Upcoming Snow White actress Rachel Zegler had some pointed comments about the film when she discussed it back in September 2022 at the D23 Expo describing that Disney depicted the prince in the original animated movie as a stalker.
Zegler shared her comments with Extra TV when she was asked, “I know you told me before that your version of Snow White is different and its more of a 2022 version of Snow White. What did you mean by that?”
Zegler responded, “The original cartoon came out in 1937 and very evidently so. There’s a big focus on her love story with a guy who literally stalks her. Weird. Weird.”
“So we didn’t do that this time,” Zegler admitted.
When asked if the prince would even be in the film, Zegler answered, “We have a different approach to what I’m sure a lot of people will assume is a love story just because like we cast a guy in the movie, Andrew Burnap, great dude.”
She continued, “It’s one of those things that I think everyone’s going to have their assumptions about what it’s actually going to be, but it’s really not about the love story at all, which is really, really wonderful. And whether or not she finds love along the way is anybody’s guess until 2024. All of Andrew’s scenes could get. Who knows? It’s Hollywood, baby!”
Zegler then revealed what the film is really about, “It’s an inner journey that she goes on to find her true self. And she meets a lot of people along the way that make the journey really incredible.”
Zegler alongside Gal Gadot, who plays the Evil Queen in the upcoming film, previously informed Variety that Zegler’s Snow White would not be rescued by the prince.
When asked what she meant by describing that the film has a “modern edge,” Zegler said, “I just mean it’s no longer 1937, and we absolutely wrote a Snow White–”
Gadot interjected, “–She’s not gonna be saved by the prince.”
Zegler then affirmed, “She’s not gonna be saved by the prince and she’s not going to be dreaming about true love.”
Zegler elaborated, “She’s dreaming about becoming the leader she knows she can be. The leader that her late father told her that she could be if she was fearless, brave, and true.”
“And so it’s just a really incredible story for, I think, young people everywhere to see themselves in,” Zegler concluded.
Speaking with Entertainment Weekly, Zegler also revealed that the film is also changing the definition of “fair” for the film. The original animated film made it clear the term referred to beauty and was providing a lesson vanity.
This will no longer be the definition for Zegler’s live-action movie.
She explained, “The reality is that the cartoon was made 85 years ago and therefore it’s extremely dated when it comes to the ideas of women being in roles of power and what a woman is fit for in the world. And so when we came to reimagining the actual role of Snow White it became about the fairest of them all meaning who is the most just. And who can become a fantastic leader.”
Zegler continued, “And the reality is, you know, Snow White has to learn a lot of lessons about coming into her own power before she can come into power over a kingdom.”
Gadot, who plays the Evil Queen, added, “Also the fact that she’s not going to be saved by The Prince and she’s the proactive one and she’s the one who set the terms is what makes it so relevant to where we are today.”
While Zegler repeatedly claimed that the original 1937 animated film was dated, she revealed to Entertainment Weekly she hadn’t seen it since she was a child before being cast for the movie, “I was scared of the original cartoon. I think I watched it once and I never picked it up again.”
“I’m being so serious. I watched it once and then I went on the ride in Disney World which was called Snow White’s Scary Adventures — doesn’t sound like something a little kid would like — was terrified of it. Never revisited Snow White again.”
She then said, “So I watched it for the first time in probably 16, 17 years when I was doing this film.”
What do you make of Zegler describing the Prince as a stalker and revealing the film will no longer feature a love story?