Politics are downstream of culture, and that grows truer by the day. And it’s become especially true with regard to pop culture.
Entertainment and technology are key parts of pop culture, so we’re taking you to the front lines of the culture war by addressing some of the best — and strangest — stories from that world in this recurring column exclusive to members of The Western Journal.
Few Hollywood studios, if any, are more eager than Disney to leave 2024 (and 2023) in the rearview mirror.
Bad news Mouseketeers: 2025 isn’t shaping up to be that much better, and you can thank one of the most unlikable movie leads in recent memory for that.
(In total fairness, the House of Mouse did enjoy a pair of commercial hits in “Inside Out 2” and “Deadpool & Wolverine” in 2024, but very little else outside of that.)
One of Disney’s big tentpole releases of 2025 is a remake of the company’s first-ever animated feature film, “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.”
While Disney’s over-reliance on nostalgia and “live-action” remakes is its own can of worms, there is something timeless about “Snow White” — a story about chivalry and good conquering evil — that should’ve made this such an easy slam dunk for the beleaguered studio.
Instead, Disney cast Rachel Zegler, a woman whose disdain for President-elect Donald Trump’s supporters and Jewish people are well-documented at this point, to take over the eponymous lead role.
But whereas the original Snow White could generally be described as feminine and demure, Zegler’s take on the character is going full-on boss girl, rah rah, 2024 feminism personified.
Do you agree or disagree with Rachel Zegler? (live action Snow White)
She says Snow White’s Prince “literally stalks her”, calls it “weird” and says the remake is “not about the love story at all” pic.twitter.com/2QfPUFNdAw
— Mickey Central (@Mickey_Central) August 17, 2023
Her public disdain for the original fairy tale paved the way for all manner of headaches for Disney — including delays and re-casts, which are not cheap no matter how deep Uncle Scrooge’s money vault goes.
(The iconic seven dwarfs in “Snow White,” for instance, have been re-cast from a diverse parody of the Village People to CGI monstrosities that somewhat resemble the originals. The CGI alone is going to cost a pretty penny.)
Fast forward from all that drama to Tuesday, where Disney finally gathered the stones to present its first official trailer for the 2025 film.
And, as mentioned above, Disney desperately needs a win. Surely the trailer would be warmly received, right?
Nope. Mickey Mouse’s worst fears came true: People still don’t care.
The YouTube video above has been seen over four million times in just over 24 hours of being live on the platform. And if the comment section is anything to go by, it sounds like most of those viewers left the video deeply unsatisfied.
Do you still watch movies in theaters?
Though, to preface this, as one user put it: “I’ll give Disney some credit. They are brave enough to leave the comment section open.”
And to those comments:
“Nobody has ever rooted for a poison apple until this movie! GO APPLE GO!!!” one macabre comment read, referring to the plot device used to put Snow White into a deep slumber.
One comment with over 18,000 likes read: “I got a feeling that this movie gonna have more comments on youtube than tickets sold.” (Ouch.)
“I want the queen to win in this version,” another biting comment read, referring to the antagonist of the movie, portrayed by Israeli actress Gal Gadot.
“The comment section has spoken- we all want the evil queen to win,” a different comment added.
“If i saw this movie on a plane,” one genuinely funny comment began, “I would still walk out.”
A number of comments also alluded to the somewhat subjective plot hole of the evil queen (Gadot) being jealous of Snow White’s (Zegler’s) looks as a primary plot point in the film.
Virtually all of the comments implied Gadot was more attractive than Zegler, for whatever that’s worth.
“Snow White” faces an uphill battle, with or without a charming prince, when it comes out March 21, 2025.
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