Son of original 'Snow White' director bashes Disney's 'woke, pathetic' remake

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The son of the original “Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs” director has bashed Disney’s forthcoming live-action remake of the film as a ‘pathetic’ do-over that would have his father and Walt Disney “turning in their graves.”

David Hand, whose father by the same name directed the beloved fairytale animation that was released in 1937, told the Telegraph that Walt Disney Studios’ upcoming adaptation — which has already been blasted for being “politically correct” after leaked images showed the seven dwarfs reimagined as “magical creatures” of all sizes and genders — is “insulting” and “woke.”

“I mean, it’s a whole different concept, and I just totally disagree with it, and I know my dad and Walt would also very much disagree with it,” he told the Telegraph.

Studio bosses have “destroyed” his father’s creation,” said 91-year-old Hand of the adapted edition to his dad’s famed work, according to the outlet.

The Mouse House’s modern take on the animated original, which was based on the 1812 Brothers Grimm fairytale, will see a character named “Jonathan” in place of Prince Charming, 22-year-old Hispanic actress Rachel Zegler as Snow White and dwarfs that Disney has said “avoid reinforcing stereotypes.”

There have also been rumors that Disney has ditched the film’s classic song, “Someday My Prince Will Come.”

In the modern-day take on the fairytale, a character named “Jonathan” will replace Prince Charming and dwarfs will “avoid reinforcing stereotypes,” Disney has said. Click News and Media / BACKGRID
When adjusted for inflation, “Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs” remains one of Disney’s highest-grossing films, making $997 million at the domestic box office. ©Walt Disney Co./Courtesy Everett Collection

“I think it’s pathetic that people feel that way… these are art forms in the world of film today,” Hand said of the updates, which he predicts will make young viewers — especially those who “have never seen the original” — “misunderstand” the film.

Meanwhile, her successor as the titular character, Zegler, has blasted the original storyline as being “extremely outdated” with a prince whose behavior is similar to that of a “stalker.”

“The original cartoon came out in 1937 and very evidently so. There’s a big focus on her love story with the guy who literally stalks her. Weird, weird,” she said during a red carpet interview with entertainment news outlet Extra TV.

“So we didn’t do that this time,” she said.

Zelger, who made her film debut as Maria in Steven Spielberg’s 2021 remake of “West Side Story,” defended the changes to the upcoming “Snow White,” which sparked fierce criticism from Disney fans, including “Game of Thrones” actor Peter Dinklage, who has dwarfism and bashed the film early on for its portrayal of the disability.

“People are making these jokes about ours being the PC Snow White, where it’s like, yeah, it is, because it needed that,” she told Vanity Fair in October.

The upcoming remake was written by “Barbie” director Greta Gerwig and directed by Marc Webb.

The Post has sought comment from Disney.

David Hand, whose father of the same name (pictured) directed the original “Snow White” animation released in 1937, said Disney’s forthcoming live-action remake of the film is a “pathetic” do-over.
“They’re making up new woke things and I’m just not into any of that,” Hand said of the forthcoming “Snow White” film, which he said would have his father and Walt Disney (pictured) “turning in their graves.” Getty Images

Hand told the Telegraph of his father’s creation — which, when adjusted for inflation, remains one of Disney’s highest-grossing films, making $997 million at the domestic box office: The original film was done “with good taste when it was written… and I disagree with this whole new concept… but I know Disney’s getting into that mode.”

Hand, who worked as a designer at Disney himself in the ’90s, also called it a “disgrace” that Disney is “trying to do something new with something that was such a great success earlier.”

“They change the stories, they change the thought processes of the characters, they just aren’t the original stories anymore. They’re making up new woke things and I’m just not into any of that,” he told the Telegraph.

“I find it quite frankly, a bit insulting that they may have done with some of these classic films. There’s no respect for what Disney did and what my dad did… I think Walt and he would be turning in their graves.”

Hand’s father worked as an animator for Walt Disney Productions for decades, creating a slew of Disney shorts in the 1930s before serving as supervising director on the original “Snow White” and “Bambi” animations, which debuted in 1937 and 1942, respectively.

Rachel Zegler, the 22-year-old Hispanic actress playing Snow White, has slammed the 85-year-old animation’s original storyline for featuring a prince whose behavior is similar to that of a “stalker.” Max Cisotti/Dave Benett/WireImage

However, as the films approach their centennial anniversary, Hand told the Telegraph that studio bosses should be coming up with new film ideas rather than reimagining old hits.

They “shouldn’t be taking a classic and rewriting it in their own image. Pick on something else… create new characters, if you’re gonna do this, but don’t destroy or try to destroy something that is, that is a classic and is a beautiful piece,” he said.

Hand recalled how Adriana Caselotti, the original voice of the fairytale heroine who passed away in 1997, would be “terrified” to find out her character one day wouldn’t be “saved by prince” or “dreaming about true love.”

He told the Telegraph that Caselotti was “very proud of her role in Snow White. So lovely… she lived that role for all her life.”

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