# Snow White (2025 film)

Disney's Snow White, or simply Snow White, is a 2025 American musical fantasy film directed by Marc Webb and written by Erin Cressida Wilson. Produced by Walt Disney Pictures and Marc Platt Productions, it is a live-action reimagining of Walt Disney's 1937 animated film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, which itself is based on the 1812 fairy tale "Snow White" by the Brothers Grimm. The film stars Rachel Zegler in the title role, alongside Andrew Burnap and Gal Gadot.
Plans for a remake of 1937's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs were confirmed in October 2016, with Wilson announced as a screenwriter. Webb entered talks to direct the film in May 2019 and was announced as director in September 2019. Filming took place primarily in London, England, from March to July 2022, with additional filming and pick-ups taking place in June 2024. The film elicited pre-release controversies, with criticism levied against the color-blind casting, story changes, Zegler's public critiques of the original film, and reimagining of the Seven Dwarfs.
Snow White premiered at Alcázar of Segovia in Segovia, Spain on March 12, 2025, and is scheduled to be released in theaters in the United States by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures on March 21, 2025. The film received generally mixed reviews from critics, who praised the musical numbers and Zegler's performance, but criticized the screenplay, visual effects, and Gadot's performance as the Evil Queen.

## Premise

A princess joins forces with Seven Dwarfs to liberate her kingdom from her cruel stepmother, the Evil Queen.

## Cast

* Rachel Zegler as Snow White, a fearless and pure-hearted princess who is determined to free her kingdom from her stepmother's tyranny.
** Emilia Faucher as young Snow White
** Olivia Verrall as baby Snow White
* Gal Gadot as the Evil Queen, Snow White's jealous, tyrannical stepmother who is obsessed with being the fairest one of all.
* Andrew Burnap as Jonathan, a new character created for the film as Snow White's love interest (partially based on the Prince from the original film) and a rebel who wants to defy the Evil Queen's monarchy.
* Ansu Kabia as the Huntsman, the Evil Queen's servant whom she orders to kill Snow White and bring back her heart.
* Patrick Page as the voice of the Magic Mirror, a mirror containing a being that would answer the Evil Queen's question on who is the fairest one of all.
Additionally, Hadley Fraser and Lorena Andrea appear as the Good King and the Good Queen, Snow White's parents. Appearing as Jonathan's team of fellow bandits are George Appleby as Quigg, Colin Michael Carmichael as Farno, Samuel Baxter as Scythe, Jimmy Johnston as Finch, Dujonna Gift as Maple, Idriss Kargbo as Bingley, and Jaih Betote as Norwich.

### Seven Dwarfs

* Andrew Barth Feldman as Dopey (voice), a member of the Seven Dwarfs who doesn't speak and makes other sounds.
** Jaih Betote as Dopey (motion capture/puppeteer)
** Feldman also narrates the film.
* Tituss Burgess as Bashful (voice), a shy member of the Seven Dwarfs.
** Leah Haile as Bashful (motion capture/puppeteer)
* Martin Klebba as Grumpy (voice), a grouchy member of the Seven Dwarfs.
** Omari Bernard as Grumpy (motion capture/puppeteer)
* Jason Kravits as Sneezy (voice), a member of the Seven Dwarfs who sneezes a lot.
** Dominic Owen as Sneezy (motion capture/puppeteer)
* George Salazar as Happy (voice), a cheerful member of the Seven Dwarfs.
** David Birch as Happy (motion capture/puppeteer)
* Jeremy Swift as Doc (voice), the intelligent leader of the Seven Dwarfs.
** Jonathan Bourne as Doc (motion capture/puppeteer)
* Andy Grotelueschen as Sleepy (voice), a tired member of the Seven Dwarfs.
** Sandy Foster as Sleepy (motion capture/puppeteer)

## Production
### Development

On October 31, 2016, The Hollywood Reporter reported that Walt Disney Pictures was developing a live-action remake of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, with Marc Platt, an avid fan of the original film, signed on as lead producer and Erin Cressida Wilson being in talks to write the screenplay. Callum McDougall, in his third producing collaboration with Disney and Platt, serves as an executive producer. On May 30, 2019, it was reported that Marc Webb was in talks to direct the film. In November 2021, Greta Gerwig was reported to be co-writing the screenplay. Gurinder Chadha was also heavily considered for the job. Wilson ultimately received sole credit for the screenplay, with Gerwig receiving off-screen Additional Literary Material credit alongside Jez Butterworth, Steven Levenson, Jeff Nathanson, Victoria Strouse, and Chris Weitz.

