Is Snow White (2025) the Worst Disney Live-Action Remake?
June 29, 2025
Read time: 9 minutes

I recently watched Disney’s 2025 live-action Snow White, and there’s no denying—it’s stirred up a lot of controversy. Between the rocky PR rollout, some questionable creative decisions, and serious political undertones, it’s been one of the more polarizing remakes Disney has released, receiving a firestorm of negativity online. It also missed the mark at the box office, falling short of expectations. Here’s a breakdown of the controversies, character choices, and my own reactions.

The PR Mess: Where Politics and Publicity Collided

Let’s start with the off-screen issues. Rachel Zegler (Snow White) and Gal Gadot (the Evil Queen) became part of a political firestorm due to their respective stances on the Israel/Palestine conflict. Zegler posted in support of Palestine, while Gadot—who served in the Israeli military—has been a vocal supporter of Israel. These opposing stances brought heavy scrutiny to the film and drew political commentary unrelated to the content itself. There’s also been reports that the two didn’t get along during filming, which might’ve affected their performance together.

Add to that Zegler’s pre-release comments criticizing the original Snow White, describing the Prince as someone who “literally stalks” Snow White, and calling his behavior and the whole movie “weird” and evidently outdated. While perhaps well-intentioned, those remarks alienated a lot of longtime Disney fans who expected a more reverent and nostalgic tone.

And it gets worse. In an interview, Zegler publicly criticized the 47th president and his supporters before November’s 2024 election, saying “If you support [the 47th president], I don’t want your business.” That’s a bold stance to take—especially considering that it alienates almost half of America’s audience.

To make matters worse, she also made comments (which were probably supposed to be humorous) that went like this:

If I’m gonna stand there 18 hours in a dress of an iconic Disney princess, I deserve to be paid for every hour it is streamed online.

While I don’t disagree with this sentiment—I know that actors are notoriously underpaid in their residuals—the comment came off as ungrateful and rude.

The controversy continued even after the film’s release. Zegler has gone on to rant via social media that her loss in job offers and the online backlash is all due to her outspoken views and words. She says she’s the victim of a system that punishes actresses for speaking out, while male actors can speak out freely. While she may actually have some points to what she’s saying, the truth is that as America reverts further and further back into conservatism, the country just isn’t going to be willing to face what she’s saying critically and open-mindedly.

I want to make it perfectly clear that I think it’s fantastic how Zegler stands up for her beliefs and is willing to use her platform as a famous person to try to make change in the world. But she may have underestimated how much a successful acting career also depends on public perception and fan support—not just talent alone.

And without fans… well let’s just say her career might’ve been unintentionally sacrificed completely.

Putting all of these public issues on top of each other turned Snow White into a PR nightmare for Disney.

The Characters

Snow White (Rachel Zegler)

Zegler’s vocal performance is excellent—her voice adds real strength to the film’s soundtrack. But visually, her character doesn’t quite land. Her short haircut is unflattering, and the iconic dress—especially the yellow skirt portion—looks like a cheap fabric unrealistic to the character and time… like what I’d dress a six-year-old up in. It’s just not flattering for her character.

The romantic subplot also feels underdeveloped. Snow White only seems to notice Jonathan as a genuine romantic interest after someone else mentions he might like her, which makes the whole connection feel shallow and forced. That said, I didn’t mind the tweak to the infamous non-consensual kiss—they inserted the line “Promise to wake me with a kiss” into a song that’s sung mid-movie, making it feel more consensual. Here’s a snippet of the lyrics sung as part of a duet:

And maybe I’m dreaming,

Well, I’d like to stay just like this.

But if there’s a world where you wake me

Promise to wake me with a kiss.

Honestly, had I not watched a video in advance where someone pointed out the addition of the lyrics, I probably wouldn’t have even noticed them, or would’ve just thought it was a cute line.

The Evil Queen (Gal Gadot)

Gadot’s costumes were among the best-designed elements of the film—visually dramatic and fitting for her role. Despite a few unconfirmed reports that she was uncomfortable wearing them, they looked great on screen.

However, her performance felt inconsistent. She didn’t seem to settle on a tone for the Queen—sometimes quiet, reserved, and sinister, other times loud, theatrical, and overly exaggerated. And vocally, Gadot simply couldn’t keep up with Zegler. Her 2-3 musical numbers fell flat by comparison. I wish Disney had either cast somebody else with stronger singing ability or provided more vocal support or technology to equalize the musical talents. FWIW, Wicked (2024) did the same thing with Madame Morrible, where Michelle Yeoh’s singing paled in comparison to the other actors.

Visuals & Effects

Visually, the film had trouble blending practical elements with CGI. The forest and animals looked artificial, albeit still adorable, and the dwarves, in particular, were heavily criticized. Their design was awkward and their presence confusing. I wish Disney had proceeded with casting little people as the dwarves, giving opportunities to underrepresented actors, and then asked them for assistance in storytelling and designing three-dimensional characters. What’s more puzzling is that a little person actor was cast in the group of bandits, so the movie is acknowledging the presence of little people in this world. Are the dwarves meant to be magical creatures? Aliens? A different species? It felt unclear.

Music, Choreography, and Logic Gaps

The music, written by Pasek & Paul, is decent but not especially memorable. Zegler’s vocals do it justice, but the songs themselves don’t stand out. The choreography, likewise, gets the job done but isn’t particularly innovative.

There are also moments where suspension of disbelief is really pushed—like when Jonathan gets shot with an arrow in the shoulder and is using his arm ten minutes later like nothing happened. This reinforces the belief to me that the dwarves are actually supposed to be magical beings… Doc didn’t just remove the arrow and stitch his arm, but actually fully healed the wound.

The Fairness Theme

Some critics accused the film of pushing a political or even “communist” message because of its focus on fairness and equality. Personally, I didn’t read it that way. The message felt more like a general moral lesson about treating others well, sharing the world’s bounties with everybody, and kindness. And I didn’t really mind the other story changes at all.

If anything the movie’s message struck me as more socialist… but many people today tend to conflate and confuse socialism with communism, despite their differences (that’s another topic entirely that I won’t dive into here).

Final Thoughts

The 2025 Snow White remake had the potential to be something special, but it ultimately missed the mark in almost every area. Zegler delivers some standout musical moments, and it’s clear the production team tried to modernize the story, which I appreciate. But inconsistent visuals, uneven performances, and a storm of PR missteps ended up overshadowing the film’s better intentions.

In the end, I wouldn’t call this Disney’s worst remake—but it’s definitely a missed opportunity. If the studio wants to keep revisiting its classics, it’ll need to do more than update the technology and basic story. It must fully commit to stronger storytelling, more character development, better preparation for its talent, and a clearer creative vision from the start.

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