In 1937, Walt Disney produced the very first full-length animated feature film from an American studio. The film debuted the very first Disney princess, Snow White, and now in 2023, a live action adaptation of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is in the making.
The upcoming Snow White movie is scheduled to be released in March 2024, but will likely face lengthy delays due to the recent Hollywood actors’ strike. The film has gone viral on several social media platforms and news channels recently due to a resurfaced 2022 interview of Rachael Zeglar, the actor expected to play Snow White in the new live action film.
In the interview, Zeglar shares that the production team working on the Snow White movie is modernizing the original plot. Rather than the princess dreaming of finding true love, she dreams of being strong and fearless, while the prince has very minimal significance in the story. Critics suggest that Disney should create a completely new movie due to the amount of changes made to the plot.
The backlash that Disney is receiving for the new Snow White movie is heavily targeted toward the decision to cast Zeglar as the main role in a remake of a film she does not seem too fond of. Many found the actress’s attitude toward the original film disrespectful, making them wonder why she even wants to be in the live action and whether someone else deserves the opportunity more.
Disney’s first few Disney Princess movies often focus on a romantic journey, typically involving a male love interest and an evil character of some kind. However, Disney has slowly diversified the stories of their princesses because although memorable, the stories have become repetitive.
Disney’s representation of any other race besides white had also been nonexistent until the debut of Princess Jasmine, who is Middle Eastern, in 1992. In an attempt to make up for its shortcomings, this year, the Walt Disney Company took what many believe to be a big leap by casting Halle Bailey, an African American actress, as Ariel in the live action remake ofThe Little Mermaid.
Fans of Disney can acknowledge that the old Disney princess movies are not perfect and could use some minor tweaks, but the films are still an important part of history and it is believed by countless fans that rather than modernizing what has already been made, Disney should come up with new princesses and new stories.
