Disneyland’s new Snow White ride has been criticized for its ending, which many will recognize as the same ending as the “Snow White” animated film.
The ride was recently updated during Disneyland's pandemic closure. The ride takes guests on a mine cart ride that follows Snow White as she escapes the Evil Witch. All bread and butter stuff.
- “The Snow White attraction has such a rich history,” Kim Irvine, creative executive for Disneyland Resort and Walt Disney Imagineering, said in a statement. “We wanted to take into account the beautiful scenic work that has always existed and retell the story in a special way. We believe guests will enjoy this sweet storyline in a stunning experience.”
But writers for the San Francisco Gate had a bone to pick with the ending of the ride. Here’s what they wrote:
“The new grand finale of Snow White’s Enchanted Wish is the moment when the Prince finds Snow White asleep under the Evil Queen’s spell and gives her ‘true love’s kiss’ to release her from the enchantment. A kiss he gives to her without her consent, while she’s asleep, which cannot possibly be true love if only one person knows it’s happening.”
The writers go further into explaining their worries about the finale, saying that consent “is a major issue” in early Disney films.
“Haven’t we already agreed that consent in early Disney movies is a major issue? That teaching kids that kissing, when it hasn’t been established if both parties are willing to engage, is not OK? It’s hard to understand why the Disneyland of 2021 would choose to add a scene with such old fashioned ideas of what a man is allowed to do to a woman, especially given the company’s current emphasis on removing problematic scenes from rides like Jungle Cruise and Splash Mountain. Why not re-imagine an ending in keeping with the spirit of the movie and Snow White’s place in the Disney canon, but that avoids this problem?”
Indeed, Disneyland has decided to update the themes of two of its rides to deal with cultural changes. The theme park will change the Jungle Cruise and Splash Mountain rides because they feature problematic scenes for 2021. Both of those rides included themes that were considered racially insensitive, which led Disney to make changes.
- “Imagineers are constantly looking for opportunities to enhance experiences, and when it comes to updating classic attractions, they employ a very careful and thoughtful approach,” Disney officials said in a statement, according to The Orange County Register. “In this particular case, Imagineers created a storyline that builds upon what people love the most while addressing negative depictions simultaneously.”
This isn’t the first time Disney’s new changes have been questioned. One critic wrote for The Orlando Sentinel that Disney’s decision to changes its rides made him less interested in the company.
“Disney, please return to the values and vision of Walt. The customer experience should be the core of your business model. Immersion should not be sacrificed on the altar of political correctness and appeasing the Twitter mob.”