New Snow White criticism

[Pink Freud]

Wouldn't it be great if families could go to see "Snow White" with no knowledge of the internal politics, singing the iconic songs on the way out?

[Pink Freud]

Industry wags said Disney was so upset at the half-BILLION losses on "Mars Needs Moms" and "John Carter (On Mars)" that they went through all of the Disney employee break rooms and removed all the Mars bars, Snickers, and M&Ms from the vending machines.

[WeeVikes]

Wouldn't it be great if families could go to see "Snow White" with no knowledge of the internal politics, singing the iconic songs on the way out?

My wife, daughter, and granddaughter did that. I knew, but none of the girls had a clue. We enjoyed ourselves.

[MikoTython]

whiteness, silly dwarves, CGI dwarves, damsel in distressness, IDF (don't think but a tiny few care about this aspect, we're largely well trained), Israel/Palestine/Gaza, woke/anti-woke.

What a hill for this movie to climb. If it's any consolation,

The movie cost about $1.5 million to make (about $34 million today) and collected $184 million (roughly $4 billion) in the United States and Canada. Walt Disney bought the land for Disney headquarters with part of the profit.

I bet none of us were/would/are going to see it, but are only interested in it as a cultural phenomenon. That's me, for sure. I'm betting the Disney stars, from now on, will be signing contracts affirming they avoid public controversies until well after all major releases are concluded - if that's legal.

Plenty of articles on the travails of the re-make, but this one is pretty good :

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/20/busi ... rsies.html

[Armchair QB]

It is sort of inevitable that fairy tales, which represent trad/archaic gender roles, have a tough sell being re-packaged - hew to the old, you are trying to re-foist a patrimony, add modern feminist gender roles, much of the charm of the originals, for many, is lost in ensuring the 'empowerment', which often is expressed as turning the mensfolk into some manner of stooges - even the 'heroes'.

My sense is that for many of us, neither approach is satisfying - on the one side, anachronism, on the other, stridency/tendentiousness.

Life got (more) complicated. Much of it is only semi-digested.

I think the key is, especially when it’s a classic, to do it respectfully. It’s ok to add to it modern elements. But, this one went out of its way to essentially trash the original. When the actress playing Snow White is the main culprit in interviews, etc throwing shade at the original, that is just not going to play well with the public.

Sure there are those out there who don’t care. But as we’re seeing at the box office, a movie that could have been an absolute hit has been a dud. This should be a lesson to Disney, and anyone making this kind of movie. Something is beloved for a reason. Stick to what worked the 1st time.

You're whining like a baby. Snow White has been irrelevant for at least an entire generation at this point... "fans" of the dumb story which is not even really a feature-length film should be thrilled just that people are talking about it at all.

Don’t get me wrong. I think Snow White sucks, even the original. But it definitely is not irrelevant. If it were, then why would Disney spend hundreds of mil to reboot this in the first place? People have heard of Snow White. It is an iconic animated movie. Mirror mirror on the wall, come on, how many times do people reference that line? Same with hi ho, hi ho.

The actress really screwed up and apparently Disney is (upset) at her. I don’t really care to share the links, but her little press tour (bleep) everything up and the movie has been doing terribly at the box office. People don’t like to be preached to. Especially over a story about dwarfs, mirrors and apples.

Most of what I can say in my defense will likely get this thread locked.

Just gonna point out that if you're only blaming one of the two leads, and not the one who routinely speaks out in defense of genocide and even sparked a modest boycott over the film (BDS), you may not be considering all the factors.

As far as relevance I think we just have different definitions. But Disney spending millions on something isn't evidence for that thing being relevant. Otherwise all of the Marvel and Star Wars shows wouldn't have been notorious duds. Their honchos aren't infallible and their tactic of squeezing every last drop out of their cash cows is bound to fail eventually.

Gadot supporting Israel has nothing to do with this movie flopping. The number of people who’d boycott a Snow White Disney movie over that is minuscule. The majority of ire over this movie is because Snow White herself was a loose canon big mouth who trashed the original movie while promoting the new one. Can’t do that. Disney didn’t help matters in general, but if Snow White had been professional and reverent toward the original, most people with little kids would have probably given it a try.

