When it comes to Disney’s live-action remakes, there will always be a number of critics and fans holding them to the highest standards. It was seen with The Jungle Book and The Lion King, and will also likely factor into the reception of Lilo & Stitch’s remake when hits theaters. This is all due to people having a high affinity for Disney’s animated classics.

Marc Webb’s Snow White falls under the same microscope. While the box office intake isn’t terrible, the movie’s reviews are unfortunately not favorable. While it’s by no means a terrible remake as CBR’s Snow White review indicates, there are still flaws that have turned reviewers off.

10Snow White’s Dwarfs Are Victims of Bad CGI

The Dwarfs Are Done a Visual Injustice

Image via Walt Disney Pictures

Snow White’s CGI mainly hinges on the Dwarfs, and unfortunately, they don’t hit the mark. Even Peter Dinklage wondered why Disney would superimpose real-life characters and generate these heroes, when real people like him could have been used.

It does feel like a step backwards in terms of visibility. Dinklage pointed out how important such moves are towards meaningful representation of Little People. Sadly, the CGI is very jarring and takes the viewer out of the experience.

9Snow White’s Dwarfs Don’t Do Much In the Plot

The Dwarfs’ Magic Is Wasted

2025’s Snow White does mostly follow the original 1937 movie in making the Dwarfs the comic relief, but the movie had the potential to do more. They have magic powers. They’re actually supernatural beings hiding in the woods for centuries. However, they only use their mystical powers for mining gems. Other than that, it’s thin humor that copies the initial 1937 animation.

With their abilities, Snow White could have had them using magic to fight the army belonging to Gal Gadot’s Evil Queen. Unfortunately, the Dwarfs are there for moral support alone, wasting what could have been an original idea. Sticking too close to the original movie in this case would have some critics remembering how Star Wars was afraid to take risks with J.J. Abrams’ movies.

8Snow White Doesn’t Honor Its King’s Memory

Snow White’s Father Is Treated Like a Throwaway Character

Image via Disney

This new film has the King going missing when visiting another Kingdom in the opening act. The evil stepmother later confirms in Snow White’s ending that she killed him off-screen. It’s such a big part of the movie, only to then be played off in a throwaway line.

It’s meant to break hope in Rachel Zegler’s Snow White, but there’s no telling if the Evil Queen really did it, or how. A flashback would have been cool. Seeing as the Evil Queen uses black magic, conjuring up the past could have terrified the princess and crushed her spirit. Seeing him begging for his daughter to remain safe would have added nuance for critics. This is another new cut added, only to end up so underdeveloped.

7Snow White Diminishes Its Political Vibe

Snow White Minimizes Its Message Against Authoritarianism

Image via Disney

In this movie, once the King is gone, the Evil Queen oppresses her Kingdom and others around her. This causes people like Snow White’s Jonathan to resort to stealing. the latter also has rebels on the outskirts, but it’s only a small group of people. Snow White diminishes a chance to truly create a movement, speaking to how politicians come off as fascist and uncaring to citizens.

This bigger revolution would have made the Evil Queen a terrifying cult of personality, which truly spoke to socioeconomic disaster when tyrannical rulers took over regimes. Instead, Jonathan’s crew just feels like a pastiche of Robin Hood’s clan with a missed chance to properly examine authoritarianism.

6Snow White Undercuts Jonathan as a Hero

Jonathan’s History and Motivations Aren’t Padded

It’s bold to use Jonathan as a love interest instead of the original movie’s Prince Charming. But Andrew Burnap’s Jonathan and Zegler’s princess don’t have much chemistry. They needed more romantic outings together to really make a spark and romance feel real.

Jonathan’s dynamic, on the whole, also feels short-sold. More about his history, how his family suffered under the Evil Queen, and how he lost friends would have added pathos. Instead, he’s largely a stock character who just says he believes in her father’s more compassionate rule. Jonathan having a formative identity needs to be seen and felt, not revealed through quick-fire lines that hold no weight.