### Casting

In June 2021, Rachel Zegler was cast in the titular role, and in November, Gal Gadot was cast as the Evil Queen. On December 7, 2021, during an interview with Extra, Zegler revealed that Snow White would be a lot "stronger" than the original. Zegler's casting was solidified through a "glowing recommendation" to Webb from Steven Spielberg, who directed Zegler as María in his 2021 film adaptation of West Side Story. A new casting search was announced for a young actress to star as a younger version of Snow White in the live-action remake, and Emilia Faucher was cast. On January 12, 2022, it was announced that Andrew Burnap was cast as a new character named Jonathan in the lead male role, replacing the character of The Prince. At the 2022 Denver Fan Expo, Martin Klebba revealed that he would be portraying Grumpy in the film; Klebba previously played similar dwarf roles in prior productions based on the "Snow White" fairy tale: in the 2001 made-for-television film Snow White: The Fairest of Them All as Friday, and in the 2012 fantasy comedy Mirror Mirror as Butcher. Colin Michael Carmichael appears in the film. In February 2025, it was announced that Andrew Barth Feldman, Tituss Burgess, Jason Kravits, George Salazar, Jeremy Swift, and Andy Grotelueschen were all cast as the remaining members of the Seven Dwarfs, with Salazar and Grotelueschen both making their feature film acting debuts.

### Filming

Filming for Snow White was originally set to begin in March 2020 in Vancouver, British Columbia, and Los Angeles, California, but it was delayed to July 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In August 2021, it was announced that filming would take place in the United Kingdom from March to July 2022. Principal photography began on March 7, 2022. A fire damaged the production set on March 15 at Pinewood Studios; the stage was under construction when a tree reportedly caught on fire, leading to a huge blaze. A source from Disney confirmed that "no filming was underway". The shooting schedule was also reconfigured for Zegler to travel to Los Angeles to present at the 94th Academy Awards ceremony on March 27, in support of her West Side Story colleagues. While Zegler was attending the ceremony, Gadot began filming her scenes. Unlike in the original, her character sings and dances in the film. On April 22, Gadot confirmed that she had completed filming her scenes, much later adding that she enjoyed playing the role of the first Disney villain and that she was able to make a more dramatic role by changing her voice due to the film being a musical. On July 13, Zegler revealed that filming had wrapped. Additional filming took place in June 2024. Mandy Moore, known for her work on La La Land, choreographed the musical sequences.

### Visual effects

Moving Picture Company, Framestore, Day For Nite, Passion Pictures, Vitality Visual Effects, Cheap Shot VFX, Lola Visual Effects and Crafty Apes provided the visual effects.

## Music

Songwriters Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, who previously wrote the lyrics for two new songs for Disney's 2019 remake of Aladdin, wrote new songs for the film alongside Jack Feldman as additional lyricist, including a new "I Want" song for Snow White, titled "Waiting on a Wish". They also wrote a new "villain song" for the Evil Queen, titled "All Is Fair," a new love duet for Snow White and Jonathan titled "A Hand Meets a Hand" (written in collaboration with Lizzy McAlpine), and a new opening ensemble number titled "Good Things Grow." The film features four of the eight songs from the original film by Frank Churchill and Larry Morey: "Heigh-Ho", "Whistle While You Work", "The Silly Song" and "Someday My Prince Will Come," the final of which is heard instrumentally in the underscore due to the plot changes. In January 2025, it was revealed that Jeff Morrow had composed the score for the film. Dave Metzger, a frequent collaborator on the music for films made by Walt Disney Animation Studios, served as orchestrator for the songs. On March 4, 2025, it was announced that the soundtrack album would be released on March 14 by Walt Disney Records, with "Waiting on a Wish" released to the public that same day as the lead single.