Gadot isn’t blameless (she willingly entered into the clown show), but she’s a small fraction of the actual problem.

[3dender]

It is sort of inevitable that fairy tales, which represent trad/archaic gender roles, have a tough sell being re-packaged - hew to the old, you are trying to re-foist a patrimony, add modern feminist gender roles, much of the charm of the originals, for many, is lost in ensuring the 'empowerment', which often is expressed as turning the mensfolk into some manner of stooges - even the 'heroes'.

My sense is that for many of us, neither approach is satisfying - on the one side, anachronism, on the other, stridency/tendentiousness.

Life got (more) complicated. Much of it is only semi-digested.

I think the key is, especially when it’s a classic, to do it respectfully. It’s ok to add to it modern elements. But, this one went out of its way to essentially trash the original. When the actress playing Snow White is the main culprit in interviews, etc throwing shade at the original, that is just not going to play well with the public.

Sure there are those out there who don’t care. But as we’re seeing at the box office, a movie that could have been an absolute hit has been a dud. This should be a lesson to Disney, and anyone making this kind of movie. Something is beloved for a reason. Stick to what worked the 1st time.

You're whining like a baby. Snow White has been irrelevant for at least an entire generation at this point... "fans" of the dumb story which is not even really a feature-length film should be thrilled just that people are talking about it at all.

Don’t get me wrong. I think Snow White sucks, even the original. But it definitely is not irrelevant. If it were, then why would Disney spend hundreds of mil to reboot this in the first place? People have heard of Snow White. It is an iconic animated movie. Mirror mirror on the wall, come on, how many times do people reference that line? Same with hi ho, hi ho.

The actress really screwed up and apparently Disney is (upset) at her. I don’t really care to share the links, but her little press tour (bleep) everything up and the movie has been doing terribly at the box office. People don’t like to be preached to. Especially over a story about dwarfs, mirrors and apples.

Most of what I can say in my defense will likely get this thread locked.

Just gonna point out that if you're only blaming one of the two leads, and not the one who routinely speaks out in defense of genocide and even sparked a modest boycott over the film (BDS), you may not be considering all the factors.

As far as relevance I think we just have different definitions. But Disney spending millions on something isn't evidence for that thing being relevant. Otherwise all of the Marvel and Star Wars shows wouldn't have been notorious duds. Their honchos aren't infallible and their tactic of squeezing every last drop out of their cash cows is bound to fail eventually.

Gadot supporting Israel has nothing to do with this movie flopping. The number of people who’d boycott a Snow White Disney movie over that is minuscule. The majority of ire over this movie is because Snow White herself was a loose canon big mouth who trashed the original movie while promoting the new one. Can’t do that. Disney didn’t help matters in general, but if Snow White had been professional and reverent toward the original, most people with little kids would have probably given it a try.

Gadot isn’t blameless (she willingly entered into the clown show), but she’s a small fraction of the actual problem.

You have no proof of a single one of your claims. I don't know who you expect to convince with your vibes-based argument.

[Armchair QB]

It is sort of inevitable that fairy tales, which represent trad/archaic gender roles, have a tough sell being re-packaged - hew to the old, you are trying to re-foist a patrimony, add modern feminist gender roles, much of the charm of the originals, for many, is lost in ensuring the 'empowerment', which often is expressed as turning the mensfolk into some manner of stooges - even the 'heroes'.

My sense is that for many of us, neither approach is satisfying - on the one side, anachronism, on the other, stridency/tendentiousness.

Life got (more) complicated. Much of it is only semi-digested.

I think the key is, especially when it’s a classic, to do it respectfully. It’s ok to add to it modern elements. But, this one went out of its way to essentially trash the original. When the actress playing Snow White is the main culprit in interviews, etc throwing shade at the original, that is just not going to play well with the public.

Sure there are those out there who don’t care. But as we’re seeing at the box office, a movie that could have been an absolute hit has been a dud. This should be a lesson to Disney, and anyone making this kind of movie. Something is beloved for a reason. Stick to what worked the 1st time.

