Snow White: Possibly Disney’s Next Woke Flop

The next highly anticipated live-action version of one of Disney’s most acclaimed animated movies is Snow White. The film is set to have a 2024 release, but fans of the original already have a bad taste in their mouths due to some of the woke drivel being spouted by the film’s star, Rachel Zegler.

The original animated version of Snow White debuted in 1937, over 85 years ago. Guinness World Records claims that the film, adjusted for inflation, is the highest grossing animated film of all time. The American Film Institute has ranked it in its top 100 films of all time and further gave it the distinction of greatest animated film of all time. In 1989 the Library of Congress placed Snow White in its first 25 films to be preserved in the National Film Registry meaning the film was seen as “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.” Obviously in the eyes of film critics and much of the American public, Snow White is a timeless classic and a film to be revered and remembered.

However, to Rachel Zegler, the animated Snow White was problematic and in need of a woke revamping. During an interview in 2022, Zegler told Extra, “I mean, you know, the original cartoon came out in 1937 and very evidently so. There’s a big focus on her love story with a guy who literally stalks her.” After a forced and affected chuckle she adds, “Weird! Weird. We didn’t do that this time.”

Zegler is then asked if there will be a prince at all in the film. She responds, “We have a different approach to what I’m sure a lot of people will assume is a love story just because, like, we cast a guy in the movie…It’s really not about the love story at all, which is really really wonderful.” And with a final note of misandry after a semi-dismissive mention of her co-star Andrew Burnap, who plays The Prince, Zegler says, “All of Andrew’s scenes could get cut. It’s Hollywood, baby.”

I am going to root against this Snow White movie like it’s the Dallas Cowboys pic.twitter.com/PJUvsn0VlE

— Tommy Smokes (@TomScibelli) August 14, 2023

These statements would leave any fan of the original film perplexed at least and completely turned off from wanting to see the new version at most. The root message of Snow White is that love can conquer all. A spell with deadly consequences was broken and reversed by “true love’s first kiss.” If the new film is not a love story, and if The Prince is not a main character who falls in love with Snow White, then this is not the remake of the beloved classic that Disney is advertising. In the teaser trailer, Snow White is even heard singing “Someday my prince will come,” a song very familiar to those who have seen the original animated film. The song shows that Snow White is longing and hoping for love to release her from a life of servitude.

What’s more, Zegler’s characterization of the original animated film is indicative of the joyless and cynical woke point of view. In the animated film, Snow White is overheard singing by The Prince who is captivated by her presence and beauty. Intrigued to know more about someone he admires, he follows her to satisfy his curiosity. It’s endearing. It’s fun. It’s love. Most people have felt a similar feeling.

To classify the actions of a love-struck man as “stalking” is to imply there was some insidious or salacious intent. It is a view on love that is not only sick but also sad. If the simple act of falling in love and attempting to act on it is viewed as problematic to the woke millennial psyche, the western world is in for serious decline.

From Zegler’s remarks about the new live-action version of Snow White, Disney’s streak of failed woke retellings is about to be extended. It seems the media behemoth does not understand or remember who purchases the tickets to see their films. Alienating the conservative contingency of the nation and angering fans of the original timeless tale is not the way to break box-office records. With Greta Gerwig as a co-author of the film’s screenplay, perhaps the film will be more akin to the wokeness levels of Barbie, but only time will tell.