In 2025, Disney will adapt another of its cult cartoons. After Dumbo, Le Roi Lion, Pinocchio, Aladin or even The Little Mermaidthe turn ofe Snow White to come under the effect of real shots. But like Rob Marshall’s film with young Halle Bailey, the next Disney faces a big controversy: the choice to represent the heroine with a skin color different from the original. Lead actress Rachel Zegler once again tries to put out the fire.
The question of skin color at the center of the Snow White remake
When the big-eared firm reveals that the young Rachel Zegler (revealed in the remake of West Side Story by Steven Spielberg) will play the lead role in the remake of Snow White, some have accused Disney of racebending (action of giving a role of a white character to an actor or actress of color). According to them, the studios are not doing justice to the original 1937 cartoon, which presented their heroine with a very white complexion, and which corresponded to the standard of beauty of the 1930s, an animated film itself adapted from the tale of the Brothers Grimm from beginning of the 19th century.
But we are in 2024. Rachel Zegler has come to the rescue of the project several times. She affirmed this summer that the original work was “dated”notably arousing the anger of David Hand, designer for Disney in the 1990s. While pitchforks are still brandished by the many detractors, the American actress of Colombian origin returned to set things straight at the microphone of Variety.
Rachel Zegler returns to defend her character
“We went back to another version of Snow White that was being told at the time, in which she survives a snowstorm as a baby. […] The king and queen therefore decide to call her Snow White to remind her of her tenacity. One of the main messages of our film to young women and young people is to remember how strong they are.”
The actress therefore recalls the original meaning of the name Snow White, which does not refer to his skin color, but to a particular event. A name which echoes the pugnacity of the young woman, and serves as an argument for Disney to serve a more feminist version, more anchored in our times. In any case, this is what Rachel Zegler seems to imply.
For its part, Disney previously defended itself by arguing that the choice to cast Rachel Zegler was due to its “extraordinary vocal qualities”thati “are only the first of his many gifts.” To give weight to its argument, the firm unveiled a first trailer during D23, its convention which takes place every two years, and which focuses on the vocal abilities of its young 23-year-old actress. Enough to put out the fire that started three years ago now? Not reallyjudging by the number of dislkies that said trailer generated.