You're whining like a baby. Snow White has been irrelevant for at least an entire generation at this point... "fans" of the dumb story which is not even really a feature-length film should be thrilled just that people are talking about it at all.

Don’t get me wrong. I think Snow White sucks, even the original. But it definitely is not irrelevant. If it were, then why would Disney spend hundreds of mil to reboot this in the first place? People have heard of Snow White. It is an iconic animated movie. Mirror mirror on the wall, come on, how many times do people reference that line? Same with hi ho, hi ho.

The actress really screwed up and apparently Disney is (upset) at her. I don’t really care to share the links, but her little press tour (bleep) everything up and the movie has been doing terribly at the box office. People don’t like to be preached to. Especially over a story about dwarfs, mirrors and apples.

Most of what I can say in my defense will likely get this thread locked.

Just gonna point out that if you're only blaming one of the two leads, and not the one who routinely speaks out in defense of genocide and even sparked a modest boycott over the film (BDS), you may not be considering all the factors.

As far as relevance I think we just have different definitions. But Disney spending millions on something isn't evidence for that thing being relevant. Otherwise all of the Marvel and Star Wars shows wouldn't have been notorious duds. Their honchos aren't infallible and their tactic of squeezing every last drop out of their cash cows is bound to fail eventually.

Gadot supporting Israel has nothing to do with this movie flopping. The number of people who’d boycott a Snow White Disney movie over that is minuscule. The majority of ire over this movie is because Snow White herself was a loose canon big mouth who trashed the original movie while promoting the new one. Can’t do that. Disney didn’t help matters in general, but if Snow White had been professional and reverent toward the original, most people with little kids would have probably given it a try.

Gadot isn’t blameless (she willingly entered into the clown show), but she’s a small fraction of the actual problem.

You have no proof of a single one of your claims. I don't know who you expect to convince with your vibes-based argument.

Same for your argument. Completely speculative. At least my opinion is based in common sense and facts. The number parents interested in Snow White with small kids who would be offended by a pro-Israeli actress in the U.S. is going to be a REALLY small number of people. The vast majority of people in the U.S. support Israel, so the number of parents (who tend to be less radical) are going to be even more pro Israel.

But we’re getting off track. The point of this is the movie is a flop. Disney made massive mistakes. Will they learn and not do this again? We’ll see.

[WeeVikes]

It is sort of inevitable that fairy tales, which represent trad/archaic gender roles, have a tough sell being re-packaged - hew to the old, you are trying to re-foist a patrimony, add modern feminist gender roles, much of the charm of the originals, for many, is lost in ensuring the 'empowerment', which often is expressed as turning the mensfolk into some manner of stooges - even the 'heroes'.

My sense is that for many of us, neither approach is satisfying - on the one side, anachronism, on the other, stridency/tendentiousness.

Life got (more) complicated. Much of it is only semi-digested.

I think the key is, especially when it’s a classic, to do it respectfully. It’s ok to add to it modern elements. But, this one went out of its way to essentially trash the original. When the actress playing Snow White is the main culprit in interviews, etc throwing shade at the original, that is just not going to play well with the public.

Sure there are those out there who don’t care. But as we’re seeing at the box office, a movie that could have been an absolute hit has been a dud. This should be a lesson to Disney, and anyone making this kind of movie. Something is beloved for a reason. Stick to what worked the 1st time.

You're whining like a baby. Snow White has been irrelevant for at least an entire generation at this point... "fans" of the dumb story which is not even really a feature-length film should be thrilled just that people are talking about it at all.

Don’t get me wrong. I think Snow White sucks, even the original. But it definitely is not irrelevant. If it were, then why would Disney spend hundreds of mil to reboot this in the first place? People have heard of Snow White. It is an iconic animated movie. Mirror mirror on the wall, come on, how many times do people reference that line? Same with hi ho, hi ho.

