The Anti-Woke Critics Aren’t Completely Wrong About ‘Snow White’

Like so many things meant to be entertaining or good, Disney’s upcoming live-action version of Snow White has angered a lot of Fox News viewers.

However, the anti-woke people might be in the right this time. Well, partly. Disney has for years been a target of cultural wars – especially now that the company has started eradicating its DEI programs – but Snow White has generated criticism from several communities, and not just white YouTube incels armed with lame “Snow Brown” jokes. (Shouldn’t they be yelling about Zelda instead?) Yes, those vocal anti-woke critics accuse the film of capitulating to progressive ideologies, but even some fans of inclusivity wonder if we need yet another live action Disney movie, a genre famous for delivering diminishing returns. That said, here’s a rundown of five big reasons that people are already mad about Snow White.

The color-blind casting

Wokeness level of the people it angered: Asleep

The most immediate controversy related to Snow White was the casting of The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes’ Rachel Zegler in the title role. Since Snow White was previously portrayed as a raven-haired, white-skinned princess (hence her name), her continued perceived whiteness was crucial to the sustained mental health of many Americans. Thus, while many were busy arguing that Zegler’s casting was a step in the right direction toward inclusivity, detractors were already saying that it ignored her character’s European origins. (They had somehow willfully ignored that Zegler’s dad was Polish, or that her mother’s home country of Colombia was forever and inextricably linked to Spain.) However, these anti-woke people accidentally made one good point: that diversity shouldn’t be used as a cynical marketing tactic to “check a box.” That’s how we ended up with Emilia Pérez collecting 13 Oscar nominations.

The CGI non-Dwarfs

Wokeness level of the people it angered: Awake but slightly, well, Sleepy

Another early controversy was Disney’s decision to switch out the original “Seven Dwarfs” for “magical creatures.” Perhaps capitulating to the high-profile remarks that Peter Dinklage had made criticizing Snow White for portraying dwarfism on screen, the live action version did away with the Dwarfs altogether and replaced them with CGI “creatures” (which are still obviously Dwarfs). But this decision – and Dinklage – were rightfully criticized by non-famous, non-rich members of the dwarfism community, who have made a living from taking on live acting roles such as the ones Disney had just eradicated. In this way, Disney accidentally made an antiwoke oopsie thanks to Dinklage’s privileged comments.

Rachel Zegler’s apparent ungratefulness

Wokeness level of the people it angered: Supposedly some awake people, but I still haven’t met those people and assume that they, too, are asleep

An unending controversy (seriously, aren’t there better things to fight about?) has been Zegler’s public opinion about the original 1937 animated film. Zegler in several interviews has criticized the classic film’s depiction of romance, calling the prince’s role outdated and irrelevant. While many people, myself included, agree that the original Snow White feels outdated in that respect, other people have claimed that Zegler’s comments were “rude” to fans of the original and to the corpse of Walt Disney himself. Suspiciously, the only fans who found this “rude” were the ones who had also criticized her race. Everyone else just shrugged and thought, “Yeah girl, we’ve been talking about this on Twitter since 2012.”

No true love’s kiss

Wokeness level of the people it angered: Asleep, but due to boredom and not seething internal hatred

As previously discussed, the Snow White remake is said to be abandoning the classic romance elements of the original story. Early reports suggest that the film revolves around Snow White being an independent leader, and that the prince won’t have a prominent role. Some people – guess which ones – believe this is, sigh, disrespectful to the legacy of Walt Disney. However, they usually leave out this argument when writing their 800-word Reddit takedowns of Snow White due to having juicier fodder to yell about. Meanwhile, others just find this plot change tedious, given that 2012’s Snow White and the Huntsman literally did this already. Actually, that brings us to the final point of controversy …

Another Disney live remake? Really?

Wokeness level of the people it angered: Awake, asleep, and every level of groggy in between

Here’s another argument from anti-woke critics of Snow White that I actually agree with: No one needed this movie in the first place! We get it, Disney, you want money. But how do you think the original versions of these movies made you rich in the first place? They were exciting and new. The key words there are “exciting,” “new,” and “and.” Also, “they” and “were.” Anyway, make us something fresh and exciting please, and do not for the love of Gaga include CGI talking animals ever again. That said, will I still watch the live action Snow White and enjoy it? Irrelevant, but yes.