Disney's Snow White: Has the fairy tale already gone sour?

Hot on the trail of a string of Disney live action remakes, the famous film company's new version of 1937 classic Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, set for release next year, has stirred controversy on social media.

While debate about Disney's reboots is nothing new, the backlash over the new Snow White (note the dwarfs have been dropped from the title) has been particularly vociferous from some quarters.

Much of the furore - which has had some TikTokers up in arms - has been building in recent weeks after interviews with Rachel Zegler, who plays the new Snow White, resurfaced online.

The critics were out in force before that, though, following Disney's announcement in 2021 that the Latina star had landed the title role.

Zegler was subject to racist trolling on social media, and the ugly debate has continued to bubble ever since, with Zegler addressing the issue on X (formerly Twitter) last month.

"Extremely appreciative of the love I feel from those defending me online, but please don't tag me in the nonsensical discourse about my casting. I really, truly do not want to see it," she wrote.

Halle Bailey was also subject to similar abuse when she was cast in The Little Mermaid.

Dr Robyn Muir, a media and communications lecturer at Surrey University, says the racism is "very difficult" to stomach.

"I don't know why people have such an issue with it. People of colour did not see themselves as a Disney princess until Jasmine from Aladdin came out in 1992."

Zegler's comments about the original Snow White and the direction of the new version have stirred up the hornets' nest.

Various interviews have resurfaced in recent weeks. In one, Zegler said she found the original film scary and only watched it once.

She also pointed out that the original is "extremely dated when it comes to women being in roles of power", adding that the reimagined Snow White would learn to become "a fantastic leader".

Zegler has also suggested there will be no focus on the love story element, saying - perhaps jokingly - that the prince was "a stalker".

In a Variety interview last year, the West Side Story star said: "We absolutely wrote a Snow White that is not gonna be saved by the prince."

Zegler added: "She's not going to be saved by the prince and she's not going to be dreaming about true love."

This has upset some fans of the 1937 classic.

Brittany Eldridge, commentary editor for the International Journal of Disney Studies, explains: "People are looking for that exact character in the live action [remake].

"That's what they [Disney] did with Cinderella. And so that's what they're looking for again because Cinderella was almost a copy-and-paste job.

"I think it does have a lot to do with the nostalgia and wanting to relive the same experience that you originally lived when you went through it.

"[But] the whole point of fairy tales is to adapt and evolve and that's what we're seeing here with Disney."

While traditionalists may be dismayed by any apparent anti-Prince agenda, some have also taken issue with the suggestion that a heroine can't be a leader and also have a love interest.

In fact, a prince doesn't even appear to have been cast according to IMDB. Andrew Burnap plays the male lead called Jonathan, but little else is known about his character.

One TikTok user said women "no longer have to choose between a career and love, we can have both", pointing out that men in superhero films can have it all. "They get to save the day, have the career and save the girl... so why can't we have that?"

Another posted: "Just because a woman values something different, does not make her any less valuable."

Dr Muir, who has just published a book titled The Disney Princess: A Feminist Analysis, says: "Love and feminism are not mutually exclusive.

"But there doesn't always have to be a relationship in it. It's not the be-all and end-all. Think of the amount of war epics that don't include romance for any of the male titular characters."

She adds of Zegler's comments: "To just share your opinion on something and to receive such a significant amount of backlash... shows the wider issue of sexism that we still have in Hollywood."

Eldridge thinks the current polarised political situation in the US is fuelling these kinds of debates, especially when it comes to Disney.

It comes as Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is locked in a battle with Disney - one of the Sunshine State's biggest employers - stemming from a row over how issues of sexuality and gender identity are taught in schools.

"It's not the entirety of the United States that is part of of the anti-Disney thing. These are pockets that are getting put out on Fox News and getting attention," Eldridge tells the BBC.

There's also a debate over the fate of the seven dwarfs, after unofficial images emerged of what have now been billed as seven "magical creatures". They seem to feature only one person with dwarfism, which has divided the community.

Game of Thrones star Peter Dinklage previously said he found the idea of the remake featuring seven dwarfs as "backwards". Disney then came forward to say it was going to "avoid reinforcing stereotypes from the original animated film".

Dr Erin Pritchard, senior lecturer in disability and education at Liverpool Hope University, says she's "glad that they are now 'magical creatures' instead of dwarfs. My research shows that a lot of abuse people with dwarfism experience in society is influenced by Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs".

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was originally written by the Brothers Grimm, of course, in the early 19th Century.

Dr Pritchard, who is a consultant for Disney, adds: "How the dwarfs are portrayed in the animated classic differs significantly from the original Brothers Grimm version. They are infantilised and constructed as figures of fun, which were influenced by the freak show.

"I do think actors with dwarfism should be offered more positive true-to-life roles. There are talented actors, such as Peter Dinklage, Meredith Eaton and Mark Povinelli, who are more than capable of playing everyday roles."

Others have disagreed with Dinklage's take, saying it's costing actors with dwarfism jobs. TikToker Lil Gabi D agrees, saying that although the original film didn't have the best representation, "it still had little people in it" and they could be made "multi-dimensional".

We have another seven months to wait before we see Snow White on the big screen next March, and to be fair to Disney, we don't have much detail besides the cast's comments on the storyline.

But it doesn't look like Zegler will be hoping for her prince to come any time soon.

If you want to know more about the history of Disney princesses, BBC Radio 2 programme, Empowering Princesses, examines how they have evolved over the last 100 years.