Dubai Telegraph - 'Disney's Snow White' gets muted Hollywood premiere

EUR -
AED 3.996029
AFN 76.634217
ALL 99.067632
AMD 424.959796
ANG 1.956349
AOA 992.302209
ARS 1162.013398
AUD 1.719986
AWG 1.958491
AZN 1.834779
BAM 1.94828
BBD 2.191741
BDT 131.890945
BGN 1.94828
BHD 0.409221
BIF 3216.385816
BMD 1.08805
BND 1.448808
BOB 7.501048
BRL 6.2515
BSD 1.08551
BTN 94.352829
BWP 14.78892
BYN 3.552389
BYR 21325.789517
BZD 2.180384
CAD 1.563556
CDF 3129.23268
CHF 0.961853
CLF 0.026358
CLP 1011.466076
CNY 7.875146
CNH 7.867111
COP 4477.817109
CRC 542.306875
CUC 1.08805
CUP 28.833338
CVE 109.84105
CZK 25.018035
DJF 193.293949
DKK 7.460931
DOP 68.256552
DZD 144.835981
EGP 55.123771
ERN 16.320757
ETB 142.575307
FJD 2.492757
FKP 0.841162
GBP 0.841319
GEL 3.019366
GGP 0.841162
GHS 16.825061
GIP 0.841162
GMD 78.339882
GNF 9386.770176
GTQ 8.3687
GYD 227.103456
HKD 8.457134
HNL 27.760852
HRK 7.530617
HTG 142.360535
HUF 399.655626
IDR 17765.688328
ILS 3.96806
IMP 0.841162
INR 94.602184
IQD 1422.011507
IRR 45806.925973
ISK 146.299015
JEP 0.841162
JMD 169.99388
JOD 0.771424
JPY 161.600529
KES 140.567456
KGS 95.150202
KHR 4349.213477
KMF 491.63527
KPW 979.255513
KRW 1578.815551
KWD 0.335195
KYD 0.904609
KZT 544.020262
LAK 23514.242812
LBP 97259.510507
LKR 321.738197
LRD 217.092096
LSL 19.749972
LTL 3.21273
LVL 0.658151
LYD 5.22583
MAD 10.505552
MDL 19.316445
MGA 5061.464424
MKD 61.293428
MMK 2284.643063
MNT 3778.994195
MOP 8.68976
MRU 43.136507
MUR 49.125057
MVR 16.766261
MWK 1882.235196
MXN 21.684982
MYR 4.838014
MZN 69.523383
NAD 19.749972
NGN 1690.580083
NIO 39.945822
NOK 11.570345
NPR 150.964328
NZD 1.891092
OMR 0.417409
PAB 1.08551
PEN 3.981931
PGK 4.461779
PHP 62.369257
PKR 304.071584
PLN 4.185355
PYG 8618.73454
QAR 3.95633
RON 4.981324
RSD 116.759348
RUB 92.999614
RWF 1524.81472
SAR 4.080621
SBD 9.151755
SCR 15.642866
SDG 653.91781
SEK 11.020799
SGD 1.450866
SHP 0.855037
SLE 24.839909
SLL 22815.875834
SOS 620.405441
SRD 39.516928
STD 22520.448286
SVC 9.49834
SYP 14146.674843
SZL 19.756746
THB 36.635202
TJS 11.831833
TMT 3.819057
TND 3.353656
TOP 2.548322
TRY 39.893893
TTD 7.370552
TWD 35.841494
TZS 2887.355763
UAH 45.028605
UGX 3978.643753
USD 1.08805
UYU 46.261446
UZS 14060.730239
VES 69.75109
VND 27761.608139
VUV 133.784436
WST 3.066665
XAF 653.434958
XAG 0.032217
XAU 0.000364
XCD 2.940511
XDR 0.812663
XOF 653.434958
XPF 119.331742
YER 268.476295
ZAR 19.806278
ZMK 9793.762239
ZMW 31.072072
ZWL 350.351812
  • GSK

