Woke or Wonderful? The Snow White Remake

A Questionable Twist on a Classic Tale

By Joanne Seward, Literacy Chair

Hollywood continues its trend of remaking classic films, this time with a reimagining of Snow White, which was released in March and currently showing in theaters nationwide.

Aimed at younger audiences, the movie runs 1 hour and 49 minutes and stays pretty true to the original Grimm Brothers folktale written in 1812. Rachel Zegler stars as Snow White, Gal Gadot as the Evil Queen and Andrew Burnap as the Prince. The seven dwarfs are portrayed through CGI (Computer Generated Imagery) voiced by various actors. The Prince, unlike the original, appears in casual attire rather than in regal clothing.  

The story follows Snow White, in which her evil stepmother, envious of her beauty, makes attempts to kill her. Snow White, made aware of this, manages to escape. She finds refuge with seven little miners living in the remote forest. She is also befriended by a commoner named Jonathan who is a leader of a rogue group of bandits and not a prince. Unlike the original, at the end of the movie, Snow White is seen, dressed all in white, dancing in the town square with the villagers.

The film has sparked controversy on some fronts. Zegler's casting drew criticism due to her Latino background, born from Caucasian parents in the movie, clashing with her namesake "skin white as snow."  This prompted some racist leanings and comments in the public square. Additionally, the dwarf community expressed frustration over being replaced with CGI characters feeling excluded from roles they would have preferred to play themselves. 

Conservative groups also took issue with what they perceived as " woke " elements in the storyline. While others see this as a positive step toward inclusiveness and social awareness, others see it as an obvious departure from tradition. These remakes from the entertainment industry may reflect a broader shift in how classic stories and traditional folklore are being adapted to fit and align with more modern cultural, social, political and controversial themes of the day. Whether this enhances or detracts from the original story is up to the viewer.

Next up is King of Kings currently showing. Stay tuned!