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Credit: DisneyThe live-action Snow White remake is under heavy backlash. And now, new information has been revealed regarding how the government got involved in the production of the controversial feature film.
The Walt Disney Company’s trend of releasing live-action remakes of classic animated movies is not slowing down. In fact, despite rather consistent backlash over the House of Mouse’s decision to invest in the retellings as opposed to new original storytelling, Disney has started tackling films not even a decade old.
Just a month before the company released director Rob Marshall’s The Little Mermaid (2023), the remake starring Halle Bailey as the singing mermaid Ariel, Disney CEO Bob Iger and Hollywood movie star Dwayne Johnson announced that Moana (2016) would be getting the live-action treatment.
While some celebrated the mythic Polynesian tale returning to the big screen as a live-action endeavor, many condemned the decision to release a remake of something not even ten years old. That said, Johnson’s involvement through his production outfit Seven Bucks Productions (which he runs with Dany Garcia), as well as his potential return as the demigod Maui, will likely keep audiences baited.
Before Moana‘s rumored 2025 release date, though, Disney will bring fans back to the world of Walt Disney’s first-ever feature film. A feat of animation and filmmaking, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) introduced viewers to the titular Disney princess Snow White, the merry band of dwarfs, and the Evil Queen.
Becoming the blueprint for the Disney animation that followed, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is a beloved classic, with the Evil Queen being one of the most popular villains in the Disney lexicon. So much so that the character is a permanent fixture at Disney Parks across the world, including Disneyland Resort and Walt Disney World Resort.
It would suggest, then, that Disney’s upcoming live-action Snow White (2024) remake is one of the most anticipated events of 2024. Right? Wrong.
When the live-action effort began with a more directed trajectory, that is, back with Maleficent (2014), the movies were popular and welcomed. From Cinderella (2015) to The Jungle Book (2016) to the billion-dollar hits Beauty and the Beast (2017) and Aladdin (2019), remakes were, for the most part, well-received. And let’s not forget that The Lion King (2019) by Jon Favreau is the highest-grossing animated film of all time.
Related: Fans Can’t Believe New ‘Moana’ Look With Zendaya and Dwayne Johnson
However, since the introduction of Disney’s streaming service, the live-action remakes have been coming thick and fast. There was Lady and the Tramp (2019), then Mulan (2020), which had a hindered release thanks to the pandemic, and then movies like Pinocchio (2022) and Peter Pan & Wendy (2023) all came down the pipeline.
Next year will see the live-action Snow White remake debut on the big screen. From director Marc Webb (The Amazing Spider-Man), with a screenplay by Greta Gerwig and Erin Cressida Wilson, Snow White stars Rachel Zegler (West Side Story) as the titular character opposite Gal Gadot (Wonder Woman) as the Evil Queen.
While remakes do tend to make a departure from the original story, especially those with culturally insensitive themes, Snow White seems to be the furthest from its source material. Zegler, who will star as Lucy Gray Baird in this year’s The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (2023), has been vocal about her distaste for the animated movie, saying that the first time she watched the original film, it scared her.
Over the last few months, Zegler has received massive amounts of backlash over her thoughts on the film, saying that the prince in the 1937 movie was a “stalker” and also challenging Snow White’s desire for true love. According to her, the live-action Snow White remake is going to be a vastly different story for the character, where she becomes a leader and not someone searching for love.
This caused ire in the Disney community as many stated that a woman’s worth is not rooted in her desire to be a leader; loving and wanting love can be enough. There was also the contention over Disney’s lack of dwarf characters, instead stating Snow White’s companions will be “magical creatures.”
Zegler was also the center of a viral video, where, while she picketed in support of the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and Screen Actors Guild and Association of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) strikes, she stated that if she was going to stand in an iconic princess dress for 18 hours a day, she deserved to be paid for every hour it was streamed online. Residual pay, as well as things like AI, have been major issues during the strikes.
Now, it’s been shared that the government has gotten involved in Snow White, giving the production over $36 million in tax relief. Per a report from Bucks Free Press via Yahoo! News, it can be revealed that due to Snow White‘s production in the United Kingdom, Disney received millions in relief.
“Accounts recently filed by entertainment conglomerate Disney’s UK subsidiary Hidden Heart Productions have now also revealed that the production, which was filmed at Pinewood Studios and on location across the UK in mid-2022, had an overall cost of £150.5 million and received £29.5 million (approx. $36 million) in tax relief,” the report reads.
The UK’s government website describes what qualifies for tax relief.
Your company can claim Film Tax Relief on a film if:
- The film is certified as British by the British Film Institute
- It’s intended for theatrical release
- At least 10% of the ‘core costs’ relate to activities in the UK
Related: Disney Ditches Completed Series Before It Can Ever Be Seen
The government’s involvement in the production of Snow White comes after a reported $6 billion was spent on UK productions last year, with British Film Institute (BFI) chief executive Ben Roberts telling the BBC that “the increased prominence of the UK as a filmmaking destination was helping to shape “world-renowned” acting talent.”
The high production cost revealed by this tax relief means that Snow White must gross close to $340 million when it is released, per Forbes.
Snow White stars Rachel Zegler as Snow White, Gal Gadot as the Evil Queen, and Andrew Burnap as Jonathan, the live-action remake’s replacement for the prince.
Will you be watching the live-action Snow White remake? Did you know films can get huge sums back in tax relief? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!