The actress really screwed up and apparently Disney is (upset) at her. I don’t really care to share the links, but her little press tour (bleep) everything up and the movie has been doing terribly at the box office. People don’t like to be preached to. Especially over a story about dwarfs, mirrors and apples.

Most of what I can say in my defense will likely get this thread locked.

Just gonna point out that if you're only blaming one of the two leads, and not the one who routinely speaks out in defense of genocide and even sparked a modest boycott over the film (BDS), you may not be considering all the factors.

As far as relevance I think we just have different definitions. But Disney spending millions on something isn't evidence for that thing being relevant. Otherwise all of the Marvel and Star Wars shows wouldn't have been notorious duds. Their honchos aren't infallible and their tactic of squeezing every last drop out of their cash cows is bound to fail eventually.

Gadot supporting Israel has nothing to do with this movie flopping. The number of people who’d boycott a Snow White Disney movie over that is minuscule. The majority of ire over this movie is because Snow White herself was a loose canon big mouth who trashed the original movie while promoting the new one. Can’t do that. Disney didn’t help matters in general, but if Snow White had been professional and reverent toward the original, most people with little kids would have probably given it a try.

Gadot isn’t blameless (she willingly entered into the clown show), but she’s a small fraction of the actual problem.

You have no proof of a single one of your claims. I don't know who you expect to convince with your vibes-based argument.

Same for your argument. Completely speculative. At least my opinion is based in common sense and facts. The number parents interested in Snow White with small kids who would be offended by a pro-Israeli actress in the U.S. is going to be a REALLY small number of people. The vast majority of people in the U.S. support Israel, so the number of parents (who tend to be less radical) are going to be even more pro Israel.

But we’re getting off track. The point of this is the movie is a flop. Disney made massive mistakes. Will they learn and not do this again? We’ll see.

May I weigh in?

As for me and my wife, all we were looking for was a movie we could enjoy with our 4 year old granddaughter. We both grew up with Snow White. We wanted to share that with her. We couldn’t care less about the actress’s politics or if they tweaked the story here and there. The only question that mattered was would the little one enjoy herself? She did. Mission accomplished.

[Armchair QB]

It is sort of inevitable that fairy tales, which represent trad/archaic gender roles, have a tough sell being re-packaged - hew to the old, you are trying to re-foist a patrimony, add modern feminist gender roles, much of the charm of the originals, for many, is lost in ensuring the 'empowerment', which often is expressed as turning the mensfolk into some manner of stooges - even the 'heroes'.

My sense is that for many of us, neither approach is satisfying - on the one side, anachronism, on the other, stridency/tendentiousness.

Life got (more) complicated. Much of it is only semi-digested.

I think the key is, especially when it’s a classic, to do it respectfully. It’s ok to add to it modern elements. But, this one went out of its way to essentially trash the original. When the actress playing Snow White is the main culprit in interviews, etc throwing shade at the original, that is just not going to play well with the public.

Sure there are those out there who don’t care. But as we’re seeing at the box office, a movie that could have been an absolute hit has been a dud. This should be a lesson to Disney, and anyone making this kind of movie. Something is beloved for a reason. Stick to what worked the 1st time.

You're whining like a baby. Snow White has been irrelevant for at least an entire generation at this point... "fans" of the dumb story which is not even really a feature-length film should be thrilled just that people are talking about it at all.

Don’t get me wrong. I think Snow White sucks, even the original. But it definitely is not irrelevant. If it were, then why would Disney spend hundreds of mil to reboot this in the first place? People have heard of Snow White. It is an iconic animated movie. Mirror mirror on the wall, come on, how many times do people reference that line? Same with hi ho, hi ho.

The actress really screwed up and apparently Disney is (upset) at her. I don’t really care to share the links, but her little press tour (bleep) everything up and the movie has been doing terribly at the box office. People don’t like to be preached to. Especially over a story about dwarfs, mirrors and apples.

Most of what I can say in my defense will likely get this thread locked.

Just gonna point out that if you're only blaming one of the two leads, and not the one who routinely speaks out in defense of genocide and even sparked a modest boycott over the film (BDS), you may not be considering all the factors.

