After casting a black actress for “The Little Mermaid”, Disney continues to be criticized for presenting a “Latina Snow White”
The release of Disney’s controversial live-action movie “The Little Mermaid” is just two weeks away. In the meantime, another Disney live-action movie, “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” is drawing attention, though not in a good way.
In particular, various online communities have been discussing the appearance of the actress playing Snow White in “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs”, which is scheduled for release in 2024.
The “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” live-action is a remake of Disney’s classic animation from 1937.
In October 2016, Walt Disney Pictures first announced the Snow White remake. Then, in June 2021, Rachel Zegler (22) was cast as Snow White.
Rachel Zegler is a Latina actress born to a Colombian mother and a Polish father, who has been gaining rapid fame in Hollywood after appearing in the musical film “West Side Story”. Through “West Side Story”, Rachel Zegler won “Best Actress – Musical or Comedy” at the 79th Golden Globe Awards.
Despite her outstanding acting skills and charming vocals, however, many fans of the original animation expressed disappointment at Rachel Zegler’s casting as Snow White, claiming that the actress was not suited for the role.
According to these fans, Snow White in the original fairy tale and animation is described as having skin as white as snow, but Zegler, as a Latina, has a darker complexion.
Zegler herself also stated that she won’t be whitening her skin to play Snow White, drawing further criticisms from reviewers.
The controversy intensified when images of Zegler, which were captured on the set of “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” in May last year, got released.
In the images, Zegler donned a short bob haircut and dress symbolizing Snow White, surprising everyone with her distinct look compared to the original.
Although no further filming scenes have been revealed since then, the casting controversy over Halle Bailey as Ariel in “The Little Mermaid” persists, thus Zegler’s Snow White is still a topic of discussion among netizens.
On the other hand, the controversial live-action “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” is scheduled for release in North America on March 22nd, 2024.
Despite this controversy, Rachel Zegler is receiving much attention from many directors. Recently, she joined the DC Extended Universe (DCEU) by appearing in “Shazam! Fury of the Gods”.
In the movie, she plays the role of Anthea, the youngest daughter of Greek god Atlas and the third goddess in “the prophecy”.
Source: Insight
