Almost 90 years have passed since the release of the original animated film “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.” Cinema and society have changed significantly since then, so it`s natural that the remake differs from the original. In this article, we will explore the main changes.
In the original animated film, the princess was named Snow White because of her skin, which was “as white as snow.”
Actress Rachel Zegler, who plays Snow White, is of Colombian descent, which does not fit the classic description of “snow-white skin.” In the remake, the character`s name is explained as being given in honor of a snowstorm on the day of her birth.
Jokingly, one could say she was supposed to become Snow White Stormborn, Breaker of Patriarchy, and Mother of Dwarfs, but it didn`t quite work out. More details are in our review.
In the original fairy tale, Snow White`s love interest and savior was a nameless Prince Charming, often called Charming in adaptations.
In the remake, Snow White falls in love with a bandit and former actor named Jonathan. He has more screen time than his predecessor, and his character is supposed to highlight the heroine`s revolutionary spirit and her connection to the common people.
Like all Disney full-length animated films, “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” was a musical. It was even nominated for an Oscar for Best Soundtrack. And the theme song “Someday My Prince Will Come” was not only recognized as one of the greatest songs in American cinema history but also became a jazz classic.
You won`t hear it in the remake, nor “I’m Wishing”. Only two songs from the original made it into the live-action film: “Heigh-Ho” and “Whistle While You Work,” each of which was reworked. Apparently, waiting for a prince does not fit the updated narrative. Instead of legendary songs, producers added new ones, including the generally decent “Waiting On A Wish” by Rachel Zegler, and “All Fair” performed by Gal Gadot, who is not really a singer. By the way, the Evil Queen did not have a musical number in the cartoon.
The original princess was quite timid, which is generally understandable and forgivable. Finding herself alone in the forest, she imagined all sorts of horrors and trembled with fear until the animals came out to greet her. And then the scene transformed: the eerie thicket turned into a magical forest, showing that it was all just imagination.
Zegler`s heroine boldly looks into the eyes of the forest`s horrors. And this seems to be good, but the authors missed an important point. The horrors were only in the princess`s head because she was scared. Why imaginary nightmares tormented the new Snow White, even though she wasn`t particularly afraid of them, is a question.
Snow White of 1937 was a model wife and mother of her time. Entering the dwarfs` house, she immediately began cleaning and cooking. And only after that, exhausted, she went to bed. Later, she also baked pies for them and made them wash their hands before eating.
The new Snow White broke into the house and immediately went to bed, making us think that this is an экранизация of “Goldilocks” / “Masha and the Three Bears.” Understandably, she didn`t bake pies for them either. As for cleaning, the scene is there. But in the original, Snow White cleaned up with the animals, thinking that the dwarfs were orphans without a mother. Here, she made the dwarfs clean up on their own.
It`s also worth noting that in the original, the girl asks the dwarfs for shelter, promising to cook and clean. In the new version, they ask her to stay themselves.
Dopey, the youngest of the seven dwarfs, was mute in the original. This was not explained in any way. Some of his comrades suggested that he had simply never tried to talk. Just a small detail.
In the film, Dopey is made a victim of bullying, that is, mockery. And in the original, he was also teased, because he was the youngest and a bit… simple-minded. But in our times, children cannot be shown this. Therefore, first Snow White teaches him to whistle, then he suddenly learns to speak, and in the finale, he becomes almost the leader of the dwarfs.
A strange difference, but quite important. It shows that someone has become dumber over time: either the viewers or the characters.
In the cartoon, Snow White herself guesses everyone`s names. Which, in fact, is not particularly impressive, because the dwarfs are named after their distinctive features: Grumpy, Sneezy, Sleepy, etc.
The remake, expanding the song “Heigh-Ho,” adds introductions for each dwarf. In addition, when getting acquainted, Snow White asks them to name themselves. It seems to me that this is somehow connected with political correctness and the fact that you cannot imply something based on appearance. Probably.
As mentioned above, the old Snow White made the dwarfs wash their hands before eating. An educational moment of the cartoon, like some instructions from the cleaning scene. A cute and funny moment.
It was cut out of the remake.
