Has Disney Lost Its Way?

Neither version lives up to the gritty reality of the ultimate source. That polite little spot of blood from the pricked finger symbolises 'the curse'. And the man delivers her from it by something rather more robust than a kiss!

CGI makes everything look too shiny.

The film has failed due to many reasons. The lead, Rachel Zeigler, has given outspoken interviews, mocking the original version and generally making herself unlikeable on social media. Disney curtailed interviews with her and they didn't have the normal premieres these films usually have .

Then Disney originally decided to ditch the dwarfs in order not to offend. However, they found it that the opposite was true and there was an outcry and they were offending the very people they hadn't wanted to offend. They'd already filmed with the normal size magical people or whatever they called them. So then they went CGI.

Rachel has been vocal in support of Palestine however the Ugly Queen, Gal Gadot is an Israeli who has done her military service. So a few rankles there. Also , many will say that the Ugly Queen is far better looking than Snow White. Gal is a model and extremely striking .

The whole thing has been a fiasco. I'm amazed that they showed it after so much negative press but I guess they don't want to lose their 270 million, approximately.

Oh and many are annoyed that Snow White isn't white. Now I don't go along with that. I think she's beautiful. Even with the pudding bowl hair.

The best song from the original, Some Day My Prince Will Come , was excluded. This Snow White wanted to be fearless with no need of a stalker bloke as in the original.

Just a disaster. As I read earlier, Disney, trying not to offend anyone, ended up offending almost everyone.

Well, children these days, have nothing really to compare it with. Personally, I like the old films but at least they’re still in business. I know my grandchildren love the current ones. Modern kids eh!

Witzend

4allweknow

I saw the first SnowWhite film when I was 4 years old. Apparently, I cried for a large part of the film and those in the audience around us tried so hard to get me to stop being so upset offering bribes of anything they thought I'd like and showing me their children weren't upset about the wicked witch. Apparently a stick of barley sugar did the trick!

I was taken to see Fantasia at 4, when a trip to the cinema was a very rare event. The evolution (Rite of Spring) sequence made a deep impression on me even then, and I still remember my father explaining how land animals had evolved from fishes.

OTOH I found the Night On Bare Mountain sequence exceedingly scary!

I went to see Fantasia at a cinema when I was in my twenties and there was a lot of wacky baccy being smoked in some parts of the cinema. I love the film but wouldn’t dare show it to my younger grandchildren:some parts are very scary.

I think there is also an undercurrent of hate directed towards the 2 leading actresses because of their home countries. Very sad as they are both immensely talented and the haters have strong political views which are making this personal. It is art, not a platform for hate against Latinos and Israelis.
So much negativity on Facebook that I blocked any relevant threads

I just wish those who make films about traditional nursery rhymes, books etc would stay more close to the original story. I thought the point of Snow White was the triumph of good over evil. It also reflects a patriarchal society. I wish they’d used real people with dwarfism. That would demonstrate inclusivity.

icanhandthemback

Chocolatelovinggran

Modern animation is so good - pixar et al - that Disney films face fierce competition .
The Disney corporation is not famous for inclusivity. There are very few people of colour in the Disney - run town of Celebration: I saw none.

Not sure that is true these days. We've had Pocahontas, Encanto, Coco, Moana, Brave and Mulan to name a few.

So true … I don’t think equating Celebration houses has much relevance to Disney.
Most Disney films - Live action with CGI or plain CGI uitilise the most talented CGI staff, most of whom are International, most being Asian!
As the above poster has said those recent films celebrate peoples of all races and colour.

Newdawn

Prince kissing snow white shows lack of consent? Really? Perhaps they should have had him giving the kiss of life and CPR..an educational film for children. What nonsense.

I believe there’s an important debate to be had about consent, have you read about Madame Pelicot? This brave woman highlighted the issue of Sleeping Beauty rape scenarios. She drew attention to the perverted desire to have sex with an unresponsive woman.
It’s A Thing it seems - men wanting sex with unresponsive (drugged/dead) women

I stress I’m not about to say thins to my grandchildren but definitely would explore how they felt about ‘kissing’ someone who wasn’t awake

I’m of the same generation and Snow White was one I saw at the cinema. I think they have lost their way. Children of today will never know the magic of having to wait until a bank holiday when you got the compilation of various Disney Films. Yhey weren’t in demand in those days!

Bambi was the first film my mother took me to see at the cinema. I have no memory of that day but apparently I cried so much she took me home after half an hour ( the dark perhaps, the enormity of the old Odeon with the circle and stalls… we eventually got the VHS video when my own children were small and I love it.

I enjoyed all the old Disney cartoons and we had many of them on video, up as far as The Lion King. I don’t know why they were less magical after that one, my youngest was only a toddler when it was released. I even liked 101 Dalmatians, and I never usually enjoy a film when I’ve read the book first!

I do think they’ve got it wrong with CGI though, it just looks silly to me, cartoons are much better. Mary Poppins was a perfect non-cartoon though.

I saw the film this afternoon. It was much better than I’d anticipated. I’d always found the original boring - I hated that she needed a man to solve the day.

The young people in the theatre all seemed to enjoy it as well

Nah. It's becomes writers have run out of ideas.

I just wish Disney would stop re-making movies, and stick to some original stories, even though most of those are based on fairy or folk tales. Moana and Frozen are some that I can think of that did so well. The original Lion King was actually based on Hamlet, but has since been re-done too many times.