    0.2600

    39.49

    +0.66%

  • SCS

    0.2000

    10.99

    +1.82%

  • RIO

    1.8400

    63.04

    +2.92%

  • VOD

    0.0500

    9.55

    +0.52%

  • RBGPF

    66.0200

    66.02

    +100%

  • NGG

    0.8900

    63.21

    +1.41%

  • RYCEF

    0.0500

    10.4

    +0.48%

  • BTI

    -0.0200

    41.36

    -0.05%

  • CMSD

    0.1500

    23.35

    +0.64%

  • CMSC

    0.0500

    23.22

    +0.22%

  • BCC

    2.9700

    99.35

    +2.99%

  • AZN

    1.0900

    77.6

    +1.4%

  • RELX

    1.1200

    48.93

    +2.29%

  • JRI

    0.0335

    12.83

    +0.26%

  • BP

    1.0200

    33.39

    +3.05%

  • BCE

    -0.1990

    23.47

    -0.85%

'Disney's Snow White' gets muted Hollywood premiere
'Disney's Snow White' gets muted Hollywood premiere / Photo: VALERIE MACON - AFP

'Disney's Snow White' gets muted Hollywood premiere

Disney's live-action remakes of animated classics are usually safe bets. But a new version of the oldest of them all, "Snow White," has become mired in controversies, receiving an unusually low-key premiere in Hollywood on Saturday.

Text size:

The studio kept its outspoken stars Rachel Zegler and Gal Gadot away from reporters at the afternoon event, with no red carpet interviews -- and has avoided questions about the film's divisive depictions of the Seven Dwarfs.

It follows a similarly pared-down European premiere on Wednesday at a remote castle in Segovia, Spain, where few media outlets were invited.

The negativity began way back in 2021, with the casting of Zegler, who is Latina, as Snow White -- a character from a German fairy tale who was famously "the fairest of them all."

This was predictably slammed as "woke" by some fans and conservative commentators.

"yes i am snow white no i am not bleaching my skin for the role" wrote Zegler, a US actress of Colombian and Polish descent, in a since-deleted tweet.

But criticism spread more broadly across Disney's loyal fan base when Zegler appeared to repeatedly denigrate the 1937 "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," Walt Disney's first feature-length animation.

Zegler described the beloved original as "weird" because Snow White's love interest is "a guy who literally stalks her."

This time "she's not going to be saved by the prince, and she's not going to be dreaming about true love," Zegler said in one interview that was blasted on Disney forums by fans longing for exactly those traditional tropes.

Zegler is unusually outspoken by Hollywood standards.

She publicly complained about not being invited to the 2022 Oscars gala, despite being the star of best picture nominee "West Side Story." She eventually bagged an invitation -- and some disapproving tuts.

"Zegler isn't necessarily the most decorous celebrity when it comes to the media or the internet," Slate journalist Nadira Goffe wrote in a 2023 column.

"She has a demeanor that can come across as charmingly awkward to some, and a tad glib and grating to others."

Compounding Disney's headaches, Zegler has signed off social media posts with "Free Palestine," while Gadot -- who plays the Evil Queen -- has expressed public support for her native Israel.

Disney did not respond to AFP request for comment.

- 'Backward story' -

And then there is the issue of the Seven Dwarfs, who have been conspicuously dropped from the new film's title, "Disney's Snow White."

Peter Dinklage, perhaps Hollywood's most famous actor with dwarfism, slammed Disney's "hypocrisy" for making a new "Snow White" film at all.

In a 2022 interview with podcaster Marc Maron, the "Game of Thrones" actor questioned how Disney could be "proud to cast a Latina actress as Snow White," and yet think a remake of a "backward story of seven dwarfs living in a cave" made sense.

Disney quickly issued a statement promising to take "a different approach" that would "avoid reinforcing stereotypes from the original animated film."

In the new movie, the dwarfs are cartoonishly gnome-like magical creatures, created by computer-generated visual effects rather than human actors.

This has itself provoked backlash. Some actors with dwarfism have blamed Dinklage.

"There aren't many roles for dwarfs in Hollywood so him saying that cancelled these roles... it hurt the dwarf acting community," professional wrestler Dylan Mark Postl told the Guardian.

- 'Passion' -

Altogether, Disney's latest live-action film has proven vastly more contentious than billion-dollar-grossing remakes like "The Lion King" and "Beauty and the Beast."

Requiring extensive reshoots, and hit by delays from the pandemic and Hollywood strikes, "Disney's Snow White" cost well over $200 million to make, according to Forbes.

Disney will be hoping that all publicity proves to be good publicity when it hits theaters next weekend.

"I interpret people's feelings about this film as a passion for it," Zegler told Vogue Mexico.

"What an honor to be part of something that people feel so passionate about."

A.Krishnakumar--DT