Disney's Snow White, or simply Snow White, is a 2025 American musical fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Pictures. It is a live-action remake of Walt Disney's 1937 animated film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, itself based on the 1812 fairy tale. Directed by Marc Webb and written by Erin Cressida Wilson, the film stars Rachel Zegler as Snow White, with Andrew Burnap and Gal Gadot in supporting roles. The reimagined story follows the princess Snow White, who escapes assassination by her stepmother, the Evil Queen, and joins with seven magical beings of the forest and a rogue bandit named Jonathan to reclaim her kingdom.
Plans for a Snow White remake were confirmed in October 2016, with Wilson attached as a writer. Webb entered talks to direct in May 2019 and was announced as director in September. Principal photography took place in the United Kingdom from March to July 2022, with additional reshoots taking place in London. The film was initially set to be released in March 2024, but faced delays due to the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike.
Before its release, the film generated significant controversy regarding its color-blind casting, changes to the story, and the reimagining of the Seven Dwarfs. Additional controversy stemmed from Zegler's public critiques of the original film and Donald Trump, as well as her and Gadot's opposing views on the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, leading to calls for boycotts on both political sides.
Snow White premiered at the Alcázar of Segovia in Spain on March 12, 2025, and was released in the United States on March 21, to mixed reviews from critics. One of Disney's most expensive films and its most expensive live-action remake, it was considered by analysts to be a box-office bomb, as it grossed $205.7million worldwide against a production budget of $336.5million, losing the studio $170million. The film later debuted at the top of the viewership charts in the United States upon its release on Disney+.
Plot
Snow White is a princess born to a benevolent king and queen, named for a snowstorm on the day of her birth. She grows up happily as her parents share prosperity with their subjects, but the queen dies of an illness and the king remarries. Before departing to confront a far-off threat warned of by his new wife, the king gifts Snow White a necklace engraved with the words: "Fearless, Fair, Brave, True". He never returns, and the new Queen reveals herself as an evil enchantress obsessed with her own beauty, forcing her subjects to live in poverty and conscripting many into the royal guard. Fearing Snow White's beauty will outshine her own, she confines her stepdaughter to the palace as a scullery maid. Each day, the Queen asks her Magic Mirror who is "the fairest one of all", and the Mirror always responds in her favor.
Years later, Snow White grows into a young woman. One day, while cleaning the castle, she meets Jonathan, a bandit leader who is caught stealing by the Huntsman. The Queen sentences Jonathan to be tied to the palace gates, but Snow White frees him, leading the Magic Mirror to deem her the fairest. Enraged, the Queen orders the Huntsman to take Snow White into the forest, kill her, and bring back her heart in a jeweled box as proof. While Snow White is picking apples in the forest, the Huntsman cannot bring himself to harm her, so he warns her of the Queen's intentions instead. At his urging, Snow White flees deep into the forest.
Lost and frightened, she is befriended by woodland animals who lead her to a secluded cottage, where she falls asleep. She awakens to meet the owners, seven magical beings named Doc, Grumpy, Happy, Bashful, Sleepy, Sneezy, and Dopey, who have returned home from working in a diamond mine. After learning about her story, they agree to let her stay. Meanwhile, the Queen learns from her Magic Mirror that Snow White is alive and imprisons the Huntsman before sending her guards to find the princess.
The next day, when a misunderstanding between the seven miners leaves the cottage a mess and Dopey humiliated, Snow White comforts him, teaching him how to whistle and motivating the others to tidy up their home. She crosses paths with Jonathan, who is wounded fending off the Queen's guards with his fellow bandits, and brings him to the cottage to be treated. The two realize their feelings for each other, and he agrees to help search for her missing father, but is captured and brought to the Queen, who imprisons him. Deducing Snow White's whereabouts, she transforms herself into an old peddler woman and creates a poisoned apple that will put whoever eats it into Sleeping Death and can only be broken by "true love's kiss".
The Queen finds Snow White alone at the cottage, while the animals see through her disguise and race to warn the miners. Manipulating her stepdaughter into taking a bite of the cursed apple, the Queen reveals that she had the king killed and leaves just as the miners return to find Snow White in a death-like sleep, laying her to rest in the forest. With the Huntsman's help, Jonathan escapes the dungeon and reaches the lifeless Snow White. He mournfully kisses her, and she awakens, rallying her friends to overthrow the Queen.
Leading her citizens to the palace, Snow White confronts her stepmother, who conjures a diamond dagger and goads her to take the throne by force. She refuses, and the Queen orders the guards to kill her, but Snow White reminds them of their former peaceful lives. Moved, the guards join the bandits, miners, and citizens in defending Snow White from the Queen, who flees to her Magic Mirror. Snow White follows, as the Mirror declares that her kindness and inner beauty make her the fairest. Angrily destroying the Mirror, the Queen is shattered by her own dark magic, and disappears as the Magic Mirror repairs itself. Snow White is named the new queen with Jonathan at her side as the kingdom celebrates.
