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Credit: ITMThe Walt Disney Company has been described by thousands of fans as “woke,” and its decisions for Snow White have been criticized heavily.
For those who don’t know, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) was Disney’s first-ever animated feature film, and had the fingerprints of Walt Disney all over its production. This groundbreaking movie introduced the world to the magic of Disney animation and set the standard for the studio’s future masterpieces. The film tells the enchanting story of Snow White, a kind and beautiful princess forced into exile by her jealous stepmother, the wicked Queen. In her journey through the dark forest, Snow White befriends seven endearing dwarfs, each with a unique personality. Their charming interactions and the film’s unforgettable songs, like “Heigh-Ho” and “Someday My Prince Will Come,” have left an indelible mark on popular culture.
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is not only celebrated for its technical achievements in animation but also for its enduring characters and timeless storytelling. This iconic film laid the foundation for Disney’s illustrious animation legacy, proving that animated films could be as emotionally resonant and captivating as live-action ones.
Though Disney fans have celebrated the film for more than 80 years, the company announced a couple of years ago that it would be trying a live-action version of the animated film, with a few twists and changes. The new movie, which would star Rachel Zegler (Westside Story, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds), was planned to take out many elements of the old film, including the dwarves, which Disney said would be “magical creatures” in the new version.
Many of these changes were pegged as “woke” from fans who were hoping to see a more traditional retelling of the classic version. Zegler put a complete pin in those ideas with recent comments, in which she said that Snow White would not be saved by a prince in this retelling and that “it’s not 1937 anymore.”
An opinion from Fox News expressed that Disney is now “attacking a beloved classic movie,” calling it “woke.”
“The Snow White brouhaha, however, goes beyond politics,” Analyst Karol Markowicz said. “Disney has long had a core audience who were willing to stick with Disney despite political disagreements. Zegler isn’t just pushing the usual woke nonsense that Disney has come to embrace, she’s also challenging Disney’s history and attacking a beloved classic movie.”
Ultimately, Disney faces an uphill battle as it attempts to have this movie be a box office hit. According to recent reports, the film must gross more than $336.4 million to break even, and it faces potential record-breaking failures at the box office.
Because of this, many fans have wondered if Disney might just cancel the movie altogether. A fake report went viral earlier this year sharing that Disney had axed the film, but that wasn’t true.
Now, misinformation is going around that Rachel Zegler has been removed from the project. Actually, Zegler has been removed from Paddington 3, according to recent reports, but this does not have any effect on Disney or its Snow White project.
Though some fans believe Zegler’s firing from Paddington could open up the door if Disney wanted to shut down the project, the truth is that the company is barrelling forward with the movie, and no one knows how this will play out for them in the end at the box office.
It’s clear that the movie has a legion of detractors who are not going to be satisfied no matter what, but there are others who support the film and it’s going to be interesting to see where the numbers actually fall when the movie is released in theaters next year.
What do you think of Disney’s abandonment from the original Snow White? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments!