Disney’s “Snow White” has sparked more controversy than enchantment — and finally made its debut at the Hollywood premiere.
Critics have weighed in with their own thoughts on the headlining movie. Certified reviews on Rotten Tomatoes show that “Snow White” has earned a score of just 46% from 131 critics.
As the film opens in theaters on Friday, read what they’re saying to decide if this version is one you’re willing to watch.
What’s everyone so upset about?
Since Disney announced the live-adaptation remake of “Snow White” years ago, the film was faced with a train of controversial outbreaks.
Things got ugly for Disney clear back in 2021 when Disney cast Rachel Zegler, who is of Colombian descent, as Snow White — the character with skin famously “as white as snow,” according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Afterward, Disney received backlash in regards to the Seven Dwarfs, controversial comments made by the female leads Zegler and Gal Gadot, who plays the evil queen, and comments criticizing the original film by Zegler.
Despite the turmoil, and negative attention “Snow White” has received, the movie is likely debuting at $50 million to $56 million domestically, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
What critics are saying
- Film critic Peter Bradshaw with The Guardian said, “This new Snow White has one or two nice musical moments, but it’s basically in the unhappy tradition of revisionist-lite reboots ‘Mirror Mirror’ and ‘Snow White and the Huntsman’ with Julia Roberts and Charlize Theron respectively as the witch — and the equally ropey prequel ‘The Huntsman: Winter’s War.‘”
- Kyle Smith with The Wall Street Journal wrote, “After fans seemed grumpy about the rumored storyline and the casting of Ms. Zegler, Disney became bashful about releasing it last March and ordered reshoots to make everyone happy. Unfortunately, the story is so dopey it made me sleepy.”
- Los Angeles Times film critic Amy Nicholson wrote, “As it turns out, today’s ‘Snow White’ isn’t even that galvanizing. The new songs are forgettable and the animation is cluttered with every pixel competing to show off. There are too many leaves, too many petals and too many pores on the fully animated dwarfs, who bound into the movie with noses the size of pears.”
- “The whole thing feels so bland and perfunctory to a fault that it’s surprising to think that this was the movie that caused such an uproar for nearly two years and a dozen news cycles,” wrote David Fear for Rolling Stone.
- “The better-than-expected revamp (★★★ out of four; rated PG; in theaters Friday) strips away some of the forgettable matter — no charming princes here!” said Brian Truitt with USA Today. “Most importantly, ‘White’ gives an inspired Rachel Zegler a different character arc and a smattering of original songs to let Snow strut as the fairest of them all.”