The first reactions to Disney’s controversial live-action remake of Snow White have landed, praising the film and its lead actress Rachel Zegler as ‘enchanting’ and calling it one of the studio’s best re-imaginings in recent years.
Despite the movie attracting increasing backlash ahead of its release – with criticism focused on its casting, as well as CGI portrayal of the seven dwarfs, tweaks to the fairy tale’s story, and a pared-back premiere approach – the feedback so far has been largely positive.
And early viewers have even sounded somewhat surprised to be applauding the movie after the constant condemnation it’s received ahead of release.
Calling it ‘one of their strongest ever remakes’, Metro’s film reporter Tori Brazier praised Rachel Zegler as ‘an enchanting lead’ and added: ‘All the story tweaks work well for a modern audience and, after 88 years, it’s a reimagining that makes sense.
‘It’s not perfect – the songs are a little hit and miss and the CGI dwarfs rightfully remain a contentious issue.’
Meanwhile, Variety’s Katcy Stephan went further, calling 23-year-old Zegler ‘a shining supernova in #SnowWhite, beautifully embodying the graceful, gentle nature of the OG Disney princess’.
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‘It’s a visual feast with show-stopping new musical numbers and, of course, dozens of enchanting animated animals. The screenplay wisely gives its heroine newfound depth through her fervent desire to become the leader her father believed she could be, and a love story that’s sweet as apple pie.’
‘Listen, I was worried, but let me tell you Snow White is PURE DISNEY MAGIC!’ enthused Skyler Shuler of The DisInsider, referring to prior unease over the quality of the film given its long and rocky road to release.
‘This will end up being a lot of people’s favourite live-action remake,’ he added in a bold prediction.
ScreenRant interviewer Ash Crossan also described Snow White as ‘quite charming’ and Zegler as ‘stunning’ in her role.
‘It almost got a full tear out of me, and I’ve never cried in my entire life,’ she shared.
‘Despite becoming an internet punching bag Disney’s remake of Snow White is actually mostly successful!’ observed Crooked Media’s Matt DeGroot.
‘Rachel Zegler is an absolute star, (most of) the new songs are catchy and beautifully performed, and the visual palette is sumptuous and vibrant.’
‘I may regret saying this but #SnowWhite is solid. I really enjoyed the musical numbers, particularly the opening one and the Queen’s evil bop,’ tweeted Filmhounds’ Paul Klein, echoing the largely positive reactions.
‘Zegler was great in the lead role, and Gadot was fun. It’s really the CGI dwarves that let the film down. The choice is baffling.’
‘The biggest surprise of 2025 is that the most “controversial” and most hated film of the year is actually a decent live-action remake. #SnowWhite is not only one of their best live-action remakes in years, but it’s also a film that recaptures the magic of the 1937 movie,’ insisted online critic Christopher Rates It.
‘Rachel Zegler IS Snow White, and she delivers such a magical performance. The musical numbers are unforgettable, the visuals (not the uncanny dwarves) are enchanting, and Erin Cressida Wilson’s screenplay provides depth to this world that I didn’t know was needed.’
Zegler and Gal Gadot, who plays the Evil Queen, graced the red carpet together at the film’s Hollywood premiere on Saturday night, although they were spared speaking to any reporters after Disney avoided a traditional media line.
Ahead of the event, dwarf actors expressed their fury over Disney opting to use CGI characters, calling it ‘discriminating in a sense’ and claiming it was even ‘damaging’ their careers because Disney was ‘trying too hard to be politically correct’.
This followed Wicked actor Peter Dinklage – who has a common form of dwarfism known as achondroplasia – branding the story ‘backwards’.
The actor, 55, said he was ‘a little taken aback when they were very proud to cast a Latina actress as Snow White but you’re still telling the story of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs’.
‘Take a step back and look at what you’re doing there. It makes no sense to me,’ he added on the WTF with Marc Maron podcast in January 2022.
Zegler also faced more backlash after a series of flippant remarks she made at D23 in 2022, which made it clear she wasn’t a fan of the original story.
The 23-year-old (then 21) criticised the original film – released nearly 88 years ago, and based on the 1812 German fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm – as ‘dated’.
Zegler characterised the prince in Snow White as a ‘guy who literally stalks her’ in an interview with ExtraTV, calling it ‘weird’ repeatedly, while she also revealed in a separate interview with Variety that Snow White was ‘not going to be dreaming about true love’ anymore and rather ‘about becoming the leader she knows she can be and the leader that her late father told her that she could be if she was fearless, fair, brave, and true.’
The son of one of the 1937 film’s animators and supervising director, David Hand, also reacted poorly to Zegler’s remarks, seemingly horrified to hear of what may be sweeping changes to the original plot, saying Disney and his father would be ‘turning in their graves.’
Snow White’s release strategy has also been further complicated by politics with Israeli Wonder Woman star Gadot having publicly advocated for Israel over the years, while Zegler added a ‘free Palestine’ message to a tweet discussing the movie’s trailer – and was also forced to apologise after declaring that she hoped Trump supporters would ‘never know peace’ following the US President’s election victory in November.
Snow White is out in cinemas on Friday, March 21.
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