Walt Disney would be “turning in his grave” over Snow White remake, says original director’s son

The upcoming remake of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is just one of the many live-action adaptations Disney has made of their animated classics, but this one seems to be hitting a nerve.

While speaking with The Telegraph, David Hale Hand, son of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs supervising director David Dodd Hand, is very much opposed to the remake. “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,” Hand said. “There’s no respect for what Disney did and what my dad did… I think Walt and he would be turning in their graves.“

As Disney’s very first animated feature film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs holds a special place in the hearts of Disney fans. It’s not like there haven’t been live-action movies based on the original fairy tale before, but from the casting of Rachel Zegler as Snow White to the removal of almost all the dwarf characters, it feels like there has been a backlash against this remake since day one. Hand added that it’s a “disgrace” that Disney is “trying to do something new with something that was such a great success earlier… Their thoughts are just so radical now. They change the stories, they change the thought process of the characters. They’re making up new woke things and I’m just not into any of that. I find it quite frankly a bit insulting [what] they may have done with some of these classic films.“

David Hale Hand said that instead of remaking the old stories, Disney should be creating new ones. “[Disney] shouldn’t be taking a classic and rewriting it in their own image,” he said. “Pick on something else… create new characters, if you’re gonna do this, but don’t destroy or try to destroy something that is a classic and is a beautiful piece.“

The Snow White remake stars Rachel Zegler in the title role, alongside Gal Gadot as the Evil Queen, Ansu Kabia as the Huntsman, and Andrew Burnap as Jonathan, a new character created for the film. Snow White will hit theaters on March 22, 2024.