As far as relevance I think we just have different definitions. But Disney spending millions on something isn't evidence for that thing being relevant. Otherwise all of the Marvel and Star Wars shows wouldn't have been notorious duds. Their honchos aren't infallible and their tactic of squeezing every last drop out of their cash cows is bound to fail eventually.

Gadot supporting Israel has nothing to do with this movie flopping. The number of people who’d boycott a Snow White Disney movie over that is minuscule. The majority of ire over this movie is because Snow White herself was a loose canon big mouth who trashed the original movie while promoting the new one. Can’t do that. Disney didn’t help matters in general, but if Snow White had been professional and reverent toward the original, most people with little kids would have probably given it a try.

Gadot isn’t blameless (she willingly entered into the clown show), but she’s a small fraction of the actual problem.

You have no proof of a single one of your claims. I don't know who you expect to convince with your vibes-based argument.

Same for your argument. Completely speculative. At least my opinion is based in common sense and facts. The number parents interested in Snow White with small kids who would be offended by a pro-Israeli actress in the U.S. is going to be a REALLY small number of people. The vast majority of people in the U.S. support Israel, so the number of parents (who tend to be less radical) are going to be even more pro Israel.

But we’re getting off track. The point of this is the movie is a flop. Disney made massive mistakes. Will they learn and not do this again? We’ll see.

May I weigh in?

As for me and my wife, all we were looking for was a movie we could enjoy with our 4 year old granddaughter. We both grew up with Snow White. We wanted to share that with her. We couldn’t care less about the actress’s politics or if they tweaked the story here and there. The only question that mattered was would the little one enjoy herself? She did. Mission accomplished.

And that is why the movie is still making some money. Happy you and your family had a great time, and happy your granddaughter enjoyed it. That’s the great thing about kids that age. Often it’s the spectacle that gets their attention and I’m sure there is a lot of that in the movie.

[WeeVikes]

It is sort of inevitable that fairy tales, which represent trad/archaic gender roles, have a tough sell being re-packaged - hew to the old, you are trying to re-foist a patrimony, add modern feminist gender roles, much of the charm of the originals, for many, is lost in ensuring the 'empowerment', which often is expressed as turning the mensfolk into some manner of stooges - even the 'heroes'.

My sense is that for many of us, neither approach is satisfying - on the one side, anachronism, on the other, stridency/tendentiousness.

Life got (more) complicated. Much of it is only semi-digested.

I think the key is, especially when it’s a classic, to do it respectfully. It’s ok to add to it modern elements. But, this one went out of its way to essentially trash the original. When the actress playing Snow White is the main culprit in interviews, etc throwing shade at the original, that is just not going to play well with the public.

Sure there are those out there who don’t care. But as we’re seeing at the box office, a movie that could have been an absolute hit has been a dud. This should be a lesson to Disney, and anyone making this kind of movie. Something is beloved for a reason. Stick to what worked the 1st time.

You're whining like a baby. Snow White has been irrelevant for at least an entire generation at this point... "fans" of the dumb story which is not even really a feature-length film should be thrilled just that people are talking about it at all.

Don’t get me wrong. I think Snow White sucks, even the original. But it definitely is not irrelevant. If it were, then why would Disney spend hundreds of mil to reboot this in the first place? People have heard of Snow White. It is an iconic animated movie. Mirror mirror on the wall, come on, how many times do people reference that line? Same with hi ho, hi ho.

The actress really screwed up and apparently Disney is (upset) at her. I don’t really care to share the links, but her little press tour (bleep) everything up and the movie has been doing terribly at the box office. People don’t like to be preached to. Especially over a story about dwarfs, mirrors and apples.

Most of what I can say in my defense will likely get this thread locked.

Just gonna point out that if you're only blaming one of the two leads, and not the one who routinely speaks out in defense of genocide and even sparked a modest boycott over the film (BDS), you may not be considering all the factors.

As far as relevance I think we just have different definitions. But Disney spending millions on something isn't evidence for that thing being relevant. Otherwise all of the Marvel and Star Wars shows wouldn't have been notorious duds. Their honchos aren't infallible and their tactic of squeezing every last drop out of their cash cows is bound to fail eventually.

