Disney’s “Snow White” Remake Hits Rock Bottom as IMDb’s Lowest-Rated Movie Ever

Snow White's poisonous apple. Photo by cottonbro studio via pexels

Disney is known for its live-action remakes of classic tales, and its latest effort, “Snow White,” set out to offer a fresh take on a timeless story. However, it’s made history for all the wrong reasons. 

Rachel Zegler, best known for her role as Lucy Gray in “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes,” stars as Snow White. The film, directed by Marc Webb, has quickly gained notoriety due to its negative critical reception. Just days after its release, it became IMDb’s lowest-rated film, surpassing “Disaster Movie,” which held an infamously low rating of 1.9 out of 10. As of Saturday, “Snow White” holds a disappointing 1.6 out of 10 rating on the popular review site, with thousands of viewers voicing frustration and outright confusion over Disney’s creative choices.

So, what went wrong?

While Zegler’s performance was deemed satisfactory, many viewers believe the film lacks genuine and authentic storytelling. While being a story that once lit up children's faces with dwarfs, animals and a “happily-ever-after,” this version of “Snow White” struck a tone that audiences didn’t expect and apparently didn’t want.

Before the film even hit theaters, Disney advertised this new version of “Snow White” as a modern-day update to resonate more with today’s audiences. The idea was to reimagine the 1937 animated film with a new perspective, focusing on an inclusive and diverse approach. While sounding good in theory, many viewers felt the film focused too heavily on rhetoric and too little on narrative substance.

Instead of the whimsical and adventurous figure represented in the original story, the new film takes the princess through a more somber plotline. The script sacrifices charm for long speeches about Snow White's newly sought-out independence. The magic mirror is still there, but the movie’s magic is missing. Critics have described the film as mediocre, disappointing and uninspired.

And it’s not just the somberness of the story that has people talking. The film also faced controversy several months before it was even released. Zegler’s past interviews resurfaced on social media, where she criticized the original film’s “outdated” themes and promised a version of Snow White where her love story doesn’t involve the prince “stalking” her. While some supported her perspective, others saw it as dismissive and disrespectful to the traits that made the original character iconic in the first place.

Then, there’s the casting. The film faced significant backlash for seemingly performative casting, more focused on publicity than storytelling. Most glaring was the reworking of the Seven Dwarfs to be “magical creatures” of various sizes and abilities. This left some fans confused and even upset, especially after learning that Dopey now speaks.

Remakes of films like “Snow White” have done more than spark debate about fairy tales—they’ve become part of a larger conversation about modern movie audiences’ needs and wants.

Some critics argue that Disney’s recent remakes, like “The Little Mermaid,” try too hard to be socially relevant and not hard enough to be fun. By trying to please everyone, they say, the studio makes films that fail to resonate with any audience.

With its record-low ratings and harsh reviews, this remake suggests that audiences are tired of their childhood princesses changing. When a remake reinvents an already famous story without capturing the spark of the original, fans won’t hold back from voicing what they feel.

Despite its criticisms, some still appreciated the effort behind “Snow White.” Some do believe that this movie is one step closer towards a more inclusive way of storytelling, but many of those supporters do admit the execution didn’t land in the way Disney intended.

The film’s failure doesn’t rest solely on Zegler’s shoulders, as she delivers a strong and emotional performance. The problem lies in the film’s attempt to be everything at once—classic and modern, serious and magical, cautious and rebellious. In the end, it just couldn’t find its balance.

Even in an era of innovative filmmakers with unique ideas, it turns out that good storytelling is, and always will be, the fairest of them all.