Cast
Rachel Zegler as Snow White, a fearless, kind and pure-hearted princess who is determined to free her kingdom from her stepmother's evil tyranny. Emilia Faucher as young Snow White Olivia Verrall as baby Snow White Gal Gadot as the Evil Queen, Snow White's vain, jealous, and tyrannical stepmother who is obsessed with being the fairest one of all. Andrew Burnap as Jonathan, a new character created as Snow White's love interest (partially based on the Prince from the original film) and a rebel who wants to defy the Evil Queen's monarchy. Jeremy Swift as the voice and facial capture of Doc, the intelligent leader of the seven magical beings of the forest. Martin Klebba as the voice and facial capture of Grumpy, a grouchy magical being of the forest. George Salazar as the voice and facial capture of Happy, a cheerful magical being of the forest. Tituss Burgess as the voice and facial capture of Bashful, a shy magical being of the forest. Andy Grotelueschen as the voice and facial capture of Sleepy, a drowsy magical being of the forest. Jason Kravits as the voice and facial capture of Sneezy, a magical being of the forest who sneezes frequently. Andrew Barth Feldman as the voice and facial capture of Dopey, a magical being of the forest who doesn't speak but makes other sounds until after Jonathan wakes Snow White from her Sleeping Death. He is ultimately revealed as the narrator. Patrick Page as the voice and facial motion-capture of the Magic Mirror, a mirror containing a being that truthfully answers the Evil Queen's question of who is the fairest one of all. Ansu Kabia as the Huntsman, an unnamed hunter and the Evil Queen's servant whom she orders to kill Snow White.
Additionally, Hadley Fraser and Lorena Andrea appear as the Good King and the Good Queen (with Krystina Alabado providing the singing voice for the Queen), Snow White's parents. Appearing as Jonathan's team of seven bandits are George Appleby as Quigg who is a "master of the crossbow", Colin Michael Carmichael as Farno, Samuel Baxter as Scythe, Jimmy Johnston as Finch, Dujonna Gift as Maple who is Quigg's love interest, Idriss Kargbo as Bingley, and Jaih Betote as Norwich.
Cast members appearing in minor roles include Anna Sylvester as Guard Paul's Wife, Jon-Scott Clark as Dancer, Dean Nolan, Jonathan Bourne, and Luisa Guerreiro as artisans, Daniel Boyarsky as Guard, Leo Cropley, Kieron Bell, and Vivienne Rowe as village children, Alejandro De Mesa as Competent Servant, John Hyatt as Guard Matthew's Father, and Victoria Alsina as Little Girl Lily. The royal guards consist of Adrian Bower as the captain of the guards, Felipe Bejarano as Guard Paul who used to work as a farmer that also grew cherry trees, Simeon Oakes as Guard Matthew who used to work as a baker, Joshmaine Joseph as Guard William, and Chike Chan as Guard Arthur.
Production Development
On October 31, 2016, The Hollywood Reporter reported that Walt Disney Pictures was developing a live-action remake of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, with Marc Platt, an avid fan of the original film, signed on as lead producer and Erin Cressida Wilson being in talks to write the screenplay. Callum McDougall, in his third producing collaboration with Disney and Platt, serves as an executive producer.
On May 30, 2019, it was reported that Marc Webb was in talks to direct. In November 2021, Greta Gerwig was reported to be co-writing the screenplay. Wilson ultimately received sole credit for the screenplay; Gerwig, Jez Butterworth, Steven Levenson, Jeff Nathanson, Victoria Strouse and Chris Weitz each received an "additional literary material" credit from the Writers Guild of America, although they are not credited in the film itself.
Casting
In June 2021, Rachel Zegler was cast in the title role. The casting of an actress of Latina descent as Snow White, who is described in the original Grimm fairy tale as having skin "as white as snow", was met with criticism from some quarters. Zegler responded to the criticism in January 2022, stating that Snow White is popular in Spanish-speaking countries and that casting a Latina actress in the role was significant due to its rarity. Zegler's casting was solidified through a "glowing recommendation" to Webb from Steven Spielberg, who directed Zegler as María in his 2021 film adaptation of West Side Story.
In November 2021, Gal Gadot was cast as the Evil Queen. A new casting search for an actress to star as a younger version of Snow White was launched and Emilia Faucher was cast. On January 12, 2022, Andrew Burnap was cast as a new character named Jonathan in the lead male role, replacing the character of The Prince. At the 2022 Denver Fan Expo, Martin Klebba revealed that he would be portraying Grumpy; Klebba previously played similar dwarf roles in earlier productions based on the "Snow White" fairy tale: in the 2001 made-for-television film Snow White: The Fairest of Them All as Friday, and in the 2012 fantasy comedy Mirror Mirror as Butcher. Colin Michael Carmichael was confirmed to appear as Farno, one of the bandits. Andrew Barth Feldman, Tituss Burgess, Jason Kravits, George Salazar, Jeremy Swift, and Andy Grotelueschen were all cast as the remaining members of the Seven Dwarfs, with Salazar and Grotelueschen both making their film debuts. David Krumholtz auditioned for Grumpy and Sleepy.
Writing In October 2024, Zegler explained that the film would feature an altered origin for Snow White's name, with the character being named as an homage to the weather on the night of her birth, after surviving a snowstorm with her parents, a narrative element she stated was inspired by a previous adaptation of the fairy tale. She also faced criticism for comments about modernizing the titular character, particularly regarding the prince's role. At D23 Expo 2022, she stated: