Snow White (2025 Film)

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About

Snow White is a 2025 American musical fantasy film based on the 1937 animated Disney movie Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, itself based on the 1812 fairy tale Snow White by the Brothers Grimm. The film stars American actress Rachel Zegler in the titular role and Israeli actress Gal Gadot as the Evil Queen. The production of the movie has been described as turbulent as it was hindered by delays, reshoots and a number of controversies related to both Zegler and Gadot, as well as the portrayal of the dwarfs. The film has been a subject of online discussions since July 2023 and through its release in March 2025, which involved backlash from the right over Zegler, who is of mixed ethnicity, being cast as Snow White, and from the left over Gal Gadot's position on the Israel-Hamas conflict.

History

On October 31st, 2016, The Hollywood Reporter^[1] reported that Walt Disney Pictures was developing a live-action adaptation of Snow White. Filming was initially scheduled for March 2020 but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In June 2021, Rachel Zegler was cast in the titular role, with Gal Gadot joining the cast as the Evil Queen in November of that year.

At the 2022 D23 Expo in September 2022, Disney unveiled the first-look teaser for the film with plans for a 2024 release.^[2] The production of the film experienced more delays due to the 2023 Writers Guild of America and Screen Actors Guild Strike and required additional reshoots in 2024. In October 2023, Disney delayed the release by a full year to March 2025.

On December 3rd, 2024, the official trailer for Snow White premiered on YouTube^[3] and other sites. The trailer (shown below) garnered over 15 million views, 67,000 likes and 112,000 comments on YouTube in four months. Using the Return YouTube Dislike extension in a browser, the trailer notably received more than 2 million dislikes in the same timeframe, though the number is an estimate and not exact.

On March 21st, 2025, Snow White premiered in the United States.^[4]

Controversies

Production of the film and its premiere window were accompanied by a number of controversies, including controversy over casting Rachel Zegler, who is of Polish-Columbian descent, as Snow White, the portrayal of the dwarfs and the decision to use CGI effects,^[11] Zegler's anti-Trump comments and vocal support of Palestine^[13] and Gal Gadot's pro-Israel stance in the Israel-Hamas conflict.^[12] The film also drew criticism for being a deconstruction of the original story rather than a faithful adaptation, focusing on Snow White's personal development rather than being a love story.

Rachel Zegler Snow White Casting Controversy

Rachel Zegler Snow White Casting Controversy refers to the backlash from various actions and comments in interviews from Rachel Zegler while promoting the upcoming Disney live-action remake of Snow White. The controversy revolves around the actress's contentious statements and the perception that she does not like the original animated film, with the remake being a deconstruction of it.

Rachel Zegler's "Free Palestine" Tweet Controversy

Rachel Zegler's "Free Palestine" Tweet Controversy refers to the backlash and discussions surrounding the "Free Palestine" tweet by the actress Rachel Zegler at the end of a post thanking fans for watching the live-action Snow White trailer in August 2024. The controversy resurfaced shortly after the film premiered in theaters in mid-March 2025, especially after a Variety article claimed a Disney executive flew to New York to speak directly with her about the post, raising discussions about her animosity toward co-star Gal Gadot and her pro-Israel political stances. The subject also inspired jokes and memes on Twitter / X, TikTok and Reddit from both supporters and critics of the actress.

Reception

Upon release, the film received mixed reviews from critics and mostly negative reviews from audiences. As of March 26th, 2025, on Metacritic,^[5] the film held a 50 critic score average with nearly 50 reviews and a 1.2 user score based on over 900 ratings. On Rotten Tomatoes,^[6] the film had a 42 percent critics rating with over 210 reviews and a 74 percent rating from verified users. On IMDb,^[7] the film had a 1.7 rating with over 145,000 user reviews.

The film underperformed in the box office, debuting to $42.2 million in its opening weekend.^[14]

Online Reactions

Upon its release, the film became a prominent subject of debates and memes online, with users sharing their reactions to the film and discussing related controversies in late March 2025.

Screenshots of the film's low IMDb rating went viral online as they were reposted to social media. For example, on March 25th, 2025, X^[8] user @kirawontmiss shared the screenshot with the caption, "1.8 rating??? it can’t possibly be this bad 😭," with the post (shown below) gaining over 1,000 reposts and 43,000 likes in one day.

On March 21st, 2025, X^[9] user @mask_bastard posted a Let's Fight Somewhere Empty meme, hinting that the film is likely to flop. The post (shown below) gained over 220 reposts and 2,600 likes in five days.

A doctored screenshot of a fake article titled "Disney Confirms Russian Troll Farms at Heart of Bad Snow White Opening Weekend" was widely circulated online following the film's premiere, inspiring memes and references.

For example, on March 25th, 2025, X^[10] user @Rothmus shared a screenshot of a 4chan thread in which the image was posted, with their post (shown below) gaining over 570 reposts and 12,000 likes in one day.