The “remaking” era of film
It’s unclear who at the Disney headquarters first came up with the idea of remaking beloved animated films into live-action versions, but it’s hard to believe those we’ve been getting lately were what they had in mind.
It’s important to note that these remakes did start rather well, as some were so well-received that fans claimed to enjoy them even more than the originals. When Beauty and the Beast (2017) came out, it was clear Disney was doing everything in its power to make it as close to the original as possible—and I would even say they did a great job. When Aladdin (2019) followed, other than a female empowering song sung by Naomi Scott, the movie was extremely faithful to the original animation, which is arguably what the audience came to see–children, parents, and ‘Disney adults’ alike.
Since those movies, Disney made many more remakes, some better than others. But as we approach the release of yet another live-action Snow White film, fans have made it extremely clear they are not happy with it.
What went wrong? At what point did Disney lose its direction, and is there still a chance Disney might decide to return to its roots?
There is a long list of elements people have deemed wrong about the upcoming Snow White live-action. Those that are getting the most attention revolve around how the live-action differs from the original 1937 animation, in a “controversial” attempt to make the original film look outdated and downright bad.
The 1937 Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is a story about a young princess living with her evil jealous and vain stepmother who tries to get rid of Snow White so she could be the “fairest of them all.”. Many of us grew up loving the iconic moments from that animated movie, such as when Snow White takes a bite out of the poisoned apple. Or the magical moment in which she is kissed by the prince and awakened back to life. Yet, it seems like some people at Disney do not share the same sentiment of this movie as we do. They made it clear from the beginning that they do not intend to follow the same main plot points as the original film–no “damsel in distress,” no prince saving the princess, nothing to indicate women need to be saved.
We know all of that mainly because of one press conference that occurred back in 2022, led by the actress who plays Snow White herself, the 23-year-old Rachel Zegler. The introduction of Zegler as the princess did not go well, to say the least, but I would say it has a lot more to do with her PR skills than her physical dissimilarity to the original character.
During the first press tour for the film in 2022, Zegler had a lot to say about the original animated movie. She claimed she never liked the animated film, called the prince a stalker, and generally described the original plot of the film as “creepy” and “weird.” This was all in an attempt to promote her version of Snow White as more modern, and to prepare the audience for the differences that are to come.
Of course, her way about it was more than just misguided, and it created a PR mess for Disney. So much so, that it was rumored this was one of the reasons for the film’s release date being pushed (along with some unexplained reshoots). It’s like she is a living embodiment of a dramatic high-school theatre kid, and believe me, that is not a compliment.
It has now been almost three years since that PR controversy, yet the attitude towards Zegler is still split. While most people can appreciate how talented the actress is, she is still being criticized for her self-centered Hollywood attitude. It has already been reported that Disney has minimized the press tour as much as they can, with no red carpet premieres anywhere in the world, and many believing it has something to do with Zegler herself.
The criticism about the film does not end with Zegler. When the trailer was released, people were quite appalled by some of the visuals, mainly regarding the seven dwarfs. In all fairness, I firmly believe that Disney had no way of including the seven dwarfs in this live-action without it angering some people… So they really had no way of winning and there’s no film without these seven characters (even if they did decide to remove them from the movie’s title). However, once the trailer dropped and the audience got to see the CGI dwarfs in HD, it was confirmed that Disney chose the least popular option.
While in other live-action remakes, there were one or two main sources to the criticism, Snow White has been doing a poor job in almost every front–the casting, the plot changes, the PR, and we haven’t even mentioned the atrociousness of Snow White’s hair, costume, and makeup. It’s almost impossible to come up with something that is actually done right in this upcoming live-action.
What does all this mean for Disney’s future?
As mentioned, we are extremely close to the official premiere of Snow White, and the projections are not looking good. The film is already on track to do worse than Captain America: Brave New World, losing Disney over $250 million. Fans all over the world are hoping this film will show Disney this is not what they want to see in the theatres.
Original and new scripts have gotten so rare these days that audiences are genuinely tired of only watching cash-grabbing sequels and poorly made live-action films. And that’s directed to the entire film industry, by the way, not just Disney. Also, many people are simply done with Disney’s pathological need to change the original animated films into “modern” ideas that shy away from concepts they deem “old”. Just like the idea of Snow White wanting to find true love, or of a woman being saved by a man. So basically, if you want to make a live-action remake, it has to be a true remake. We want the same animated movie but with real-life actors. And it should not be as complicated as Disney is making it.
We already know a Lilo & Stitch live-action is coming out this May. While it seems much more true to the original than Snow White, changes were still made that people are not happy with the “human-washing” of the hilarious aliens Pleakley and Jumba.
There is obviously no way of making everyone happy, but I firmly believe that the best way to approach it is by sticking as close as possible to the original. It shouldn’t be hard, as Disney already has the original, the only thing they need is a cast that resembles those characters and they’re good to go.
While we wait to see the actual outcome of Snow White, we also know a live-action of Moana is currently in production. Hopefully, the outcome of Snow White’s release will actually help direct the next remake in the right direction—and by “right,” I mean right back to exactly how the animated movie looks, with no unnecessary changes. If that doesn’t happen, the least we can do is ensure Disney doesn’t profit from those poorly made remakes to lead to an actual change in the future. Until then, I’ll be wishing and hoping for the one live-action I’ll love.