Tayyaba
Disney’s upcoming live-action remake of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is not sitting well with some people, including David Hale Hand, the son of the supervisor director of the original film, David Dodd Hand. He argued that the studio’s live-action remakes are antithetical to his father’s and the company’s legacy, and would have Walt Disney and his father “turning in their graves.” Here’s what he said and why the new film is so controversial:
What did David Hale Hand say about the upcoming ‘Snow White’ live-action film?
As details about the 2024 Snow White remake begin to surface, Hale Hand complains to The Telegraph that he is very opposed to the new film. “I mean, it’s a whole different concept, and I just totally disagree with it, and I know my dad and Walt would also very much disagree with it,” the 91-year-old remarked. “There’s no respect for what Disney and my dad did… I think Walt and he would be turning in their graves,” Hand remarked. Hale Hand stated he would like Disney’s original animated films to be preserved, labelling the remake a “disgrace” because it’s “trying to do something new with something that was such a great success earlier.”
“I’m afraid of what they’re going to do with the early films… [the company’s] thoughts are just so radical now. They change the stories, they change the thought processes of the characters, they just aren’t the original stories anymore. They’re making up new woke things and I’m just not into any of that.”
David Hale Hand
Why is the remake of ‘Snow White’ facing so much controversy?
Rachel Zegler, who plays the titular royal in the new film, has been under fire since statements from an interview with Entertainment Weekly recently begun recirculating online. “The reality is that the cartoon was made 85 years ago, and and therefore is extremely dated when it comes to ideas of women being in roles of power and what a woman is fit for in the world,” Zegler told EW during D23 last year. “And so when we came to reimagining the actual role of Snow White, it became about ‘the fairest of them all’ meaning who is the most just, and who can become a fantastic leader.”
People have also attacked the people behind the film, claiming that Disney should have made a another plot instead of ruining this classic tale and taking away all the magic. Rachel Zegler has also hinted that the new adaptation, penned by Greta Gerwig and Erin Cressida Wilson, would not focus on romance like the original and will take more of a feminist turn. This has also sparked backlash towards the film for straying so far from the actual story, making it extremely unpopular already – which is a harsh pill to swallow for Disney who is already in deep financial turmoil. Reportedly, the seven dwarfs have also been removed from the film, with seven “magical beings” of varied race, height, and gender to be seen frolicking around instead.