Critics dub ‘Snow White’ ‘bedtime story’ as Disney’s controversial live-action remake gets bad reviews
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Disney's latest live-action remake, ‘Snow White’, hit theaters on Friday, March 21, but it's off to a rough start.
The film, a reimagining of the 1937 animated classic, is not only projected to have the lowest opening weekend of all Disney's live-action remakes, but it's also facing a barrage of negative reviews.
Critics have been harsh, with some even claiming the movie could put viewers to sleep.
Currently, the film holds a disappointing 44% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes, though audience reactions are more favorable, sitting at 74%. Despite the audience score, mainstream critics have been quick to pan the movie.
Critics pan Disney's 'Snow White'
Most critics who reviewed ‘Snow White’ have been far from kind.
Rolling Stone’s David Fear wrote in his review, "This Snow White may not be the worst live-action adaptation of an animated touchstone, though it’s a strong contender for the blandest. The movie does earn points as a bedtime story, however, because it will definitely put you to sleep."
Manohla Dargis, chief film critic for The New York Times, described the film as "neither good enough to admire nor bad enough to joyfully skewer; its mediocrity is among its biggest bummers."
Kyle Smith from The Wall Street Journal criticized the film, saying, "Gloss prevails over heart in nearly every scene, and plot beats feel contrived."
The Boston Globe's Odie Henderson expressed disappointment, stating, "I had high hopes that ‘Snow White’ would make me happy. Instead, this dopey remake made me sleepy and grumpy."
The Guardian's Wendy Ide was harsh in her one-star review, calling the film "toe-curlingly terrible" and accusing it of being "made by people with cartoon dollar signs for eyes and not even the tiniest glimmer of art in their souls". Ide further described it as "a bamboo-splinters-under-the-fingernails viewing experience".
Lastly, Vanity Fair's Richard Lawson couldn’t hide his surprise, writing, "Hm? What’s that? This Snow White is not a made-for-TV movie shot in Burbank but is instead a theatrically released feature film that cost upwards of $250 million to make? Oh. Oh dear."
Disney's 'Snow White' likely to become box-office nightmare
Disney's 'Snow White' remake opened at $42.2 million, as per Hollywoood Reporter, well below initial projections. While this would typically not be disastrous for a female-targeted film, 'Snow White' finds itself at risk of becoming a box-office failure due to its massive production budget of $270 million.
Based on initial ticket sales and poor reviews, 'Snow White' may not even make $300 million or $400 million globally, well short of a box office safety net of $500 million.
The 2019 live-action remake of 'Dumbo' had the lowest domestic opening weekend box office performance among Disney's live-action animated adaptations, debuting with $45 million. 'Snow White' could be seen as an even bigger flop, given its significantly higher production cost of $270 million versus 'Dumbo's $170 million.
The poor box-office performance has been attributed to the film's controversial production process, which spanned three years.
Issues such as Disney's back-and-forth on the portrayal of the dwarfs, Rachel Zegler’s criticism of the original film’s traditional themes, and her outspoken condemnation of Trump supporters all appeared to negatively impact the film before it even hit theaters.
In a 2022 interview with Extra she remarked, per Newsweek: "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."
Conservative critic Christian Toto explained to Fox News Digital that the movie's "perfect storm of media mismanagement" severely dampened its box-office prospects, ultimately blunting its success.