5Snow White Short-Sells Its Evil Queen

Gal Gadot’s Queen Lacks the Intimidation of the Animated Original

Image via Disney

The same issue with Jonathan is what unfolds with the Evil Queen. Fans needed to witness more of her bewitching the King. Her black magic would have worked wonders. Showing her plotting against him would have helped paint her as a more intimidating figure.

Gal Gadot Details

Date of Birth
Apr. 30, 1985

Place of Birth
Petah Tikva, Israel

Notable Movies
Wonder Woman, Justice League

Notable TV Shows
Asfur, Kathmandu, The Beautiful Life

Additionally, there isn’t much of her turning against Snow White. Disney’s Cinderella remake in 2015 did this better with the title character’s stepmother and stepsisters. These sorts of villains need an emotional connection to the audience. Gadot’s villain possesses none of that, appearing as someone who just conjures gems and craves her mirror calling her “fair.” It’s superficial when a character of the Evil Queen’s magnitude should be more believably intimidating.

4Snow White Dumbs Its Kingdom Down

The Queen’s Oppressive Reign Is Botched

Image via Disney

This movie wants to be serious in addressing how the Evil Queen rules with an iron fist. But seeing as she doesn’t really terrify the common folk, critics would certainly want to know why they fear her. There is simply no reason for farmers and menial workers to bend a knee, abandon their kin, and become guards.

Had a spell been used to weaponize men and make the citizens scared and passive, it would feel organic. Instead, everyone forgets their roles and just abides by the Evil Queen. It’s a forced way of having the princess show up in the Snow White finale and get everyone to betray their ruler once the heroine calls them by their names. It’s a nice idea, but the execution overall feels cosmetic. This is another reason the Evil Queen feels so wasted.

3Snow White Botches the Huntsman

The Huntsman Is Set Up to Be Important and Then Ignored

Snow White retools the Huntsman’s arc by having him thrown in the dungeon for not killing the girl. He later helps Jonathan escape captivity. However, he doesn’t come back into play. The Huntsman could have been the one to break the guards out of their gaslighting.

The Huntsman didn’t even help in the finale fight against the Evil Queen. Given that he and Snow White had a huge connection when he spared her, critics could easily think of the plot as disjointed and inconsistent. The Huntsman deserved to be more than just Hail Mary plays twice to send Jonathan to rescue a sleeping soulmate.

2Snow White Has Significant Plot Holes

The Evil Queen Strangely Doesn’t Kill Key Heroes

Image via Disney

Snow White’s Queen should have killed Jonathan, as she knew him finding Snow White could break her sleeping death spell. She killed the King, so there is no reason to keep the rebel alive. It’s also never explained why she wouldn’t set an example and publicly execute the Huntsman.

The most talked about movie of the year arrives 🗣️ Disney’s #SnowWhite is now playing in theaters. Get tickets: https://t.co/rh2nMCjQM6 pic.twitter.com/QRFtmKrtE3 — Walt Disney Studios (@DisneyStudios) March 21, 2025

She even tried to kill Jonathan in the opening act by tying him to the palace gates to freeze to death. On top of that, the entire apple twist is nonsensical. Why not poison and kill Snow White? The sleeping death arc doesn’t add up, proving to some reviewers that Snow White has an identity crisis in that it is scared to axe illogical plot points. Instead, plot holes arise, making the story feel disjointed.

1Snow White Is a Damsel In Distress Again

The Princess Is Turned Into an Object Once More

There is endearment in the Dwarfs keeping watch over the princess and Jonathan returning to kiss and awaken her. But it still makes her a damsel in distress like in the original animated feature. Snow White should have been more cavalier and given more agency.

Snow White ends up being an object for men to protect and save. This walks back the idea of an independent modern Disney princess. It’s a shame because new movies like Moana 2 are fearless and don’t need helpless women to be saved by men. As many critics would attest, Disney needs to figure out how it wants to present its women moving forward.