### Track listing

All tracks are written and produced by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, except where noted. Ian Eisendrath and David Metzger co-produced the tracks with Pasek and Paul.

## Marketing

On September 9, 2022, during Disney's 2022 D23 Expo presentation, a 30-second first-look teaser of the film as well as first-look images were previewed. There were quick flashes of several major settings, including Snow White's cottage in the woods, the intricately designed interior of the Queen's castle, and the moss-covered forest. There were also short glimpses of Gadot as the Evil Queen questioning her magic mirror, Zegler as Snow White, and Snow White's hand falling with the poisoned apple toppling along with her. Gadot said about her role that playing the Evil Queen was "very different than what [she] had done before. [She is] used to playing the other end of where the heart should be", but she found it very "delightful" to "get under her skin". The title logo of the film was also revealed.
On October 27, 2023, Disney released the official first image of the film with Zegler as Snow White as well as Bashful, Doc, Dopey, Grumpy, Happy, Sleepy, and Sneezy. Zegler confirmed that there is a lot of CGI in the film, which made her feel "nervous". Footage of Gadot as the Evil Queen was shown at the 2024 CinemaCon. Disney presented new footage and a behind-the-scenes look at the film during the 2024 CineEurope. The 2024 D23 Expo presented a sneak preview of the film with a clip of the musical number "Whistle While You Work" along with the first trailer.
The teaser trailer for Snow White was released on YouTube in August 2024 and became the most disliked teaser for a film trailer on the platform, garnering an estimated nearly one million dislikes and over 82,000 likes within three weeks, according to available data from browser extensions that display an approximation of YouTube dislikes.
The first full trailer for the film debuted at D23 Brazil in November 2024 and was attached to select theatrical screenings of Universal Pictures's Wicked before eventually being released onto YouTube on December 3, 2024. Stuart Heritage of The Guardian criticized the visual effects for the animals and dwarves. He said the dwarves "look like someone has snuck into Disneyland, grabbed the statues from Snow White's Enchanted Wish and wrapped them in human flesh, as a serial killer would with a gift for their mother" and "like someone has shaved the Sonic the Hedgehog from that first Sonic the Hedgehog trailer that everyone hated." Polygon's Petrana Radulovic wrote, "The new Snow White looks like it's putting in more of a plot, likely one where our plucky heroine will stand up to her despotic tyrant of a stepmother in a YA dystopian plotline out of 2014. Maybe it'll work, storywise! Visually, though, everything seems like it's working on the same budget as ABC Family's [sic] Once Upon a Time." An international trailer featuring Snow White's origins was released on December 19, 2024. A featurette showing a behind-the-scenes look at the film and how it will honor the legacy of the 1937 animated film was released on February 20, 2025. The film's press tour kicked off in Tokyo on March 5, 2025, with Zegler joining her Japanese dub counterpart Sakura Kiryu to perform "Waiting on a Wish" live for the first time. On March 10, 2025, the day tickets for the film went on sale, Disney released new posters, a TV spot, and a film clip. Zegler later appeared on the March 17, 2025 episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live! to give the first live television performance of "Waiting on a Wish."

## Release

During the 2022 D23 Expo Presentation, it was announced that Snow White would be released in 2024. On September 15, 2022, the film was announced to have a release date of March 22, 2024. However, in October 2023, the film was delayed a year to March 21, 2025, with the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike cited as the rationale for the delay. The theatrical release will also include engagements in IMAX, Dolby Cinema, 4DX, ScreenX and D-Box.
The European premiere took place on March 12, 2025, at Spain's Alcázar of Segovia, which served as inspiration for the castle in the original animated film, to give the film a more elaborate showing at a "fairytale" venue. A Hollywood premiere without regular red-carpet press took place at the El Capitan Theatre on March 15, 2025, due to the controversies surrounding Zegler and Gadot's political views.

## Reception
### Box office

In the United States and Canada, Snow White will be released alongside The Alto Knights and Ash, and is projected to gross $45–55 million from 4,200 theaters in its opening weekend. The film was initially projected to gross $63–70 million, with analysts comparing this projection to the $69.4 million opening of Maleficent (2014) and believing that the film would overcome its controversies and fare well financially given there being no strong competition against it on opening weekend, but in late February, projections were lowered.

