Live action remake of classic "Snow White" falls flat

Xareny Guzan (10) watches the “Snow White” trailer two weeks after the movie was released. Photo credit: Allison Romero

One of the lowest-rated films in IMDb history with a rating of 1.6 out of ten stars, the Snow-White life action remake was released in theaters on March 21, 2025. Since it was first announced, there have been many controversies about the movie. Many fans of the original 1937 “Snow White” are upset about how much the directors changed this iconic story for a live action that no one asked for. So far, the film has grossed around $194 million, which isn't much compared to the $270 million it cost to produce. 

In this remake, Snow White grows up in a society where everyone shares with each other and tends to the land until both the queen and king die and the evil stepmom takes control over the kingdom. After Snow White meets a bandit, Jonathan, who is supposedly the prince from the original movie, she saves him from the evil queen. The queen, after realizing that Snow White is the fairest of them all, sends a huntsman after her heart. The huntsman spares her, and she goes off to the woods where she finds the home of the seven dwarfs. After she meets the dwarfs, Snow White goes out to the woods and saves Jonathan, and his group of bandits from the evil queen’s army. She convinces the dwarfs and the bandits to help her overthrow the evil queen, which is how the movie ends.  

“I kinda lost what the whole point was. [They could improve] on new actors and they need to work on the plot,” said Miguel Olgin (10), a student who watched the movie and rated it a 1/5. 

“When you watch the original Snow White, she is a sweet, kind princess who goes around making sure everyone is happy, and she is more of like a lover. In the live action, she really took away from that,” Breigh Ragsdale (11) said.  

The biggest criticism the film received is how they changed the character of Snow White from a sweet, gentle, and delicate girl to a role model. The original Snow White is known for her soft voice and her dreams about true love which is completely the opposite message Rachel Zegler portraits in the remake. This 2025 version of Snow White doesn't dream about true love. Instead, she dreams about becoming a leader. The new Snow White is focused on being a role model and not following feminine standards. Although this is a good message, it changes the whole persona of Snow White. “When you watch the original Snow White, she is a sweet, kind princess who goes around making sure everyone is happy, and she is more of like a lover. In the live action, she really took away from that,” Breigh Ragsdale (11), a student who watched the movie and also rated it a 1/5, said.  

The other characters, apart from Snow White and some of the dwarfs, were very forgettable. Gal Gadot, as the evil queen, didn’t offer much with her acting. Many viewers complained about the lack of intimidation or intensity the evil queen should have. Jonathan, Snow White’s love interest was a good actor, but he didn’t get much screen time. I would have liked more interactions that developed their affection, since even their first kiss got interrupted. They did try to go deeper with some of the dwarfs, but they left out Grumpy and Sleepy, both of whom deserved more attention.  

Overall, the movie plot was slow and unnecessarily long. There were too many songs within the movie, like “All is Fair” or “The Silly Song” that didn’t feel relevant. The fact that Snow White was very powerful and stood up against the queen from the beginning didn’t leave a lot of space for her character development. 

 “I've heard that the movie is very different from the original and it doesn’t interest m,.” Miriam Arias (10), a student who didn’t watch the movie said.  Arias’ sentiments seem to mirror that of the public and the result is a low-grossing adaptation and disappointed fans. 

The Snow White live action remake wasn’t as popular as Disney thought it would be. Smaller kids will enjoy the colorful CGI animals and dwarfs, but if you are a fan of the original “Snow White”, this movie may not be for you.