Gadot supporting Israel has nothing to do with this movie flopping. The number of people who’d boycott a Snow White Disney movie over that is minuscule. The majority of ire over this movie is because Snow White herself was a loose canon big mouth who trashed the original movie while promoting the new one. Can’t do that. Disney didn’t help matters in general, but if Snow White had been professional and reverent toward the original, most people with little kids would have probably given it a try.

Gadot isn’t blameless (she willingly entered into the clown show), but she’s a small fraction of the actual problem.

You have no proof of a single one of your claims. I don't know who you expect to convince with your vibes-based argument.

Same for your argument. Completely speculative. At least my opinion is based in common sense and facts. The number parents interested in Snow White with small kids who would be offended by a pro-Israeli actress in the U.S. is going to be a REALLY small number of people. The vast majority of people in the U.S. support Israel, so the number of parents (who tend to be less radical) are going to be even more pro Israel.

But we’re getting off track. The point of this is the movie is a flop. Disney made massive mistakes. Will they learn and not do this again? We’ll see.

May I weigh in?

As for me and my wife, all we were looking for was a movie we could enjoy with our 4 year old granddaughter. We both grew up with Snow White. We wanted to share that with her. We couldn’t care less about the actress’s politics or if they tweaked the story here and there. The only question that mattered was would the little one enjoy herself? She did. Mission accomplished.

And that is why the movie is still making some money. Happy you and your family had a great time, and happy your granddaughter enjoyed it. That’s the great thing about kids that age. Often it’s the spectacle that gets their attention and I’m sure there is a lot of that in the movie.

Thanks, AQB. Sometimes a movie’s just a movie.

[MikoTython]

Good to get a reality check. A kid actually liked the movie. Nice to know.

Vikes (are you from Normandy ?), did you find it entertaining, was there a tedious 'woke'ness to it ? How did it strike you ?

[WeeVikes]

Good to get a reality check. A kid actually liked the movie. Nice to know.

Vikes (are you from Normandy ?), did you find it entertaining, was there a tedious 'woke'ness to it ? How did it strike you ?

No, I’m from Miamisburg, OH. The HS is the Vikings and the youth football team I coached for 9 years were the “Wee Vikes”. That was tha handle I used on football coaching discussion boards, and I joined this place about the time, so I used the same handle so as not to confuse myself!

Yes, I found the movie entertaining. While the plot in places was updated a little for “modern sensibilities”, (i.e. giving Snow White more agency than in the original fairy tale), I didn’t find it obnoxiously so. (And I have no use for “woke”.) The dwarves weren’t just straight-up little people — they had some magical powers relative to their job mining gems, but it was mentioned once and not again, and I can’t really remember what it was. It was that unimportant. For the most part they were like the dwarves you might remember. Gal Gadot chewed scenery when she was on screen, but c’mon, she’s “ The Evil Stepmother”! I EXPECTED her to play it broadly! I like her from “Wonder Woman”, so I was good with her. And she scared the heck out of the granddaughter, so she did her job!

I thought Rachel Ziegler was fine as Snow White. She has a nice singing voice. I’m guessing she was chosen before the script was finished and the rest of the movie was cast. They explain why a “non-porcelain” girl was named “Snow White”, and they cast parents with dark hair and “non-porcelain” completion for the genetics to line up. Is it like the fairy tale? No. Did it make a difference in the story? Absolutely not. Was it a mistake on Disney’s part? Maybe, but the 4 year-old didn’t care. The main story points were followed, she was still revived by a kiss from the main guy, (not her rescuing HIM with a kiss!) and in the end everyone lived happily ever after.

It’s unfortunate all the side show happened. Clearly that really hurt it. Is it as good as the original? No. Is it a perfect movie? No. Does it deserve a 1.6 rating on IMDB? Absolutely not! I’ve seen many, many movies that were much worse. In my mind it’s a hatchet job. It’s a harmless movie for kids. That’s it.