Disney Upcoming Blockbuster Receives Huge Wave Of YouTube Dislikes
The first teaser trailer for Disney’s live-action Snow White released this week to build anticipation for the movie’s release next year. However, based on this first look at Disney’s latest remake, many viewers were left quite unimpressed. In fact, when comparing the responses, the trailer currently has about 70,000 likes, but over 700 thousand dislikes that far outweigh the positive response.
In the opening shot of the Snow White teaser, actress Rachel Zegler, who plays Snow White, appears to be the only non-animated part of the shot.
The teaser itself is only about a minute long, so it does not give much of a sense of the acting quality or what the soundtrack will be like in the movie. However, it does give a pretty good indicator of the visuals for the upcoming Snow White, and viewers find the movie’s aesthetic style to be highly unappealing.
Many commenters could not help but notice that similar to 2019’s The Lion King, despite this being labeled as a live-action remake, it relies quite heavily on CGI. In the opening shot of the Snow White teaser, actress Rachel Zegler, who plays Snow White, appears to be the only non-animated part of the shot.
However, it is the seven dwarfs in particular who have received the majority of the ire from fans. In comparison to Snow White herself, the dwarfs are completely CGI, which many commenters on YouTube find bizarre since fantasy dwarfs are still human looking aside from their size. It led to many questioning why Disney did not simply hire actual people with dwarfism to play the roles. People are calling the CGI dwarfs hideous and horrifying due to the stylized CGI.
As to why Disney decided to make the dwarfs CGI for the live-action Snow White, it could be because they felt they were in a difficult spot regardless.
To be fair, the choice to make the CGI stand out so sharply from the actual live-action elements is clearly deliberate. It is likely to emphasize the magical world that Snow White finds herself in in comparison to the harsh realities of the Evil Queen played by Gal Gadot. That does not mean that people think that it looks appealing, though.
As to why Disney decided to make the dwarfs CGI for the live-action Snow White, it could be because they felt they were in a difficult spot regardless. Years ago, when the film was announced, Peter Dinklage, one of the most prominent actors with dwarfism, spoke out against the remake. He questioned why Disney was patting itself on the back as being progressive for casting a Latina actress as Snow White but then depicting dwarfs as fantasy creatures who live in caves.
“Literally no offense to anyone, but I was a little taken aback when they were very proud to cast a Latina actress as Snow White,” Dinklage said of the movie. “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.” Evidently Dinklage felt that remaking the movie at all was a bad idea and that using dwarfs as fantasy creatures is a concept that should have been left in the 1930s with the original movie.
However, using CGI dwarfs for Snow White now has people feeling Disney took away work from actual actors who could have played those roles.
“Have I done nothing to advance the cause from my soap box?” Dinklage went on about his grievances with Snow White. “I guess I’m not loud enough. I don’t know which studio that is but they were so proud of it. All love and respect to the actress and all the people who thought they were doing the right thing. But I’m just like, what are you doing?”
Perhaps Disney worried that casting actual actors with dwarfism as fantasy dwarfs would cause them to be labelled as insensitive. However, using CGI dwarfs for Snow White now has people feeling Disney took away work from actual actors who could have played those roles. So it seems Disney was in a situation with no graceful solution if they wanted to move forward with the project.
Responses on Snow White may shift as more substantial trailers release and show more of what the movie has to offer. But as of right now, it is clear public opinion is not favorable. It will release in theaters March 21, 2025.
