes, surrounded by tons of controversies, such as stereotyped gender roles, overused CGI and representations even before it managed to reach theaters. 

One of the most significant controversies surrounding this remake involves Snow White herself, particularly concerning her appearance since the casting announcement. The public is well-acquainted with Snow White’s defining characteristics, such as “skin as white as snow, lips as red as vermilion, and hair as black as ebony,” as portrayed in the original Grimm fairy tale and the 1937 Disney animated version. As a result, the appearance of actress Rachel Zegler has been viewed as a significant deviation from this original description, leading many fans to question how suitable she was for this particular role. This disconnect may explain why the latest movie from Disney has not resonated well with audiences in a predictable way. In fact, this isn’t the first time Disney has faced controversy regarding the appearance of its princesses. The release of the previous live-action reboot of “The Little Mermaid” two years ago also sparked a similar debate surrounding Ariel’s characteristics and Halle Bailey’s race. In response to this, Disney explained that Ariel in the 2023 adaptation was inspired by Hans Christian Andersen’s original fairy tale, but they also incorporated a darker and more realistic depth into the character since their goal was to modernize the story to reflect more contemporary values. However, audiences were accustomed to the beloved animated version from 1989, which featured a charming and mischievous Ariel with flowing red hair, resulting in a backlash to this unexpected change.

While Rachel Zegler, the disastrous CGI and various behind-the-scenes scandals played a role, they weren’t the main reasons behind the “box office disaster”; rather, it was Disney’s own fault. Following the same approach of modernizing classic fairy tales, as seen in Disney’s previous live-action adaptations, the 2025 “Snow White” initially adhered to this method but ultimately ended in catastrophe. The problem with this “contemporized” reboot of “Snow White” is that it features a weak, disjointed script that does not accurately represent feminist principles. The beef surrounding the “Snow White” remake began when the lead actresses emphasized portraying the supposed character as a feminist hero who does not need a prince. Some critics argue that these ideas are misguided attempts at feminism that do not align with true feminist values.

“The movie [“Snow White”] came out in 1937—and evidently so,” said actress Rachel Zegler while promoting the film at the announcement of Disney’s live-action remake. “There’s a big focus on her love story with a guy who literally stalks her. Weird! So we didn’t do that this time.” Additionally, in another interview with Entertainment Weekly, he cartoon was made 85 years ago and therefore it’s extremely dated when it comes to ideas of women being in roles of power and what a woman is fit for in the world,” Zegler said. “So, when we came to reimagining the actual role of Snow White, it became about the ‘fairest of them all’, meaning who is the most just and who can become a fantastic leader, and the reality is Snow White has to learn a lot of lessons about coming into her own power before she can come into power over a kingdom.” 

These modernized changes soon sparked another controversy across the Internet, and a majority of modern feminists were not happy about this at all. “The point of Snow White’s fairy tale isn’t that she’s going to try and become a leader,” said TikTok user @reubenwoodall in a video collecting 1.4 million likes. “She’s not supposed to be this girl boss, leader, queen, feminist icon. And I don’t know why every reimagining has to be that the woman is in a position of power. Otherwise, it’s not feminist.” Furthermore, Snow White was not responsible for her own downfall; rather, she was manipulated by the Queen instead. “Snow White didn’t escape the apple because she wasn’t proactive enough or because she wasn’t, you know, this feminist, go-getting leader woman. She took a bite of the apple because she was manipulated to,” he continued. “Snow White couldn’t ‘girl boss’ her way out of that predicament.” The TikTok user is also asking why the “Snow White” stars appear to mock the main character’s desire to find love—a theme which doesn’t actually occupy much of the Disney original. “I don’t know why in order to make a film more progressive the woman can’t have a focus on love or finding true love. They almost act like it’s something to make fun of,” Reuben said of Zegler and Gadot. “I would have hoped that we had reached a point in feminism and gender equality where every female-led story doesn’t have to have the woman being extraordinary. Snow White wanted to find true love. That’s fine, most of us do. She didn’t really set out to be a leader, not all of us do. Sometimes, you just want to be in the middle of a forest baking pies.”

At the end of the day, “Snow White”’s failure was like a train wreck that could be seen from a mile away, despite Disney’s efforts to manage the situation and continue damage control. With this result, “Snow White” was not only a box-office disaster, but it also went down in history as one of Disney’s most disappointing live-action projects, amid controversy from the moment the project was announced.

References:

https://www.tiktok.com/@reubenwoodall/video/7264251074083589409

https://www.elle.com.au/culture/news/snow-white-remake-controversy-28999/