Walt Disney`s backstory of “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” fit on two small pages, the text from which the narrator leisurely read for half a minute. Given: Snow White and an evil, envious stepmother.
In the live-action film, the backstory is described for almost ten minutes. They showed the princess`s parents and that they were kind because they treated everyone to pies. They showed how the Evil Queen charmed the king, and that he left somewhere to fight someone. They showed how the villain turned farmers, bakers, and other civilians into soldiers and with their help began to rob the population. However, they did not show who they could rob if she made everyone soldiers.
Plus, we learned that the dwarfs are magical and their hands glow, the dwarfs are not one hundred years old, and the Evil Queen killed Snow White`s father. It`s strange that there is no backstory of the Evil Queen. Has the trend for ambiguous villains gone out of fashion?
The animated villain lied to Snow White, saying that the apple could fulfill any wish. The princess, waiting for her prince, believed and bit the poison.
The live-action villain also deceives Snow White, saying that her beloved prince sent her. But she gives her the apple just like that – “to have a snack on the road.” And Snow White immediately bites it for some reason. This is despite the fact that she had just packed herself a bag of food for the road and knew for sure that the Evil Queen was hunting her.
The crystal coffin was one of the most iconic details of “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.” A bit creepy, if you think about it. But old fairy tales were generally quite harsh, and Disney and his team had to soften them very much for a modern audience.
Apparently, the animator`s followers did not escape this fate. In the new film, Snow White`s corpse lies not in a coffin, but on a stone. Maybe in this universe they practice sky burial, who knows.
But there is a kiss. The very one that some activists have been trying for decades to equate with harassment or even rape. After all, it is not voluntary.
In both films, the Evil Queen dies in the finale, but the remake is still very different. The original scene shows the dwarfs driving the witch to the top of a cliff, after which lightning strikes there, and the villain falls down.
The finale of “Snow White” 2025 shows something else. Gadot`s character escapes after killing the princess. Therefore, after being resurrected, she has to organize a “revolution” (in quotation marks, because this is a misunderstanding, not a revolution). Having won over the guard to her side, Snow White pursues the queen to her chambers, where she breaks the magic mirror and dies.
The fairy tale version of the Evil Queen tried to kill Snow White three times until she managed to do it with an apple. The cartoon was limited to the apple itself. And in the film, there is a real cult of apples.
Snow White`s parents fed their subjects apple pies and were therefore considered good rulers. The princess herself asked her stepmother to do the same. Plus, the hunter, who was ordered to kill Snow White, brought the queen an apple instead of the girl`s heart. What was he counting on? In the original, he at least substituted a boar`s heart.
An interesting detail of the 1937 cartoon is Snow White`s prayer before bed. She was a role model for girls of her time, so, of course, she was a good Christian. Before going to bed, Snow White asked the Lord for blessings for the dwarfs and the fulfillment of her own desires.
Modern Hollywood tries in every possible way to abstract itself from religious themes. Magically managing in the meantime to parasitize annually on Christmas and Easter. Understandably, no religion will be close to the scenario of new cartoons. It`s funny that in some reviews the film is called truly biblical, because it has death and resurrection, the fight against vain evil, and also the recurring idea of one true ruler. However, there are also articles on the Internet that accuse the picture of renouncing Christian values.
The original fairy tale was a simple love story. Very, very fast-paced, but still love. Princess, prince, happily ever after – the whole package.
The new story has a different narrative. Here, the main theme becomes the opposition to the tyranny of the Evil Queen. Snow White is not just a damsel in distress who needs to be saved. She herself saves the kingdom … in theory. In reality, the theme of revolution, of course, is there, but it is implemented terribly.
The nature of the dwarfs from the cartoon was never explained. They were just short and mostly bearded. In most live-action adaptations, dwarfs were understood to be people with dwarfism, and this fact became self-evident.
The fate of the dwarfs in the remake turned out to be quite complicated. At one time, the studio planned to abandon the original concept of small people altogether and introduce some kind of “magical creatures” into the story. As a result, the dwarfs were made using computer graphics and given an incomprehensible magical glow. At the same time, the authors still introduced a real dwarf into the story – there is a crossbowman with dwarfism in Jonathan`s gang.