The first Disney princesses movie ever created has been remade to live action.
The new Snow White live-action movie came out on Mar. 21. What was expected to be a better remake of the original movie has turned out to be a disappointment to viewers. The music in the movie was changed and new characters were added, changing the story.
The movie is about a girl named Snow White fleeing from the Evil Queen. She finds friends in dwarves Dopey, Bashful, Grumpy, Sneezy, Happy, Doc and Sleepy. When the palace guards embark on a mission to bring her back, a commoner and his group of woodland bandits band together to protect her.
In the original movie, Snow White is a soft-spoken person who relies on Prince Charming to save her from the Evil Queen. In the live-action movie, Disney decided to update her to better fit today’s society. In doing this they shifted the theme to focus on leadership qualities and her potential to rule a kingdom. “I don’t like how they changed the plot of the movie and shifted it from a Disney princess movie to more of a regular movie. It did not have the same magic as it did before,” sophomore Lily Zaiderman said.
Viewers are also upset that the dwarves have less of a role in the film, especially compared to the newly added group called the bandits. The use of computer-generated imagery for the dwarves opposed to actors with dwarfism has stirred up controversy. Fans feel like Disney deprived dwarves of an opportunity. “I heard about all the controversy of not using real people with dwarfism and I think it robbed them of an opportunity they do not get a lot. The new group, the bandits, felt like it replaced the prince and how Snow White wasn’t actually saved by prince charming,” sophomore Jolie Ginsburg said.
The musical aspect of the movie was also changed. They added five new songs and cut two from the original, including “Someday My Prince Will Come,” along with “I’m Wishing/One Song.” Songs that were kept in the movie had been slightly changed like changing the music to be a higher note than the original movie.
Gal Gadot is an Israeli actor and Jew who plays the Evil Queen in the live-action version. She is pro-Israel. Rachel Zeglar who plays Snow White is pro-Palestine, which has sparked controversy and speculation about their relationship. People have refused to watch the movie because of Rachel Zeglar and Gal Gadot’s beliefs. “My parents did not want me to watch the movie at first because my dad did not like how Rachel Zieglar is pro-Palestine but I grew up on Snow White so I really wanted to see it,” Ginsburg said.
The changes to Snow White make the live-action movie feel less magical and like less of a Disney princess movie. The main change of Snow White being less reliant on the prince changes the plot. “I was disappointed with the movie because Snow White was the first Disney princess movie that was created. I thought they would keep most of it the same. The theme just felt so different from the original which I did not like,” sophomore Noa Lucas said.