Film critics have widely panned Disney’s Snow White remake as a ‘painfully muddle-headed affair’ that is ‘exhaustingly awful’.
And now Disney fans who have viewed the live action movie starring Rachel Zeigler and Gal Gadot as it hit big screens across the UK today have weighed in with their equally punchy verdicts.
Before it even hit cinemas, Disney’s £161million production was beset by issues, including dissension over the casting of Zegler in the titular role and alleged disagreements between cast members.
Traditionalists have called out the controversial updates Disney has made to its classic tale, including reimagining the Seven Dwarfs as a diverse group of ‘magical creatures’ of all heights, gender and race – and the replacement of Prince Charming with a commoner named Jonathan.
Some fans said the film was more a case of ‘off to woke we go’ than a feel-good flick with a happy ever after and that it ‘lacks soul’.
One scathingly said he would ‘probably never watch it again.’
Even the Daily Mail’s Brian Viner could only conjure up two out of five stars for the ‘pallid reimagining of the 1937 original’, which features ‘attempts to correct the perceived “crimes” of the original film.’
But some fans praised the ‘modern twist’ and ‘depth’ provided by the 21st century version.
MailOnline took to the streets of the capital today to ask fans if Snow White really is Disney’s ‘wokiest’ film of them all.
It’s off to Woke they go: Film critics widely panned Disney’s Snow White remake as a ‘painfully muddle-headed affair’ – and now fans have weighed in with their equally punchy verdicts
Traditionalists have called out the controversial updates Disney has made to its classic tale, including the replacement of Prince Charming with a commoner named Jonathan
Danny, 22, from Ukraine, who works in retail, said before seeing the film that he wanted to ‘be proven wrong’ after being disappointed by the trailer.
He said: ‘Even though I do love Rachel, I don’t think she was the right look. But also the makeup, the hair, the team behind the movie just didn’t do it justice with costumes and everything. I know they could do better.
‘But I want to be proven wrong. I want to see the parts of the movie where it gets better.’
Of using CGI instead of actors to play the dwarves, he said: ‘I think if Disney want to be woke they should go all the way and hire real actors.
‘They need to commit to it fully rather than leaving it halfway. I feel like they cater to some people and then others they completely ignore.
‘It just seems like a money grab, like it doesn’t have a soul to it and they weren’t passionate about the project.’
And after coming out of the film, Danny rated it a brutal 2.5 stars.
He said: ‘I didn’t like it, I thought it was disappointing and felt like I just wasted my time.
‘Disappointing’: One filmgoer said he wanted to be ‘proven wrong’ but was left feeling the film was ‘a waste of time’ after viewing it today
‘The story needed more purpose’: Some fans said the film lacked depth and did not feature the dwarves enough in the storyline
Despite her reservations, Rachel Bulman, 50, thought the modern remake was still a winner
‘They tried to maintain Snow White’s original image of being really nice and sweet, but then on top of that tried to make her snarky and headstrong. It didn’t go together, it just felt out of place.
‘I would probably never watch it again.’
Friends Shannon, 28, and Chelsea, 24, were also left disappointed by the film and awarded it a savage one star rating.
Shannon said: ‘We didn’t like it. It was really not fleshed out. They stuck to the original, but then they added so many bits that lead absolutely nowhere.
‘It’s like there’s no intention. The story needed more purpose.
‘It’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs yet it felt like the dwarfs were there for ten minutes.’
Rachel Bulman, 50, an NHS worker from Lincoln, was more welcoming of the new live action film, though she expressed concerns over the modern re-telling: ‘I love all of the Disney films, I see them all as soon as they come out.
‘I’m really excited, it’s one of the stories that comes to life from when you’re a child. It just makes it extra special.
‘You’ve got to change with the times I suppose, but nothing is going to beat the original. The way the old films and the characters were made was just different.
‘I take it as it is, it’s a story and I think we read too much into things nowadays.’
She added that she was disappointed the new film does not focus on a love story like the original.
‘Disney is all about that happy ending. We read too much into everything and actually it’s just a story.
‘You can take it too far nowadays.’
Despite her reservations, moments after watching the film Ms Bulman did not hesitate to give it 4.5 stars.
‘It was a modern twist on an old fairy tale, but it was still really good. It didn’t take away from the story that says if you keep true to yourself, be kind and fair, then you can overcome anything.
‘I’m a big fairytale lover. It’s a story and it’s about making people feel happy.’
Mahgor Bakhtiari, 23 (right) applauded the changes, but her boyfriend Arian Dehghnai, 21, had reservations about the use of CGI to create the seven dwarves
Mahgor Bakhtiari, 23, a Persian student in London, said she was looking forward to how the modern retelling would look and was not disappointed by the decision to cut Prince Charming from the storyline.
