Is Snow White Worth The Hate?
Okay, let’s be honest with each other for a second. Around two or three months ago, something tragic happened, something we all witnessed (maybe even felt coming): Disney released the live-action remake of Snow White… and it flopped. Badly.
Now before you come for me with “ugh, that’s harsh,” go ahead and look it up. Google it. Rotten Tomatoes? 39%. For a Disney princess movie. That number alone is enough to make my inner 6-year-old, who owned three disney princess cosutmes, question everything.
Still, naturally, because I am who I am, I was deeply curious. As a lifelong lover of all things Disney-coded and sparkly, of course I needed to see it. But paying full price at the cinema for something that everyone online called a “trainwreck wrapped in glitter”? Yeah, I waited until it hit Disney+. I had morals. And standards.
So. Two days after the movie dropped on streaming, I curled up in bed (tea in hand, fairy lights on) and hit play. Here’s exactly how that went.
Let me start on a positive note, because this movie did have its moments. Visually, some scenes were absolutely stunning. The forest scenes, with soft lighting and magical creatures, really gave that storybook come-to-life feeling I was craving. The Seven Dwarves’ cottage? Adorable. Rustic but whimsical. It looked exactly like the kind of place a bookish Disney girly like me would want to live in, complete with overgrown vines and warm lighting. Loved it.
But then… there was the kingdom. Gray. Cold. Low-key depressing? Even in the beginning, when it’s supposed to be thriving and joyful, it felt washed out and lifeless. The magic was lost somewhere behind the dull color grading and political undertones. I missed the saturated, fairy-dust vibe Disney usually nails.
So here’s the thing: I kept seeing all these dramatic TikToks and threads online saying Disney completely rewrote the plot. Spoiler: they didn’t. Honestly? It was mostly the original story, just with a few added layers. Yes, they gave Snow White more backstory and a childhood memory montage (nice touch). And the Evil Queen’s ending wasn’t the classic “falls off a cliff” moment, which felt like a more thoughtful approach.
But… it still felt a little rushed. The whole reclaim-the-kingdom arc happened so quickly it barely had space to breathe. In classic Disney fashion, there’s usually a first attempt, a failure, and then the dramatic redemption. That technically happened here, but blink and you’d miss it. There wasn’t enough time for emotional payoff.
Snow White herself? Actually really well cast. She had the look, the softness, the dreamy optimism that felt true to the character. But (and I say this gently) after seeing so many edits of Selena Gomez as Snow White… yeah. That would’ve been next-level iconic. Sorry, not sorry.
The Prince , or, well, the bandit version of him, was decent. His resemblance to the animated version was honestly kind of eerie in a good way. He didn’t blow me away, but he didn’t ruin anything either. So that’s a win, I guess?
This movie isn’t the disaster the internet made it out to be, but it also didn’t live up to what it could’ve been. If you’re like me and you live for ✨princess-core nostalgia✨, you’ll still find small moments to love. But the pacing issues, weird tonal shifts, and underwhelming climax might leave you feeling a little empty by the end.
Still, it’s worth a watch. Just maybe not with popcorn and high expectations. Think: background movie while journaling or reorganizing your bookshelf.
So, was it the live-action fairytale of my dreams? Not really.
Was it a total disaster that should be banished from the Disney vault forever? Also no.
Sometimes, stories are just… okay. Not magical, not cursed, just somewhere in the middle. And maybe that’s the real fairytale, learning to be okay with meh endings, too.
And hey, if you’ve seen it; agree? Disagree? Or did you just watch it for the aesthetics and vibes like I did? Let me know. I’m all ears (and opinions).