### Critical response

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 45% of 75 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5.4/10. Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 47 out of 100, based on 37 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.
Katcy Stephan of Variety lauded Zegler's performance of Snow White, praising Zegler as a "shining supernova" and her character as having "newfound depth through her fervent desire to become the leader her father believed she could be." David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter wrote "If that sounds like the standard female-empowerment template that's almost obligatory in contemporary fairy-tale retreads, it more or less is. But the incandescent Zegler sells it with conviction and heart." Siddhant Adlakha of IGN Movies called the film "the best Disney live-action remake in a decade" and that it "adapts the broad strokes of the original, while fleshing out its themes." Amy Nicholson of Los Angeles Times wrote "A fascinating case study in today's impossible contradictions — a magic mirror reflecting the tensions of the current times." Brian Truitt of USA Today wrote that the film "finds modern relevance amid the old material."
Witney Seibold of /Film wrote "It's hollow, but unlike some more recent remakes, it seems to have thoughts in its head." Daniel Bayer of AwardsWatch wrote "[Marc] Webb gets the job done with minimal muss and fuss, and whenever Zegler is onscreen, the film manages to conjure up some of that good old Disney magic." Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian criticized Zegler and Gadot's performances, calling them "dull." Dan Rubins of Slant called it "a fairly paint-by-numbers exercise in updating a quintessential but unquestionably quaint property for modern consumption." Manuel São Bento of FandomWire wrote "With a stronger, thematically richer script, a convincing romance, exciting new songs, and an updated vision that respects the essence of the classic, this remake proves that there's room to revisit old stories and make them even more tantalizing." Nicholas Barber of BBC wrote "The story is cluttered, the tone is muddled, and the pacing is off. Again, that doesn't make the film a disaster. In some ways, the identity crisis is what makes it worth seeing."
Neil Minow of RogerEbert.com wrote "Some parts of the film work better than others, but none of it has the sweetness and imagination of the animated feature. This Snow White is not the fairest of them all. It’s just, well, fair." Rodrigo Perez of The Playlist wrote "While interjecting its social commentary, Snow White otherwise tackles much of the same ideas—the notions of true love, the power of friendship, and the triumph of good over evil — but it's all put together in a very familiar and garish package." David Fear of Rolling Stone called it "not be the worst live-action adaptation of an animated touchstone, though it's a strong contender for its blandest." Tyler Taing of DiscussingFilm wrote "Aside from Rachel Zegler's powerhouse performance, there is little else to enjoy from this clumsy, poorly conceived, and cynical live-action Disney remake. Even Gal Gadot's hilariously bad line reads are not worth the trip to the theater." Johnny Oleksinski of New York Post wrote "The timeless classic, a groundbreaking achievement for animation, has been turned into another pointless and awkward live-action automaton that vanishes from your mind the second it’s over."

### Accolades

| Award | Date of ceremony | Category | Recipient(s) | Result | Ref. |
| The Queerties | March 11, 2025 | Next Big Thing | Snow White | Nominated | |

## Controversies
### Pre-release
#### Casting of Snow White

The casting of Zegler, a Latina actress, as Snow White drew criticism, as the character is described in the original material as having skin "as white as snow". Zegler responded to the comments in January 2022, saying that Snow White is popular in Spanish-speaking countries and having a Latina in such a role is rare, so she was proud to be cast. In August 2023, it was revealed that another Latina actress, Renata Vaca, was one of two finalists in the casting process for the role of Snow White. Vaca stated that the casting call for the role of Snow White was "open to all ethnic groups", and that the first phase of auditioning consisted of singing a Disney Princess song. In October 2024, Zegler revealed that in the film the character would be given the name Snow White after she and her parents survived a snowstorm to remind her of her resilience, which Zegler says was a plot-line used in another version of the fairy tale.

