Mirror, mirror on the wall, who would have thought people would like Snow White after all?
Early reactions to Disney’s Snow White are rolling in, and to everyone’s amazement, the response seems to be positive overall—a shocking result, considering the controversies that plagued the film almost from the start of production.
First, Disney faced backlash after casting Rachel Zegler, a Latina actress, as Snow White, angering far-right racists who took issue with her portrayal as the “fairest of them all.”
Then, Game of Thrones star Peter Dinklage condemned the film for perpetuating harmful stereotypes about little people. Next, Zegler reignited backlash by calling the original animated film “outdated” and making pointed remarks about Trump and his supporters. Meanwhile, Gal Gadot, an Israeli actress who plays the Evil Queen, has been a lightning rod for her views on the Israel-Hamas war.
And the list goes on.
The mounting controversies led Disney to scale back the film’s promotion, keeping premieres private and limiting press access in the lead-up to its release on Mar. 21, further fueling speculation that the studio had lost faith in the film. It almost seemed as though Disney was hoping to fly under the radar of its harshest critics.
However, despite the odds, Snow White is defying expectations.
Official reviews are embargoed until later this week, but the social embargo has lifted and the people who have seen it have been surprisingly positive about the film—in often cases surprising themselves.
Christopher Mills from Christopher Rates It called it one of Disney’s best live-action remakes in years, writing, “Snow White not only recaptures the magic of the 1937 classic... and Rachel Zegler delivers a magical performance.”
Katcy Stephan from Variety hailed Zegler’s performance as the “shining supernova” of the film, describing it as a “visual feast” with “show-stopping new musical numbers.” ScreenRant’s Ash Crossan was equally impressed, calling the film “charming.”
The reactions were overwhelmingly in the thumbs up category:
Interestingly, mentions of Gadot are as absent in reviews as the actress has been on the press tour, with very few mentioning Gadot by name, and if they do, she’s quickly glossed over.
Matt DeGroot from Crooked Media complimented Zegler on her performance as Snow White, while only stating that “Gadot had beautiful gowns,” while Paul Klein from FILMHOUNDS Magazine said Gadot was “fun.”
It’s worth noting that early reactions to studio movies tend to be from friendly audiences, and critics won’t weigh in officially until later this week. Either way, the response to film is looking positive, which means maybe Snow White isn’t such a poisoned apple for Disney after all.
