I’m going to be honest. I’ve yet to see the live-action Snow White. Not because of any political agendas or takes or anything; it just looks terrible, and I was in Chicago for most of last week watching basketball from various Illinois bars.
I haven’t enjoyed a single one of the Disney live-action movies, whether it’s the Tim Burton Alice in Wonderlands, Maleficient or last year’s abysmal Mufasa: The Lion King. I guess if I had to pick one of the crop, I’d go with Cruella, but even that is a bland retread of the 101 Dalmations story mixed with The Devil Wears Prada and Anna Wintour's backroom dealings. These movies are souless, purely made to amp up the brand and frankly look like shit. I could go on and on about these films being pure nostalgia plays to the lack of any creative vision to the emphasis on the bottom line over art, and, oh, look. I went on and on.
It finally seems like the rest of the world is on my side here, as the new Snow White is bombing at the box office: $87 million in its opening weekend globally, with just $43 million domestically, according to Forbes. The movie reportedly cost over $200 million to make, so it’ll probably just about break even and then disappear from the universe forever.
As I said, I can’t yet comment on if the new Snow White is good or not (it’s not), but here’s a selection of reviews from people I trust:
Zegler does her best to straddle the old and new versions of Snow White, wearing the iconic dress with the turned-up collar, yellow skirt, and blue bodice, showing some spirit and singing sweetly. —RogerEbert.com
Zegler, on the other hand, digs great, soulful depths, crafting a version of Snow White who retains the graceful motions of her animated counterpart, but with a renewed sense of bravery. Few of Disney’s live-action remakes have been worthwhile, but by centering the fight for kindness in the face of adversity, Snow White channels the very best of them. —IGN
It would be irresponsible to review Snow White without acknowledging how Disney has consistently failed Rachel Zegler and her peers, especially because despite how drab the film is, she still anchors it with a genuine powerhouse performance. —DiscussingFilm
Now, all of these reviews, whether they’re pans or middling, go out of their way to praise Zegler in this less-than-stellar movie. Which makes sense! She’s great.
At just 23 years old, Zegler has won a Golden Globe for her incredible work in Steven Spielberg’s revamped West Side Story, was great as an anchor in The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes and was a sparkplug in the updated Romeo & Juliet on Broadway. Her voice is nuts, online or in person. She also pops up on Blank Check and The George Lucas Talk Show, so she has a fan for life:
Anyway, the reason I’m giving you all of this background is that Disney and mouthpieces at Variety are attempting to throw Zegler under the bus for Snow White’s flop.
On Aug. 12, 2024, three days after Rachel Zegler hit the stage at Disney’s D23 fan event to introduce the first official trailer of “Snow White,” she thanked supporters effusively in an X post for driving the teaser to 120 million views in 24 hours. One minute later, she added an afterthought in the same thread: “and always remember, free palestine.”
That addendum, which amassed 8.8 million views, nearly four times the number for the initial post, quickly made the rounds, with many inside the studio expressing shock that the “Snow White” star would commingle the promotion of its $270 million tentpole with any kind of political statement. A Disney executive raised the studio’s concerns with Zegler’s team, while the film’s producer Marc Platt flew to New York to speak directly with her. But the actress, whose relationship with the studio began to unravel in 2022 during a contentious “West Side Story” awards season campaign and continued as she trashed the beloved original “Snow White,” stood her ground, and the post remained. Behind the scenes, death threats toward Zegler’s co-star Gal Gadot, who is Israeli, spiked, and Disney had to pay for additional security for the mother of four.
Marc Platt, of course, is a big-time producer—also Ben Platt’s father—and a 67-year-old white man flying over to meet with a fledgling Colombian star to admonish her over her political reviews. She also posted, “fuck Donald Trump,” which … I mean, fair. The optics are crazy, and it’s even more insane that this writer assumed this would make her readers turn against Zegler.
The story also alleges that Zegler is a diva because … she wanted to go to the Oscars after being the lead in the Oscar-nominated West Side Story?
Zegler had already strained nerves at both the studio and Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Partners when she complained on social media that she wasn’t invited to the 2022 Oscars as the star of best picture nominee “West Side Story,” a film distributed by Disney. Sources say she had just begun production on “Snow White” in London and Sean Bailey, then-president of Walt Disney Studios Motion Picture Production, declined to cut her loose for the telecast. After Zegler aired her grievances publicly, the Academy provided her with a ticket even though she wasn’t nominated.
So, here’s what Zegler actually said:
I mean, this isn’t a complaint from Zegler as much as it’s a spotlight on a mistake from the studios failing to promote what they had in the always-online Zegler fanbase and the star of an Academy Award favorite. Like, of course, she should be at the Oscars. What are we doing here? Do you really want to send Ansel Elgort?
Claiming that she shouldn’t have gone when she “wasn’t nominated” is absurd. A lot of people go that aren’t nominated. It’s the Oscars. Get your stars on the carpet, promote your movies. How is everyone so fucking stupid?
The “death threats” toward Gadot are also laughable, a former IDF soldier who’s made it pretty clear where her views lie. I don’t think an early 20-something opposing genocide is leading to any threats on Gadot’s life.
In fact, Zegler has been attacked online consistently by vitriolic hate groups ever since her West Side Story casting. The article goes out of its way to frame her as the villain when she is clearly the one with her head on straight, surrounded by suits terrified to alienate a single person.
We should also note that Zegler was being attacked regarding Snow White before the movie even came out after she said that the original was “dated,” “weird” and centered on a “guy who literally stalks her.” Correct on all counts there. The fanbase attacked, claiming that she “wasn’t white enough” to play the titular character and that she wasn’t respecting what came before her. A friend (she knows who she is) pointed out that Emma Watson and Lily James had similar takes on their princesses (Belle and Cinderella, respectively) but didn’t get anywhere close to the Zegler level of vitriol. There’s a white reason for why that is…
Back to today: Things got even weirder the Variety piece when Marc Platt’s son (not Ben, the other one) Jonah—host of the Being Jewish podcast—went after Zegler online for making his father … leave his family for a few days?
“Yeah, my dad, the producer of enormous piece of Disney IP with hundreds of millions of dollars on the line, had to leave his family to to fly across the country to reprimand his 20 year old employee for dragging her personal politics into the middle of promoting the movie for which she signed a multi-million dollar contract to get paid and do publicity for. This is called adult responsibility and accountability. And her actions clearly hurt the film’s box office.
Free speech does not meant you’re allowed to say whatever you want in your private employment without repercussions. Tens of thousands of people worked on that film and she hijacked the conversation for her own immature desires at the risk of all the colleagues and crew and blue collar workers who depend on that movie to be successful. Narcissism is not something to be coddled or encouraged.”
Aww, who had “to leave his family to fly across the country” to yell at a 23-year-old woman speaking her mind? Ben and Jonah are 31 and 38, respectively; I think they can survive one night without their dad tucking them in.
Also, trying to get the general public to take the side of a “producer of enormous piece of Disney IP” is, umm, a bold choice and going about as well as one could guess.
In summation, Zegler good, Snow White (probably) bad, hit piece insane.
Zegler is already booked and busy, set to star in Evita at The London Palladium, so I’m hoping she’ll be just fine. She may not be in any Disney live-action remakes coming soon, but that’s for the best. She’s talented. Someone with a real vision will have her in a starring role before long.
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