They need some new material. I don't need to see re-made movies.

I saw Bambi when I was very young. I like all the ‘original’ Disney films.
I don’t see characters in fiction as ‘role models’. I just accept that fictional characters can act differently than ones in ‘real life’. I differentiate between the two.
After all, who watches a car chase in a film and thinks that’s how they should be driving?
The world had gone mad.

IamMaz

I saw Bambi when I was very young. I like all the ‘original’ Disney films.
I don’t see characters in fiction as ‘role models’. I just accept that fictional characters can act differently than ones in ‘real life’. I differentiate between the two.
After all, who watches a car chase in a film and thinks that’s how they should be driving?
The world had gone mad.

Totally agree with you!

icanhandthemback

It's fiction, let's not get too caught up in bashing it. Things change with the times. If a man crept up on a sleeping woman (or one in a coma) and kissed her, no matter how chastely, in real life, there would be an outcry. As this is a children's film maybe we need to take that into account as we want children to learn from a young age that "consent" is extremely important. I'm not sure whether we can pick and choose when we role model versus when we don't when it comes to children.
The old animated version was lovely for its time and can certainly be used as a discussion about the old ways and new when kids are old enough to understand.

Too much navel gazing. The old Snow White, true to the story, was a romance, about good versus evil. Why cannot it be shown as such today. Not all men, or women for that matter are stalkers. When I think about it now it remains a romance. As for black snow, never seen any.

It isn’t navel gazing its awareness of Sleeling beauty syndrome. Women like Madame Picolet and others drugged so men could rape her

I thought it was the Wicked Queen not the Ugly Queen. Wasn't she just worried that she was getting older and a new young beauty was going to steal all the admiring glances.

CanadianGran

I just wish Disney would stop re-making movies, and stick to some original stories, even though most of those are based on fairy or folk tales. Moana and Frozen are some that I can think of that did so well. The original Lion King was actually based on Hamlet, but has since been re-done too many times.

They need some new material. I don't need to see re-made movies.

I wish there were more original films/tv programmes. Why do we keep having to have remakes. Bergerac is the latest I think.

It is particularly annoying when they change the stories so it has the old name but not the same story. Why not just write an original?

MayBee70

Witzend

4allweknow

I saw the first SnowWhite film when I was 4 years old. Apparently, I cried for a large part of the film and those in the audience around us tried so hard to get me to stop being so upset offering bribes of anything they thought I'd like and showing me their children weren't upset about the wicked witch. Apparently a stick of barley sugar did the trick!

I was taken to see Fantasia at 4, when a trip to the cinema was a very rare event. The evolution (Rite of Spring) sequence made a deep impression on me even then, and I still remember my father explaining how land animals had evolved from fishes.

OTOH I found the Night On Bare Mountain sequence exceedingly scary!

I went to see Fantasia at a cinema when I was in my twenties and there was a lot of wacky baccy being smoked in some parts of the cinema. I love the film but wouldn’t dare show it to my younger grandchildren:some parts are very scary.

I’d stop it before the scary Night On Bare Mountain sequence, but showed Fantasia to dds from a very young age. They always loved the Pastoral Symphony sequence (I’m sure most children would) ditto naughty Mickey Mouse (The Sorcerer’s Apprentice) and were interested in the evolution sequence, although like me they felt very sorry for the poor old Stegosaurus falling prey to T Rex. 😰

I still think Fantasia was a truly brilliant creation, especially when you think of all those images produced by artists, not by computers.

So do Disney own the copyright to stories written by The Brothers Grimm.

Mynamestaken

So do Disney own the copyright to stories written by The Brothers Grimm.

The Brothers Grimm's fairy tales are considered public domain, meaning they are not subject to copyright restrictions and anyone can use them freely

IamMaz

I saw Bambi when I was very young. I like all the ‘original’ Disney films.
I don’t see characters in fiction as ‘role models’. I just accept that fictional characters can act differently than ones in ‘real life’. I differentiate between the two.
After all, who watches a car chase in a film and thinks that’s how they should be driving?
The world had gone mad.

This exactly !

Witzend

MayBee70

Witzend

4allweknow

I saw the first SnowWhite film when I was 4 years old. Apparently, I cried for a large part of the film and those in the audience around us tried so hard to get me to stop being so upset offering bribes of anything they thought I'd like and showing me their children weren't upset about the wicked witch. Apparently a stick of barley sugar did the trick!

I was taken to see Fantasia at 4, when a trip to the cinema was a very rare event. The evolution (Rite of Spring) sequence made a deep impression on me even then, and I still remember my father explaining how land animals had evolved from fishes.

OTOH I found the Night On Bare Mountain sequence exceedingly scary!

I went to see Fantasia at a cinema when I was in my twenties and there was a lot of wacky baccy being smoked in some parts of the cinema. I love the film but wouldn’t dare show it to my younger grandchildren:some parts are very scary.

I’d stop it before the scary Night On Bare Mountain sequence, but showed Fantasia to dds from a very young age. They always loved the Pastoral Symphony sequence (I’m sure most children would) ditto naughty Mickey Mouse (The Sorcerer’s Apprentice) and were interested in the evolution sequence, although like me they felt very sorry for the poor old Stegosaurus falling prey to T Rex. 😰

I still think Fantasia was a truly brilliant creation, especially when you think of all those images produced by artists, not by computers.

And it was a way of introducing children to classical music. I still sometimes hum The Sorcerers Apprentice when I’m mopping the floor.