The 2025 Snow White live-action adaptation has been a whopping failure for Disney Studios. After countless attempts at live-actions, let’s dive into where Disney has been falling short of success.
Snow White (2025) has been a massive loss for Disney and past attempts at live-action remakes have been a similar story. Among the two dozen live-action Disney classics, almost all of them have faced serious backlash. With several remakes in the works, it isn’t hard to wonder to where Disney has been going wrong and what mistakes they could avoid next time.
Mulan (2020) was a political nightmare
When Disney Studios announced the live-action remake of their 1998 Mulan, fans had mixed opinions. While many were excited, fans of the original film worried about how effectively Disney would execute it. The animated version follows a young woman who pretends to be a man to take her father’s place in the army. It is a musical that is rich with Chinese culture and values. With the announcement of its live-action adaptation came the worry that casting directors would white-wash the entirely Asian cast.
Luckily for fans, Mulan‘s live-action adaptation hosted a predominantly Asian cast, starring Liu Yifei, Donnie Yen, and Yoson An. Unluckily, the crew was mostly white, meaning that the final cut lacked cultural accuracy in its costuming, design, and writing. On top of this, the #MeToo Movement forced writers to rework romantic elements from the plot of the 1998 film.
In the original, Li Shang played Mulan’s love interest and her commanding officer… Talk about an HR nightmare. Disney wrote Li Shang out of this version in favor of splitting his role into two characters. There was backlash that getting rid of Li Shang, a LGBTQ+ bisexual icon, was erasing his complexities from Disney history.
Maybe cast members need more media training…
The nail in the coffin for Mulan (2020) was cast members showing open support for Hong Kong and the Chinese Communist Party. In response to police brutality in Hong Kong, the actress posted for her support. In the coming months, her social media mirrored her stance through comments and reposts. Given the severe nature of the situation, the hashtag #BoycottMulan went viral, setting up the movie for further failure because of how political a simple live-action had become.
This film is released today. But because Disney kowtows to Beijing, and because Liu Yifei openly and proudly endorses police brutality in Hong Kong, I urge everyone who believes in human rights to #BoycottMulan. https://t.co/utmP1tIWNa
— Joshua Wong 黃之鋒 😷 (@joshuawongcf) September 4, 2020
Snow White (2025) screwed everything up…
Snow White was set up for failure from the start. Though the original animated classic, Snow White and the Seven Dwarves (1937), was a historical turning point for film, the nearly 100-year-old film was never begging for a remake. Despite this, Disney went ahead and casted Rachel Zegler to play the titular Snow White, Gal Gadot to play the iconic Evil Queen, and The Little Mermaid (2023) alum Andrew Burnap to play Jonathan, a new character who serves as a replacement for the Prince.
Like with Mulan, Snow White found itself in hot water when it came to its casting. Gal Gadot’s involvement in the film was a controversial one, because the Israeli actress has been vocal about her support for Israel in the wake of the war in Gaza.
it will always be free palestine.
— rachel zegler (she/her/hers) (@rachelzegler) May 17, 2021
In contrast, Zegler has been vocal about her support for Palestine, drawing a rift between the costars. In response, many have used this as a means of roasting some of the poor acting in the film, specifically from Gadot.
"israel this" "israel that" gal gadot girl focus on ur acting first because israelly bad https://t.co/cTpfRt3DFY
— Cindy is writing a secret world 🌻 (@_withcindy) April 4, 2025
How much are you guys gonna change?
More than that, the film itself takes a political stance, altering the plot to fit the modern world. The original film tells the story of a 13-year-old Snow White, who acts as a maid to the Evil Queen. After the Evil Queen tries and fails to kill Snow White, Snow White begins living in the woods with seven dwarves. Eventually, the Evil Queen manages to poison her with an apple, and only True Love’s Kiss from… an adult man can snap her out of it.
Zegler herself made note of the creepiness of this and said the remake would be more digestible–and she faced plenty of backlash for it. Instead, the movie chose to erase the Prince as a character, tweak some ages and power dynamics, and focus more on Snow White as a woman with agency than a target to some predatory older man.
So what should Disney do?
From what we’ve seen in Disney live-action remakes, the main issue future productions face is the political box that Disney is trying to fit their classic movies into. It’s too much. When you remake a beloved movie and change major points in plot or character, you lose the elements that make the movie beloved!
Though, Mulan or Snow White weren’t well-loved because they had problematic parts. Instead, they had a bit of classic Disney magic, whether it was in the power of characters or the beauty of their animation. Sometimes, those things just don’t translate well to live-action. Sometimes, they don’t satisfy Disney stockholders.
Both films tanked in their releases, despite their changes. Mulan, which was released straight to Disney+, lost $130 million. Meanwhile, Snow White‘s theatrical release lost Disney $41 million. The changes Disney made for the sake of modern critics did nothing to save these movies.
Ultimately, Disney should stop trying to make live-actions of fan favorites, and instead, they should be pumping out new content that will satisfy new audiences. The best way to honor and uplift classic, well-loved Disney movies is the make new ones that can stand alongside them and inspire new generations just the same.
