The Snow White backlash brigade isn’t going to like this.
On Saturday, Disney held the Los Angeles premiere of its live-action re-imagining of Snow White and the first reactions from the screening are that the film, starring Rachel Zegler as the titular fairy tale character and Gal Gadot as the Evil Queen, is “actually mostly successful,” according to one viewer while several are praising Zegler, with one critic calling her “stunning” despite the raging online controversy over the title.
Premiere reactions tend to come from fan bloggers and influencers and typically skew more positive than formal critic reviews — of which Snow White has had suspiciously few, so far. Nevertheless, initial responses following the L.A. premiere have been enthusiastic, if also sounding markedly surprised.
“Despite becoming an internet punching bag, Disney’s remake of Snow White is actually mostly successful!” wrote Matt DeGroot of Crooked Media. “Rachel Zegler is an absolute star, (most of) the new songs are catchy and beautifully performed, and the visual palette is sumptuous and vibrant. Gal Gadot had beautiful gowns… It’s a solid 3.5/5. Cinderella is my favorite of the remakes, but I would put this on par with [The] Little Mermaid in the next tier of my rankings with the rest below.”
Paul Klein of Film Hound magazine wrote a similar take to DeGroot: “I may regret saying this but #SnowWhite is solid. I really enjoyed the musical numbers, particularly the opening one and the Queen’s evil bop. Zegler was great in the lead role, and Gadot was fun. It’s really the CGI dwarves that let the film down. The choice is baffling.”
Elsewhere, Christopher Mills of Christopher Rates It agreed in his weekend post on X.com following the screening. “The biggest surprise of 2025 is that the most ‘controversial’ and hated film of the year is actually a decent live-action movie,” he wrote on the platform. “#SnowWhite is not only one of their best live-action remakes, but it’s also a movie that recaptures the magic of the 1937 movie. Rachel Zegler IS Snow White, and she delivers a magical performance. The musical numbers are unforgettable, the visuals (not the uncanny dwarfs) are enchanting, and Erin Cressida Wilson’s screenplay provides depth to this world that I didn’t know was needed.”
Ash Crossan of ScreenRant wrote: “Despite the bob being all over the place, #SnowWhite is quite charming! The message lands well, the critters are adorable, and Rachel Zegler and her enchanting voice are stunning. It almost got a full tear out of me, and I’ve never cried in my entire life.”
and We Love Physical Media wrote of being won over while admitting to walking into the screening with some big biases against the two leads. “Not a fan of Zegler or Gadot but man, this ended up being sooo good,” the news outlet wrote on X. “I think this one is gonna surprise a lot of people and do numbers. It’s in my Top 5 of Disney live-action remakes. Go see it!”
Skyler Shuler of Disinsider wrote that this version of Snow White will reach the top echelon of Disney’s latest series of box office megahits.
“Listen, I was worried, but let me tell you Snow White is PURE DISNEY MAGIC!” she wrote to her followers. “This will end up being a lot of people’s favorite live-action remake…if you enjoyed Aladdin or Cinderella, you’ll be happy.”
Yet at least one early viewer wasn’t impressed: “While Gal Gadot is great as the evil Queen, #SnowWhite isn’t a great remake of the animated classic,” wrote Carl Kaka at Future Of The Force. “Rachel Zegler is a poor Snow White, the changes to the story and lyrics are awful, some special effects are not that special and the film didn’t land for me. A huge shame.”
The reactions over the weekend line up with industry sources who have seen the film and tell The Hollywood Reporter that Snow White is on par with the quality of Disney’s other live-action remakes of its classic animated library.
The film opens nationwide on March 21. It’s tracking on firm box office footing, with estimates coming in around $50 to $56 million for its domestic opening weekend amid an otherwise very slow time at the box office.
Snow White, directed by Marc Webb (2012’s The Amazing Spider-Man), has had a long and rocky road to the big screen, having grown into such a culture war target that the studio has made some unusual moves in recent weeks. Unexpectedly, Disney placed the film’s tickets on sale less than two weeks before opening day — rather than the usual month in advance for its family titles.
Even more unusually, the studio restricted press and photographer access at the premiere event at the El Capitan Theatre on Saturday. Zegler and Gadot only participated in interviews with Disney’s talent-friendly in-house crew when walking the red carpet instead of with the established entertainment press. The actresses appeared to be in high spirits, chatting with each other and posing for photos. Once in the theater, no one took the stage to introduce the film — though that’s not entirely unusual with a Disney premiere.
Martin Klebba, who voices Grumpy in the film, previously told The Hollywood Reporter that he was disappointed by the decision not to have a traditional red carpet for the cast.
“It’s going to be at the El Capitan [Theatre], which is cool,” he said. “But it’s basically going to be a pre-party, watch the movie, and that’s it. There’s not going to be this whole hoopla of [it being a remake of] ‘Disney’s first fucking movie they ever made.’ Because of all this controversy, they’re afraid of the blowback from different people in society.”
Two years ago, Zegler drew the ire of some Disney fans by making critical comments about 1937’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, and, more recently, drew conservative backlash for slamming the election of President Donald Trump (for which she later apologized), along with expressing her pro-Palestine stance. amid the Israel-Gaza war. Meanwhile, Gadot has upset some on the other side of the political spectrum for her support of her homeland of Israel during its conflict with Hamas. Leading up to the premiere and during the publicity campaign for the film, the two were, for the most part, kept separated, though they did present a category at the Oscars last month.
