Snow White knows that every day is an opportunity to make new friends, and that it’s best to be kind to everyone, even if they’re grumpy! She sees the world in a simple, unguarded way and expresses a purity and honesty in her presence and demeanor. When sharing her optimistic point of view, she truly believes that she can fill the world with sunshine. Always turning a negative into a positive, she loves to express her optimistic ideals in a song.
https://princess.disney.com/snow-white
I have been a fan of Disney much of my life – of cartoons in general from the Brother’s Warner and Fleischer, to the artform’s origins thanks to visionaries like Émile Cohl, J. Stuart Blackton, and Winsor McCay. I studied animation in high school and thanks to a great teacher who inspired me to explore this field more in depth, I went on to study art and dabble in animation at Sheridan College here in Canada. I wanted to be an animator for Walt Disney like Ub Iwerks or the Nine Old Men. I read many books related to the art of animation including biographies such as Walt Disney: An American Original. I was a Saturday morning cartoon guy, and I have kept all of my Disney VHS films that I have collected over the years including my favorite keepsake, The Fantasia box set. Remember when those oversized collections were popular? I wanted them all. My grandfather loved cartoons until he died just days shy of 99. I found Song of the South on VHS because he talked about his love for the film often. He had also taken my sister and I to see it at the old Fiesta Cinema’s when we were little. He had tears in his eyes as we watched it together.
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There has been a lot of backlash aimed at actress Rachel Zegler (Hunger Games), who has filmed for the role of the live action remake of Disney’s first full-length feature animated film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. The classic was made in 1937: 86 years ago. The fairy tale that inspired the film, was written by German writers, The Brothers Grimm in 1812.
The new film, set to be released in 2024, is called simply, Snow White, and from the interviews with Zegler, there are many changes coming, from her not being saved by a Prince because duh, he’s a creepy stalker, only one dwarf (Grumpy) being cast, and a beautiful Latino actor starring in the leading role.
Of course the original fairy tale is also adapted from the Grimm fairy tale. I mean the evil queen thought she was eating her step-daughter’s heart. Ummm … hello. Cannibalism. It was also shortened and the death scene actually much more dramatic. Movies based on literature often differ from their literary counterparts. Creative liberties and all.
As it relates to hiring diverse actors in these leading roles, there has been significant chatter in recent years about remakes casting characters that do not resemble the original fairy tales or the movies that are being remade – which I find ridiculous when it’s say a black actress playing Ariel in The Little Mermaid – even as someone of Danish descent who has been influenced by the original author, Hans Christian Anderson. Anderson was even born in Odense (owns-a) the same town as my grandfather.
Now the story of The Little Mermaid does cite her reaching out her white hands, but the movie is not called The Little White Mermaid. Snow White however, as described in the original 1812 tale, was ‘A child as white as snow, as red as blood, and as black as the wood of the embroidery frame!” The movie and the tale that inspired it, is literally called Snow White. In the original 1937 film, the mirror on the wall describes the fairest of them all as having “Lips red as the rose, hair black as ebony, skin white as snow.”
Leading role casting in recent years has become quite noticeably diverse – and that is a good thing. In the interest of space, I’ll just reference the 2014 remake of the 1982 film, Annie. Of course, nothing can replace that timeless classic or the award-winning cast, but I thoroughly enjoyed everything about the remake from the actors, the music, and the adaptations to the storyline. We even included the song Opportunity from this remake as a backdrop to the slide show we made for our wedding guests. There really are no limitations to remakes like this. I’ll add Steel Magnolias too. Both versions are fantastic in my opinion.
But this is Snow White. There have been other live-action movies that have been based on this same fairy tale from Mirror, Mirror, to Snow White and the Seven Huntsman. There is nothing wrong with breaking the script, but if Disney is making a live-action film version of their timeless classic, it is my humble opinion that they should either stay closer to their original story, or just change the title and write a new story because otherwise, there is little left of the original fairy tale. If her skin isn’t white as snow, there are no dwarfs, and the Prince doesn’t save her, what is the justification for keeping the original film title?
The Brothers Grimm called. They want their Fairytale back.
To provide a little more significance to the importance of the original Snow White, the 1937 film premiered at the Carthay Circle Theatre. Tickets were $5, and stars such as Charlie Chaplin and Shirley Temple were in attendance. More than 300,000 people who were not able to get tickets to this premier, filled the streets outside so they could be a part of this moment in film history. The movie received standing ovations by movie goers everywhere as it reached a broader world audience in 1938.
The original animated film grossed $8M in world-wide box office sales in its original run alone in 1938. It took 3 years to make the film. 32 animators, over 1,000 assistants and 100’s more colourists, artists and others were required to complete this wonderful masterpiece.
Zegler talks about being scared of this film as a child, and never revisiting it again until she was cast for the role. When asked in 1937 about the age appropriateness of the film, Disney was quoted as saying that “I didn’t make the picture for children. I made it for adults – for the child that exists in all adults.”
In a time where the word ‘woke’ is continually being passed pon the lef’ hand side like a kutchie, is Hollywood’s well-intentioned push for relevance within the hyper-focused world of diversity and inclusion, unraveling in an effort to awake us from our ignorance of past wrongs?
