Few upcoming kids’ movies have sparked as much controversy as Disney’s live-action remake of Snow White. The film has faced backlash from the start, beginning with the casting of Rachel Zegler as Snow White and escalating when fans saw the entirely CGI Dwarfs. Now, thousands of viewers are voicing their frustration over a significant shift in the relationship between The beloved Disney heroine and the Seven Dwarfs. In the original 1937 animated film, Snow cleaned the dwarfs’ house out of kindness. However, new clips suggest that in the remake, the dwarfs are cleaning while the fairytale princess supervises, sparking heated debates among fans who feel this change undermines the heart of the classic story.
In the original Disney classic, the fairest of them all stumbles upon the dwarfs’ cottage after fleeing from the evil queen. Upon finding the house in disarray, she assumes orphaned children live there and decides to tidy it up as a motherly gesture. However, based on the footage revealed so far, in the upcoming live-action version, the princess’s role seems to have shifted from the caretaker to more of a supervisor, leading some fans to accuse the remake of stripping away the character’s compassion. X (formerly Twitter) users have been vocal about their displeasure. One widely shared post by @mynerdyhome encapsulates these feelings:
Snow White was led to the house because she needed a place to stay. But the reason she cleaned the house was because she thought orphaned children lived there, and felt bad they didn’t have a mother. So she would clean the house and surprise them.
To take this out and have the dwarfs clean their own house, with Snow White not even helping is a tragedy. It deprives her of the gentleness and caring aspect of her character 😞.
Fans have always admired the original Snow White for her innocence and selflessness, especially her willingness to help others without expecting anything in return. Her decision to clean the dwarfs’ home has been seen as a key aspect of her character, highlighting her nurturing and gentle nature. Some fans feel that by changing this dynamic in the remake, the film is undermining a fundamental part of who the bobbed-hair royal is.
One fan, @upstatefederlst, humorously pointed out the shift in work ethic between the two versions:
In the original, Snow White just cleans the house and cooks a meal. In 2024, we can’t have that, so she just makes the dwarves clean after they already spent a day in the mines.
Another Disney purist shared a side-by-side video comparing the two versions of the Whistle While You Work scene. Along with the video, @thatstarwarsgrl captioned:
Here I made a side by side comparison of the OG Snow White ‘Whistle While You Work’ song VS Disney’s new version with Rachel Zegeler…see if you can spot the glaring differences for an “updated modern audience.”
In the original clip, Snow assigns tasks to woodland creatures and takes up a broom herself, singing the line, “And I’ll use the broom.” In contrast, the new version shows the dwarfs doing the work, and Zegler hands the broom to a dwarf, singing, “and you’ll use the broom.” The dwarf, with a comedic twist, responds in disbelief, saying, “Me!?”
The debate highlights the ongoing tension between honoring classic Disney films and adapting them for modern audiences. While many appreciate efforts to update beloved stories, this particular change has clearly struck a nerve.
As the film’s release approaches, it’s clear that the debate surrounding Disney’s live-action reimaginings isn’t fading anytime soon. Whether this modern take on the classic animated film will win over audiences or invite more criticism remains uncertain. For now, however, the chorus of discontent from fans online only seems to be growing louder.
Snow White is scheduled to hit the 2025 movie release schedule and theaters on March 21, 2025. In the meantime, you can check out our list of upcoming Disney movies to see what the studio has planned for the rest of the 2024 movie schedule. If you’re feeling nostalgic, you can revisit the original animated classics with a Disney+ subscription.