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It was supposed to be a modern reimagining of a fairy-tale classic. Instead, 'Snow White' (2025) has become this year's most cursed movie. Released in March 2025 almost 90 years after Walt Disney's animated triumph 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs' (1937), this new live-action remake from the studio has been panned by many critics and shunned by the public. So, how has one of Disney's most cherished characters become so tarnished?
Click through and find out how 'Snow White' whistles but doesn't work.
The much anticipated reboot of the Walt Disney classic 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs' (1937) has been met with consternation and vitriol.
'Snow White' (2025), directed by Marc Webb and starring Rachel Zegler, Gal Gadot, and Andrew Burnap, was billed as a modern reimagining of the 1937 classic. Instead, it's been mired in controversy.
A low-key European premiere took place on March 12, 2025, at Spain's Alcázar of Segovia, which served as inspiration for the castle in the original animated film. On March 15, a muted Hollywood premiere without regular red-carpet press went largely unnoticed.
'Snow White' was born out the imagination of the Brothers Grimm: Jacob Grimm (1785–1863) and his brother Wilhelm (1786–1859).
Written as a fairy tale in the early 19th century, Snow White was first published by the German-born brothers in 1812.
'Snow White' appeared among a collection of fairy tales in the first edition of 'Children's and Household Tales,' later known as 'Grimms' Fairy Tales.'
It was the 53rd story within their collection of fairy tales, listed alongside other classic fables such as 'Rapunzel,' 'Hansel and Gretel,' 'Cinderella,' and 'Rumpelstiltskin.'
Between 1812 and 1857, their first collection was revised and republished many times, growing from 86 stories to more than 200.
Jacob and Wilhelm published their final version of 'Snow White' in 1854. Theories abound as to whether the character was inspired by a real person.
Some literary historians suggest that Snow White was based on someone the brothers may have known about during their lifetime. The most likely figure is Margarete von Waldeck, a countess in Germany in the 1500s.
It's alleged by author Eckhard Sander that Margarete's father owned several copper mines; a majority of workers were children. According to Sander, the seven dwarfs in the fairy tale were inspired by child labor in the copper mining village Bergfreiheit, now a district of Bad Wildungen that calls itself Schneewittchendorf (Snow White village). Like the fairy-tale's dwarfs, the child laborers there used to live in large groups (of about 20) in a single-room house.
As to what sparked the idea of 'Snow White' in the first place, other scholars and folklorists point towards the Roman legend of Chione, or "Snow," recorded in Ovid's 'Metamorphoses.'
The Grimm's 1812 version of 'Snow White' contained many story elements we are familiar with today, including the magic mirror, the poisoned apple, the glass coffin, and the characters of the Evil Queen and the Seven Dwarfs.
One hundred years later on October 31, 1912, 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs' opened on Broadway. The play starred Marguerite Clark as Snow White, while the previously anonymous seven dwarfs were all given names: Blick, Flick, Glick, Snick, Plick, Whick, and Quee.
The play was an enormous success and became the basis for the 1916 silent film 'Snow White,' also starring Clark.
Among the moviegoers enjoying Snow White's first celluloid outing was a youngster called Walt Disney. He would, of course, go on to recreate the fairy tale in animated form.
Walt Disney's 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs' was a critical and commercial success. It's widely regarded as one of the greatest films ever made, and is credited with ushering in the Golden Age of Animation.
There are several key differences from the original tale to the 1937 Disney version, notably the fact that the film is far lighter in character than the dark undertones presented by the Brothers Grimm. And, of course, in the movie, Snow White sings.
In the 1937 film, the seven dwarfs are all renamed as: Happy, Doc, Grumpy, Dopey, Bashful, Sleepy, and Sneezy.
Disney's triumphant 1937 film version of 'Snow White' was always going to be a hard act to follow. But why has 2025's live-action remake received such negative press?
Controversy immediately surrounded the choice of Rachel Zegler to portray Snow White. The idea of an actress of Colombian descent playing the Disney princess prompted backlash.
Zegler went on to dismiss the original 1937 film as outdated and even suggested that the prince was depicted as a "guy who literally stalks her," according to comments she made during an interview with Variety.
Zegler added that rather than follow the traditional fairy-tale narrative of a damsel in distress waiting for a prince, her version focused on leadership and self-discovery.
Her remarks infuriated many Disney fans and classic film enthusiasts, who perceived Zegler's remarks as disrespectful towards the original animated film and Disney's legacy.
Both Zegler and Gal Gardot, who plays the Evil Witch, have expressed differing opinions about the war in Gaza, with Zegler publicly supporting Palestine. The fact that Gadot is Israeli and Jewish has not helped optics.
Zegler was further condemned after she shared multiple tributes about her experience working on the Disney remake but omitted to mention Gal Gadot. The pair are pictured at the 97th Annual Academy Awards in March.
Disney became embroiled in a row after it chose to use CGI to create the seven dwarfs rather than use real actors. Disney said it consulted with members of the dwarfism community to "avoid reinforcing stereotypes from the original animated film."
Overall, the remake has been slammed by detractors for simply being a bad film. One critic from The Guardian described the production as "toe-curlingly terrible," with the "look of an AI-created migraine."
The HuffPost described the film as "perhaps the strangest, hottest mess out of all the modern remakes," but pointed out that while the obvious storyline changes may appear too "woke" for some, the modernized plot itself actually works well.
Perhaps the kindest review of the film was that posted on the Roger Ebert website: "Some parts of the film work better than others, but none of it has the sweetness and imagination of the animated feature. This 'Snow White' is not the fairest of them all. It's just, well, fair."
Sources: (Variety) (New York Post) (Sky News) (HuffPost) (Time) (The Guardian)
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It was supposed to be a modern reimagining of a fairy-tale classic. Instead, 'Snow White' (2025) has become this year's most cursed movie. Released in March 2025 almost 90 years after Walt Disney's animated triumph 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs' (1937), this new live-action remake from the studio has been panned by many critics and shunned by the public. So, how has one of Disney's most cherished characters become so tarnished?
Click through and find out how 'Snow White' whistles but doesn't work.