“Disney’s Snow White” may only just be hitting theaters this month, but it has already faced criticism for years over its casting and portrayal of certain characters.
The upcoming live-action remake, out March 21, will offer a modernized yet respectful take on the 1937 classic, screenwriter Erin Cressida Wilson said in production notes provided by Disney.
“I took my cues from the masterpiece that already existed — gently fleshing it out for a more contemporary audience,” she said. “My task was to dive into the character of Snow White and find what second act her story begged for.
“I massaged the theme of her discovering and trusting her own voice and her own purpose with compassion and strength,” she continued. “Snow White is Disney’s first princess, and it was an honour to be given the gift of bringing her entire story to life.”
“West Side Story” star Rachel Zegler, 23, will play the titular character, and “Wonder Woman” star Gal Gadot, 39, is set to portray the Evil Queen.
In the years leading up to its release, the film has become a lightning rod for criticism of political correctness in Hollywood.
“People are making these jokes about ours being the PC ‘Snow White, where it’s like, yeah, it is — because it needed that,” Zegler told Vanity Fair in 2022. “It’s an 85-year-old cartoon, and our version is a refreshing story about a young woman who has a function beyond ‘Someday My Prince Will Come.’”
Others have questioned the movie’s portrayal of the seven dwarfs, who were created using CGI animation.
The film has also drawn criticism from across the political spectrum over past comments made by leads Zegler and Gadot.
Keep reading to learn more about the controversies surrounding the live-action “Snow White” remake.
The inclusion of CGI-animated dwarves has sparked controversy
The portrayal of the characters of the seven dwarfs has faced varied criticism from people with dwarfism, including “Cyrano” star Peter Dinklage.
Dinklage, 55, who has a form of dwarfism called achondroplasia, praised the “progressive” casting of Zegler but questioned whether the dwarf characters in the live-action remake would perpetuate harmful stereotypes.
“Take a step back and look at what you’re doing there. It makes no sense to me. You’re progressive in one way, but then you’re still making that f—— backward story about seven dwarfs living in a cave together?” he said on the “WTF with Marc Maron” podcast in 2022. “What the f— are you doing, man? Have I done nothing to advance the cause from my soapbox? I guess I’m not loud enough.”
Following his comments, Disney issued a 2022 statement about its approach to the updated dwarf characters.
“To avoid reinforcing stereotypes from the original animated film, we are taking a different approach with these seven characters and have been consulting with members of the dwarfism community,” a Disney spokesperson said in a statement shared with TODAY. “We look forward to sharing more as the film heads into production after a lengthy development period.”
Rhonda Cutmore, a trustee of the Restricted Growth Association in the U.K., told the Telegraph in 2022 that she resonated with Dinklage’s “disappointment and irritation” about the live-action remake.
“As a 46-year-old woman with restricted growth, this story has always had a negative impact on me. Not just the physical characteristics, but the labelling of ‘Dopey’ and ‘Bashful’, were not helpful in the playground,” she said.
She said she blamed the original “Snow White” story for perpetuating the “Dwarf trope.”
“People with restricted growth are in majority born to average height parents — they never live in gingerbread houses, have little bear beds nor live in homogeneous groups together,” she said.
She added that “poor portrayals affect people’s lives everyday, having ‘hi ho’ or ‘do you live upon a toadstool?’ heckled at you by the ignorant.”
Others have questioned why Disney chose to create the seven dwarfs using computer animation rather than casting real actors with dwarfism in the roles.
“We have plenty of dwarf actors out there who are dying for roles like this,” Australian performer Blake Johnston, who has dwarfism, told The Daily Mail this week. “I think Disney have (succumbed) to peer pressure on political correctness, which has now given top dwarf actors less work.”
Martin Klebba, who has dwarfism, will voice the part of Grumpy in the live-action remake, according to IMDb.
The other dwarfs will be voiced by average height actors.
Zegler celebrated being a ‘Latina princess’ following racist backlash
When her casting was announced, Zegler faced racist criticism online from some people who argued that a Latina actor shouldn’t play the role.
“You don’t particularly see people who look like me or are me playing roles like that,” she said in an Actors on Actors conversation with Andrew Garfield for Variety in 2022. “When it was announced, it was a huge thing that was trending on Twitter for days, because all of the people were angry.”
Zegler, who is of Colombian and Polish descent, later called criticism about her casting based on her race “nonsensical discourse.”
“extremely appreciative of the love i feel from those defending me online, but please don’t tag me in the nonsensical discourse about my casting,” she wrote on X in 2023, sharing childhood photos of herself dressed as different Disney princesses, including Snow White.
“i really, truly do not want to see it,” she continued. “so i leave you w these photos! i hope every child knows they can be a princess no matter what.”
In her 2022 conversation with Garfield, she opened up about what the role meant to her.
“Never in a million years did I imagine that this would be a possibility for me,” she said. “You don’t normally see Snow Whites that are of Latin descent. Even though Snow White is really a big deal in Spanish-speaking countries.”
When Garfield suggested that people who criticized her casting needed to be educated, Zegler replied, “We need to love them in the right direction. At the end of the day, I have a job to do that I’m really excited to do. I get to be a Latina princess.”
Gal Gadot’s and Rachel Zegler’s political statements have been criticized
Both of the film’s stars have faced backlash from across the political spectrum for some of their past statements.
Gadot, who is Israeli, has been criticized by some people and groups online for her stance on the Israel-Hamas war.
The Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) took to X to call for a boycott of “Snow White” over Gal Gadot’s casting.
The group criticized Gadot for organizing screenings of a movie called “Bearing Witness,” which includes footage, compiled by the Israel Defense Forces, from the Oct. 7, 2023, terror attack on Israel by Hamas.
Another activist group, Track AIPAC, which describes its mission as tracking the influence of pro-Israel lobbyists in the U.S. government, also called for a boycott of “Snow White.”
In an X post calling for the boycott, the group included a link to a speech Gadot gave on March 4 at the Anti-Defamation League’s 2025 Never is Now Summit on Antisemitism and Hate.
“I am proud to be an Israeli and I am proud to be Jewish. But this is a time when many of us in the Jewish community have had to find our voice and confront the hatred against us, even if it’s extremely uncomfortable,” Gadot said in the clip shared by Track AIPAC. “So here we are in this room, together, calling for the release of every single one of our hostages.”
Rachel Zegler has also faced online backlash for some of her comments about the Israel-Hamas war.
In an August 2024 X post, the actor thanked fans for their support and added, “and always remember, free palestine.”
Zegler said in another X post last year that she had “been public with a pro-palestine stance since 2021.”
The “West Side Story” star also came under fire for her past comments about President Trump.
“May Trump supporters and Trump voters and Trump himself never know peace,” she wrote, in part, in her Instagram story following the election in November, according to NBC News.
Zegler later apologized for these comments.