Summary
Disney’snext venture into a live-action remake takes them back to the start with their iconic 1937 animationSnow White.The honorary Academy Award-winning movie is being reimagined. It will be released on Jun 07, 2025, giving audiences a fresh look atSnow White, with Rachel Zegler taking on the lead role.
The film is set to follow a story that is familiar to the original, but it has been tarred with controversy throughout the build-up. Whether it has been question marks over the casting or Zegler’s public criticisms, Snow White has had many issues, and the latest teaser trailer has proven that they might continue into the film itself.
Disney’s Live-Action Movies Have Often Struggled To Create Villains
Disney’s live-action movieshave been hit and miss in terms of quality ever since they started creating the remakes of animated classics, and a big factor in that is how the villains have been treated. In the animated versions, they’re often dastardly characters with little to no redeeming qualities. Yet, in the live-action remakes, they tend to be given more of a backstory and are often shown in a sympathetic light, making it hard for them to have the necessary impact. Maleficent is the biggest example of this. She went from a terrifying villain in the animated classic to being an antihero, and Disney then created a second movie around showcasing her as such.
This has been the case with many movies, as Scar was given more backstory inThe Lion Kingand was then shown as a nicer character in therecentMufasa: The Lion Kingspin-off film. Emma Stone’s version of Cruella was made out to be someone who was rebellious and had stood out against the crowd on her journey to becoming a villain, which allowed people to feel sympathy for her. The same happened with Gaston, as Luke Evans' character had insecurities and flaws, which the animated character never truly showed. All of these moments might have been done to try and expand the story, but they came at a cost.
Snow White Trailer Has Teased The Evil Queen Will Have A Softer Side
Disney recently revealed a small snippet from the upcoming live-action scene between Snow White and the Evil Queen. It shows the titular character asking her to show kindness to the village and feed them pies to aid their hunger, which fleshes out Snow White’s character nicely. It provesthere will be more to Snow White, which is important as she’s relatively one-dimensional in the animation and cannot truly stand up for herself, but that could be coming at the expense of the Evil Queen. The fact that she’s willing to sit down and listen to Snow White’s demands is instantly a sign that she will be changed as a character and could end up having a softer side.
That’s thelast thing that Disney should do, as it proves they’re not learning from past mistakes and will once again make the villain personable. The Evil Queen getting a deeper backstory is positive, and a larger storyline will take place in this movie. However, the idea of her being on friendly terms with Snow White is a stark change from the original. The live-action is set to explore their relationship as Stepmother and stepdaughter, but that doesn’t mean it has to be one with kindness.Gal Gadot is a fantastic actress, so giving her more to work with will only benefit the movie’s quality. But she doesn’t need to become the next antihero in Disney’s live-action world. They went down that road with Angelina Jolie as Maleficent, and it’s not something that needs to happen again, as it would just continue to water down more iconic characters.
Disney Doesn’t Need To Make The Evil Queen Sympathetic
The Evil Queen is one of themost iconic villains in Disney’s history, and the reason for that is that she lives up to her name. All she cares about is being the most beautiful person in the land, and she is willing to kill Snow White to make that a reality. She goes as far as to transform herself with magic to become the older, uglier witch in a bid to try and poison Snow White, and that in itself proves there’s no level she’s willing to stoop down to. It created someone younger viewers were afraid of, and that’s the story that needed to be told in the live-action version, too. Rather than giving her a softer side or a possible backstory, Disney should have doubled down and made her even scarier to create a sense of good vs. evil.
The recent trailer hints at a slightly kinder side of her personality, someone who might just be willing to listen to reason. Even though she shuts Snow White down when she suggests creating some pie for people, that doesn’t mean theEvil Queen will be as terrifyingas audiences anticipate. The original’s brilliance is how stark the contrast is between the Evil Queen as a villain and Snow White as someone fair and without fault, which worked perfectly. The idea that the live-actionSnow Whiteis going to deviate away from a winning recipe proves that Disney is still set to make too many changes for the sake of it.
