Recently, Disney, which casts various races as its main characters, has received malicious comments from many people

Disney’s live-action “Snow White” announced it had cast a Latino actor in the role of Snow White and was embroiled in controversy, receiving 1 million “No” in the first trailer, and said it was canceling the premiere in London, England.

The British Metro reported on Tuesday that Disney has decided to cancel its London premiere in consideration of the public’s strong opposition. Instead, it plans to hold interviews with the media but minimize the scale.

Earlier, the live-action film Snow White was embroiled in a controversy with the casting announcement. When Rachel Ziegler, a Latino actress, took on the character, which means Snow White, an English name for Snow White, some animosity was expressed.

As a result, negative reactions continued, with more than 1 million “no” in the first trailer released in December last year. Of the 1.08 million responses, only 80,000 liked it.

After the teaser was released, Gal Gadot, the actress who played the role of the queen, was more beautiful than Snow White, and criticism poured out. As many as 22,000 “likes” were posted on the comment that the prince was looking for a stepmother instead of Snow White.

Disney was also pointed out in the live-action version of the movie “The Little Mermaid,” which was released last year, by casting Harley Bailey, a black actor whose image is different from the white-skinned red-haired Ariel in the original Disney animation. “The Little Mermaid” cost hundreds of millions of dollars to produce, but failed to break even as it failed to make a global box office hit due to the controversy over “black washing.”

The Seven Dwarfs, the main characters of Snow White, also became controversial. Disney used CG to treat dwarf characters of all ages and races, which has faced criticism for taking away roles of limited-time dwarf actors in Hollywood.

In addition, some activists who support Palestine protested against Gal Gadot, an Israeli actor who was cast as the “Queen,” adding to the political controversy. Ziegler’s remarks in the interview also sparked controversy. In an interview in 2022, he said, “The original animation is out of date,” and “The relationship between the prince stalking Snow White,” drawing antipathy from some original fans.

In another interview, he denied the existing love story, saying, “Snow White will not dream of true love, but will become a leader who wants to become.”

In response, David Hand, one of the co-directors of Disney’s original animation “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” strongly criticized Ziegler for his lack of respect for the original.

Conscious of the controversy, Disney canceled the event unusually, judging that the London premiere could further amplify negative public opinion.

In addition, it is reported that the main actor Rachel Ziegler plans to minimize media exposure to block the possibility of being asked sensitive questions in contact with the media.

SALLY LEE

US ASIA JOURNAL