‘Anything from Disney I like. I think it’s different from the original and I’m looking forward to that.
‘I just came to see what’s going on now and what the changes are.’
But her boyfriend Arian Dehghnai, 21, said his absence felt like ‘something is missing’.
‘What I remember from my childhood is there was a prince and that famous kiss, so it’s kind of disappointing.’
But he was more concerned with the use of CGI to create the seven dwarfs.
‘It’s not really natural. It’s not going to give other actors the opportunity and it takes jobs away from them.’
Bakhtiari however said she was not against AI being used: ‘I think it can be helpful and in combination with the real actors it will improve the quality of the movie.’
‘More depth’: Friends Claire Davis, 37, and her friend Kate Shepard, 38, said they enjoyed watching the Disney remake
Claire Davis, 37, and her friend Kate Shepard, 38, both from London, are both self-confessed Disney buffs, who felt compelled to watch the new film.
Ms Davis said: ‘Lots of Disney films haven’t been centred around love stories. I think it’s a different and positive approach to take, because it teaches young children it’s not all about just finding someone special in your life.
‘There’s adventures to have by yourself and I think that’s a positive direction to take as opposed to always focusing on love stories.’
She added: ‘I do think they should have given the roles to real people though. I think there was a missed opportunity to have greater diversity within the cast and give work to actors that have a niche.’
For the pair, the film did not disappoint and rated it four stars.
Ms Davis said after seeing the film: ‘It was really good, it was a really good mix of the old story mixed with new things.
‘There was a lot more emphasis on doing the right thing and morals and I don’t remember that in the original. It was about fairness, inequality and distribution of wealth and generosity. It gave more depth to Snow White’s character.’
Her friend Ms Shepard added: ‘It wasn’t a huge change to how I remember the original. There was more depth to good and evil which you don’t see in the original.’
Karen Gravis, 46, said she enjoyed the film although she had reservations about the use of CGI
Ahead of the film, Karen Gravis, 46, a ‘huge’ Disney fan, donned a rhinestone embezzled denim jacket and a Snow White-themed bag.
She told MailOnline: ‘I think it’s going to be a very different take so I’m excited to see what it’s like.’
However, she was anticipating not enjoying Disney’s use of CGI to create the dwarfs.
‘I don’t like that. I think they should have just given the jobs to the people that can do it themselves. That was disappointing.
‘It’s just too far, you can use real human beings that can play that part. I don’t understand it. It’s probably cheaper, that’s the only thing I can think of because why else would you do that? It was really good. It had a lot of the original in it so it’s not completely different and it had extra bits in that were different, but it made it.’
While Disney still gave the film a love story and included the iconic of kiss at the end of the film, the prince was replaced by a thief.
‘It’s just different isn’t it,’ she said. ‘I wasn’t bothered there was no Prince. I’m glad they didn’t change it completely so that he didn’t wake her up with a kiss. They kept to the original.’
Ms Gravis added: ‘Funnily enough, I thought the dwarfs were really cute. Obviously I’d rather they had real people playing the part, but it worked to be fair. I really enjoyed it.’
‘Push the limits’: Celeste Jay, 37, said she did not understand the criticism but admitted the film ‘probably is a bit woke’
A different happy ending: Oliver Thydeman, 31, said he did not mind if the new film was not the same as the original
Meanwhile, self-proclaimed ‘super fan’ Celeste Jay, 37, who works in retail and lives in South London, said she was looking forward to seeing the film.
‘I’m really excited. I like Gal Gadot I think she is amazing so I’m looking toward to seeing her in it.
‘Now in 2025 a lot more is accepted so Disney can push the limits a bit more. I don’t think they’re breaching from their initial values in that regard.
‘On the one hand it’s sad. If you were to say the film is more feminist, I think it’s a shame that feminism is going in a direction where marriage is no longer valued.
‘I don’t understand the criticism, I think a love story is nice. It’s very Disney. If they chose not to have that then maybe they’re trying to reach a different group. I think it probably is a bit woke.’
Oliver Thydeman, 31, a kitchen worker, said he welcomed any changes that the adaptation will bring to the classic original.
He said heading into the cinema: ‘I’m here because I’m a massive Disney fan. I’ve seen every live action, pretty much all the 50 plus animated movies, I could probably name them all.
‘Hopefully I will get to see more detail in the story behind the witch and more on the dwarfs because you only get a 20-minute glimpse of them, so maybe we’ll get further backstory.
‘The prince wasn’t in the original that much anyway. He only had a two-minute cameo just to kiss her.
‘There’s been other movies where they’ve not followed the story line like Cruella, and that ended up being a great movie.
‘If they kept it to the original it might be a bit bland. It would be good to not have the same story at the end of the movie.’