#### Reimagining of the Seven Dwarfs

In January 2022, actor Peter Dinklage, who has a form of dwarfism and has played dwarfish characters in his career, commented on the upcoming live-action Snow White remake, dismissing it as a "backward story". In response to Dinklage's comments, Disney stated that "to avoid reinforcing stereotypes from the original animated film, we are taking a different approach with these seven characters and have been consulting with members of the dwarfism community". Numerous other actors with dwarfism like Dylan "Hornswoggle" Postl, Jeff Brooks, and Katrina Kemp responded negatively to Dinklage's comments, feeling he was unduly speaking on their behalf and costing them roles.
In July 2023, footage of the production from Berkshire revealed that the depiction of the Seven Dwarfs had been reimagined for the film, consisting of one actor with dwarfism along with six other non-dwarf actors of varying ethnicity, six males and one female portraying the associated set of seven individuals, who were originally all portrayed as supernatural beings from German folklore, not actual human beings. After initially denying reports that these images depicted the actual film production, Disney later confirmed that they did indeed depict the production, with stand-in actors substituting for the leads (the already confirmed actor Martin Klebba not appearing in said footage). The decision to reimagine the characters as such was criticised by mainstream and social media sources as being overly politically correct, as well as potentially taking away acting opportunities from the dwarfism community.
Actor Jason "Wee Man" Acuña criticized Disney for not casting dwarf actors and expressed disappointment about the changes. Acuña said "You're replacing jobs that people could have as little people. It's for dwarfs. Why are you hiring 'Snow White and the seven average people'?" Dylan Postl also disagreed with Dinklage's view, echoed Acuña's sentiments, and defended the portrayal of the dwarf characters in the animated film. In October 2023, coinciding with an announcement of the film's delay, Disney unveiled a first-look image for the film, which included the Seven Dwarfs, all of which are CGI characters made to look similar to their appearances in the 1937 film.

#### Zegler's criticism of the 1937 film

Zegler attracted criticism over statements expressing disapproval with aspects of the original film, including the Prince and Snow White's characterization. In 2022, Zegler criticized "jokes" about the new Snow White character being "PC", saying that the cartoon was old and needed a refresh to give the character "a function beyond 'Someday My Prince Will Come'". She also spoke about story changes at the 2022 D23 Expo:
   The original cartoon came out in 1937 and very evidently so. There's a big focus on her love story with a guy who literally stalks her. Weird! Weird. So we didn't do that this time. We have a different approach to what I'm sure a lot of people will assume is a love story just because we cast a guy in the movie, Andrew Burnap, great dude. [...] But it's really not about her love story at all, which is really, really wonderful. [...] All of Andrew’s scenes could get cut, who knows? It’s Hollywood, baby!
In response to her comments, many rebuked her for making Snow White "more feminist", while others criticized her for misinterpreting feminism, with accusations of promoting the girlboss archetype or maligning women that seek traditional feminine roles or are uninterested in power or leadership. Ashten Stein, a brand strategist, felt that Zegler's statements made it appear that she had not received media training for marketing the film. Ultimately, critics inferred and claimed that Zegler disliked the original film. Zegler addressed the backlash to her comments in a Variety interview in October 2024, saying "it made me sad that it was taken in such a way [...] It can be very upsetting when things get taken out of context or jokes don't land". David Hand, whose father of the same name co-directed the original animated film, criticized the remake, describing it as "insulting" and suggesting that his father and Walt Disney would be "turning in their graves". This controversy prompted conservative media organization The Daily Wire to announce its own live-action adaptation of the original fairy tale, titled Snow White and the Evil Queen, which was initially set for release in 2025 in an effort to compete with Disney's version. However, no updates on the production of this version were given since.

#### Gadot and Zegler's political views

Both Gadot and Zegler have been openly vocal about some of their political stances which caused further controversy for the film. The release of the film's teaser trailer provoked calls to boycott the film from both sides of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict due to Gadot and Zegler's opposing stances on the conflict, with Gadot supporting Israel and Zegler supporting Palestine. Another call to boycott the film was made by MAGA supporters in the aftermath of the 2024 United States presidential election, as Zegler posted "Fuck Donald Trump" and criticized those who voted to re-elect him. Zegler later issued a public apology, saying that she meant no harm with her message while offering a call for peace.