History is important. It’s critical that we learn of everyone’s place and experiences within it and ensure that our audiences see themselves within the leading roles of the movies and television shows cast onto our viewing devices, but I ask again, why not change a story’s title if we must completely re-write the storyline? Snow White is a romance movie about a pasty-white princesses who is awoken not by social justice, but by true-love’s kiss. I mean, that kiss and that moment in real life, is magical. That’s nothing to be ashamed of in an era of women’s empowerment. I mean, you can have love’s red velvet cake and enjoy its long-lasting taste too. What’s wrong with teaching our children that wanting a family and being a strong, independent woman can’t exist in parallel?
Then there are the seven dwarfs which, apparently, don’t make the cut either. Well, at least we have grumpy, but no bumbling Doc? Come on. The movie is a tale as old as some 76,650 days and the fun-loving slobs are a huge part of what made this movie so special. Speaking of these beloved characters, did you know that there are 651,700 little people in the world – 65,000 in the United States alone. The website I am citing is called Little People of America by the way, and they are characterized as having dwarfism for those of the political correctness camp. That’s a lot of people who could benefit from a role literally inspired by them. Yes, people shouldn’t always be type-cast into roles based on their immutable characteristics, but The Black Panther wasn’t played by Chris Evans, and Larry Bird wasn’t the star of Dennis Rodman’s The Minis.
“Jackass actor Jason “Wee Man” Acuña criticised Disney for not casting dwarf actors and expressed disappointment about the changes.[53] Acuña said “You’re replacing jobs that people could have as little people.” (Wikipedia) * Note: Not everyone in the dwarfism community agrees with this statement, but actor Peter Dinklage and American professional wrestler Dylan (Hornswoggle) Postl, have expressed similar sentiments.
As it relates to the backlash directed at Disney and Zegler – and has been a theme in my previous posts – I ask once again; who are we actually mad at? Disney? Rachel? The creepy stalker Prince? The dwarfs seeking refuge in the forest because there were probably people out hunting them all The Chrysalids like in 1812?
Rachel has grown up in a world where a focus on things like race, gender, and #MeToo has been front and centre in her education and the world beyond, and generations have now completely grown up with cell phones and social media and these social norms.
Then there is Disney or any company in the 21st century, trying to be mindful of the new world around them and the demands these ‘norms’ put on their executives to address things like gender and race and empowered women within their cast and scripts. Whatever. There are many who will love and celebrate what Snow White 2024 will represent.
I’d, however, suggest a different title. The Princess and the Dwarf – loosely based on the Brothers Grimm Fairytale, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs).
I wonder what Rachel knows about the history of animation, though, and what the release of this original movie meant to the world? She is a talented young actress with a beautiful singing voice. Everything about her screen presence screams Disney princess – if that suits her acting desires – but this isn’t a 2023 remake of a 1989 film where the only significant aspect of the story that truly needs to be carried over is the transition of finns to legs. There was some significance of a red-headed princess in 1989, but I’m not sure red-heads like myself, feel they haven’t been well-represented by Hollywood in recent decades?
The point is, that there is some significance to this movie as opposed to the 28th feature animated Disney movie. This was the first – ever.
It’s just a movie. It certainly isn’t worth the amount of hate I have seen online directed at Rachel for her interviews thus far as it relates to this remake – I mean retake. Although, her bit about you never knowing if they might just edit the prince completely out of the script? Don’t forget what happened to Joey in Friends, when he stated he had a life, and didn’t watch Soap Opera’s. Wouldn’t it be a twist of fate if young Snow found herself falling down the elevator shaft in the modern castle, and the Evil Queen living happily ever after with the Prince? This is Hollywood, baby.
In the search for empowering young women, why do we have to make them believe that they can’t be open to letting their soft, gentle underbelly show? Having said that – watching the original film as I write this – she may have run scared from a Huntsman who warned her that her evil step-mother was literally trying to kill her, she also ran a strict, tight ship with those 7 tiny men. She seems pretty empowered to me. She also didn’t need the Prince to save her because she was weak. She was poisoned and thankfully for our sweet Snow, his kiss is just what was needed to break the evil queen’s curse of The Sleeping Death.
The 2017 live-action remake of Disney’s 1991 film, Beauty and the Beast, couldn’t have been a more perfect adaptation of the original cartoon, respecting both the story, and the songs that captured our hearts 26 years previous . Why can’t we have this same respect, as the studio prepares to bring their most significant film to life? It also makes me wonder, if the Disney exec’s know much about the history of animation and the kingdom they now hold the keys to – what it took Walt and Roy to both reach for the stars and keep financially afloat?
Can’t we just enjoy a simple film, instead of the constant need to empower and enlighten us? In a world so full of anger and hate, I could think of no more an opportune time for hope, laughter, and love, than now.
A Little Early History of Animation
Fantasmagorie (1908) by Émile Cohl
*NOTE: The original film was silent. The YouTuber above has chosen to add background music.
Walt Disney discusses the early pioneers of animation. This is Windsor McCay’s 1914, McCay’s Gertie the Dinosaur
The Interviews that Landed Rachel Zegler in Hot Water with Snow White Fans, and How the Hateful Responses Have Affected Her
Rachel Zelger & Gal Gadot on Reimagining ‘Snow White’ | Entertainment Weekly
Rachel Zelger Teases Hunger Games Prequel and FANGIRLS Over Jennifer Lawrence (Exclusive)
(The beginning talks about the upcoming 2024 release of Snow White)
Rachel Zegler’s YouTube channel: i ran away from my problems for 72 hours
(Something to consider regarding how our hate affects others at the 13:16 mark)