Disney and their recent live action release of “Snow White,” along with recently releasing the live action of “The Little Mermaid,” have people furious.
The “Snow White” live action movie had a lot more issues than the “Little Mermaid” live action based on the internet’s backlash. It was not only a change in the race that was an issue for some. The story was also changed, and the dwarfs, rather than being actual little people, were horrible CGI.
The issue for some people concerning the race was the whole idea that Snow White’s skin was “as pale as snow” along with her lips being “as red as blood.” Rachel Zegler, who was cast as Snow White, was ruled by some as an unfit person for the role because she has darker skin than a pale white complexion, and in the movie did not have red lips.
The reason is not because she has a darker skin tone in general, but rather that there is a stated and given race for the character that correlates with Snow White. There was an explanation for Snow White’s pale skin and rosy red features.
While some people could have racist motives for criticizing her role in the live action, many just didn’t agree with the fact they changed so much about her character and the storyline. Live actions are intended to be the physical recreation of an animated movie. It’s intended to bring the same story to life, not make a whole new one.
Rachel Zegler while playing Snow White would constantly pick fun and state her dislike for the character. This caused issues for some people, due to questioning why someone would cast a person who hates their character.
The personality in the live action for Snow White is that she is an “independent strong woman” attempting to take back her kingdom. In the original animated movie, Snow White was timid, kind and caring. Her story was about compassion and how she fell in love.
A representation of the horrible personality change is when in the live action, Snow White sings a song to make the dwarfs clean, barely even helping them. While in the original animated movie, Snow White, with the help of the animals, cleans the dwarfs’ homes.
Along with that, the dwarfs were CGI. This was one of the first things that created a huge issue, as many little people do not get the chance to perform in acting roles, and this movie would’ve allowed opportunity for them to have those roles. However, it was decided that they would rather use CGI.
It is not only lazy, but also inconsiderate and fully goes against their big attempt to represent more people.
The “Little Mermaid” movie, without getting into too much detail, bothered people so much due to them casting a black person as the role of Ariel. While again for many the issue was not that the person who played Ariel was a black person, but rather that they cast a black person in a white role. When a live action is supposed to be a recreation of the original movie and plot.
The story mostly remained true to the original, but many had issues with the race change and her hair not being red like it was in the original animation. Ariel’s most noticeable feature was her bright red, flowy hair. However, in the live action the actor who played Ariel did not have bright red hair, and instead, had a very deep maroon color.
The issue for many is not the race, but the changing of original movies and their plots. Live action movies like “Aladdin” and “Cinderella” stayed true to the original plot and kept a resemblance to the animated characters. “Snow White” and “The Little Mermaid” live actions, however, changed the idea of the main character, and “Snow White” even changed the plot of the original.
Disney has produced movies with disabilities and people of color, such as “The Princess and the Frog,” “Mulan,” “Wish,” “Encanto” and more. Representation shouldn’t be where a company changes the race of a white person to a person of color, it should be stories and original movies showing representation.
Disney is being lazy with representation. Rather than making original movies that represent people of color or disabilities, they smack it onto an existing movie and change the characters or plot. Casting people for the right roles is important, it comes down to if the character is supposed to represent an original design, their talent, passion and respect for the original creation.
Disney and other companies alike should present new ideas, create new stories that highlight genuine representation for people of color, disabilities and more. Not just take an original idea and change it slightly for monetization.