Snow White has been on the backend of some deplorable media headlines following the recent drama with lead actor Rachel Zegler, and now, the recent news of the film’s one year delay, as well as the official “first look” into the film.

The original Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs has been an icon for not only Disney but animation overall. In 1937, when Walt Disney put out his first full-length feature film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, animation was moved to lengths that we had never seen. We were able to see Snow White’s movement in a new way, with creatures of all kinds interacting.
Over time, the story of Snow White has only increased in popularity, appearing as zeitgeist in the Disney canon. Today, guests visiting the Disney parks can see Snow White at Walt Disney World when they venture to EPCOT in the Germany pavilion or during the Festival of Fantasy parade, dancing along with the seven dwarfs.

In Disneyland, Snow White’s Enchanted Wish (previously Snow White’s Scary Adventure) also takes guests through the story of Snow White. Music like “Heigh-Ho”, which was created by Frank Churchill and Larry Morey, as well as “Some Day My Prince Will Come” by Adriana Caselotti and Harry Stockwell have become some of the most popular Disney songs to date, as the follow the plot line which shares Snow White’s life with the dwarfs, their job in the mines looking for rubies and other gems, and Snow’s true passions in life, which also fall to her wanting to find love.
It is her deep desire to find a true “Prince Charming” that has started the massive debate around the film that Disney is currently dealing with today.
Disney has been on a rampant spree to create live-action films, which has a very understandable reason for success. By doing this, Disney is able to bring back adults who fell in love with original stories like Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, The Jungle Book, Cinderella, The Lion King, and more, and give them the film they grew up with in a new way.
Nostalgia essentially creates a recurring subscription, in a sense.

Doing this also targets the younger generation who were born in the 2000s and did not grow up with Bambi on VHS, but watched Tangled or Frozen on DVD or now, Disney+.
Nostalgia, although powerful for sales, has also been the main culprit of Disney’s backlash when it comes to live-actions. Fans love many of the animated classics so much, that by remaking something so sacred, Disney risks upsetting the core audience who has been their biggest supporter. As decades have passed since these films came out, Disney has made changes as a company, some of which affect the way they tell, or in these cases, retell stories.
A great example of this is diversity.
Disney has been adding diversity to their films and attractions over the past few years, and once The Little Mermaid live-action was announced, Disney took a step in the deep end and cast Ariel diversely, with the spectacular Halle Bailey. While Bailey certainly had the talent, fans who idolized the white mermaid with red hair could not see past the color of the actress’s skin, as the titular character was no longer nostalgic.
Flash forward to Disney casting Rachel Zegler (West Side Story, Shazam) as Snow White.
Zegler did receive some negative comments regarding her skin color, being a Latina actress. Snow White has the fairest skin of any Disney princess, so choosing an actress who is not Caucasian was sure to turn some heads. However, the main issue occurred once Zegler began speaking of the character. In a now-viral interview with Gal Gadot, who plays the Evil Queen in the Marc Webb film, Zegler stated that it is no longer 1937, and Snow White is no longer just trying to find her true love.

Many know Snow White as a caretaker, baker, soft, feminine character who has strength in kindness, but according to Zegler, the character would now be a “leader”.
This upset many, as they felt that the film was no longer going to be the storyline they once knew, and it felt that Disney was moving in a “woke” direction. On top of that, the role of the prince was now named Jonathan (played by Andrew Burnap), and the seven dwarfs were magical creatures, which seemed to be a decision based on Peter Dinklage’s (Game of Thrones) opinion that Disney should not have dwarfs in the film.
Most recently, we shared that Disney pushed the release of the film to March 21, 2025, an entire year back. This has fueled rumors that Disney is making some bigger changes to the movie; however, it was stated that the delay is due to the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike.

With this announcement also came a first look of the character. Here we saw Snow White and her magical creatures, but now they no longer looked like the magical creatures we once saw, but caricature dwarfs created with CGI. The dwarfs are actually so different from the casted actors, that many of them have had their skin color changed from black to white.

Many have shared that they do not like this new “look” and that the film should return to the vault and be canceled.
Although it does not seem that the movie is going anywhere, and Disney’s choice to include Zegler in Snow White’s dress as a first look cements her place in the film, many have wanted to see her replaced with other actresses. A popular choice has been Jenna Ortega from Wednesday.
Another actress has seemingly stepped into the role of Snow White, but this time for the Halloween season. At the moment, “The SAG-AFTRA union told its members not to dress as characters from major productions and post pictures, which could be seen as promoting the work of companies they are negotiating with,” as noted by The New York Times.
With that being said, it appears this actress, who has been a Disney icon for years, did not care. Pop Crave (@PopCrave) shared a photo of Demi Lovato as Snow White for Halloween.
Demi Lovato dressed up as Snow White for Halloween. 🍎
Demi Lovato dressed up as Snow White for Halloween. 🍎 pic.twitter.com/1hLa452rAI
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) October 29, 2023
Demi Lovato was a favorite on the Disney Channel for years, starring in Sonny with a Chance, Camp Rock, As The Bell Rings, and So Random. The pop star had her music featured on the channel as well, and quickly came popular among the likes of Miley Cyrus and Selena Gomez.
Over time, Lovato’s fame consumed her, and she turned to drugs and alcohol where she developed strong addictions, relapsed, and nearly died. Due to her addition of drugs, many comments on the photo state that she was dressing as Snow White because of cocaine’s white and snowy texture, attempting to insult the actress.
The account shared another photo:
Demi Lovato as Snow White for Halloween.
Demi Lovato as Snow White for Halloween. https://t.co/vlXWPtgZcW
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) October 29, 2023
In the end, while some negative comments were referencing her previous drug addition, many were positive. One fan said, “I think she can be better snow white than Rachel Zegler 🤣🤣 She’s great….Demi Lovato looks fabulous 😍😍”, which seemed to be a shared sentiment for many.
Demi is not going to be cast as Snow White in the live-action adaptation, but we did get to see her break the costume ban that many did not agree with placed by SAG-AFTRA, and also, saw that there would be support in Demi playing a Disney princess, especially Snow White.
Are you happy to see Rachel Zegler as Snow White? Who would you choose to replace her?