Live-Action ‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs’

[doctornick]

I'm not annoyed when the remakes deviate from the originals. Quite the opposite.

Again, none of us should assume that we speak for the audience that Disney is marketing its films to. There is no monolithic audience anyway.

The box office speaks for itself though. It's undeniable that Disney is not connecting with their potential audience with their movies. I can't say I know with absolute certainty why, but I think there's enough anecdotal evidence around to at least recognize what is likely some of the problem.

It's true there is no "monolithic audience" but Disney used to be king at developing media that had extremely wide ranged appeal for people of many different backgrounds and belief.

 

[LittleBuford]

Because the movies keep flopping.

The live-action Little Mermaid is closer to its animated precursor than, say, the live-action Aladdin is, yet it didn't do as well. Where is your evidence that adaptations that put a new spin on the original material fare worse than those that are more faithful to it?

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Where is your evidence that adaptations that put a new spin on the original material fare worse than those that are more faithful to it?

I never made any such claim.

Disneys' originals and remakes alike are flopping.

 

[Andrew C]

but you better not do what capitalism dictates you should do and go after those markets.

Capitalism dictates you should make movies that fail or make a partnership that causes you to lose huge market share?

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Capitalism dictates you should make movies that fail or make a partnership that causes you to lose huge market share?

Simple as.

 

[LittleBuford]

No assumptions but actual poor performance. Whoever is analyzing the potential audience reactions for Disney needs to be fired. You are correct "there is no monolithic audience anyway" but Disney thinks there is.

It is an assumption given that films from other studios are not subjected to the same sort of analysis. No-one is looking at the recent Mission: Impossible installment's disappointing performance and saying, "Paramount has forgotten how to connect with audiences."

You are correct "there is no monolithic audience anyway" but Disney thinks there is.

I'm not sure what this means. The live-action Little Mermaid (for example) was in no way more limited in who it was addressing than the animated original. In what specific ways do you think Disney's more recent films are exclusionary as compared with those of earlier years?

ETA: @doctornick, these responses apply to your post too.

 

[Californian Elitist]

As someone who identifies as a Disney fan through-and-through, I'm resistant to accepting the ones you're talking about as the archetypal default!

Disney fans come in all shapes and sizes! The spectrum is wide. Given that Rachel Zegler grew up in musical theater, I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s a Disney fan herself.

 

[LittleBuford]

I never made any such claim.

You were responding to the question "Why can’t people have the freedom to take an existing story and putting their own spin on it?" I'm not sure how I could have interpreted your words other than I did.

 

[erasure fan1]

(IMHO) is they’re changing characters we know and love rather than creating new ones, inclusion through subtraction rather than inclusion through addition.

And to add to this, if they wanted to change things so much for this film. Why not just make a film that's inspired by snow white. It would be a similar story but you'd have the freedom to do what you want and not have to worry about every change.

 

[DKampy]

With Greta Gerwig as a co-writer I am looking forward to having all of my expectations subverted as well as knowing I still have the original classic to enjoy

 

[LittleBuford]

Why not just make a film that's inspired by snow white.

It seems that's just what they're doing, no?

 

[GhostHost1000]

Do they, though? All of us here are fans, and there is no consensus among us.

There could be if they would just make the live action movies the same as the original animated ones they themselves created without any unnecessary changes to check a box

 

[LittleBuford]

There could be if they would just make the live action movies the same as the original animated ones they themselves created without any unnecessary changes to check a box

That certainly wouldn’t bring about any consensus, since some of us dislike such like-for-like remakes (The Lion King being my least favourite).

 

[Tony the Tigger]

Why do we need a new version at all? Why not just make a different film that is "girl power-y"?

If you are doing a "remake" of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the whole greedy reason is to build off the nostalgia for the original encouraging people to see the new one. Why try to sell something based on nostalgia and then change a bunch of it to be different and annoy the people you are marketing it to?

Simple. When those movies were made, we had different attitudes about female roles in society, not to mention other kinds of people.

Why wouldn’t you adjust those things? It would make less sense to leave them alone.

It’s bizarre to take this much exception to something so innocuous.

 

[Prince-1]

There could be if they would just make the live action movies the same as the original animated ones they themselves created without any unnecessary changes to check a box.

I prefer the changes. I don't want to waste my time seeing a carbon copy of the original. Give me something new to enjoy (or not if it's bad) and I also have the original version to enjoy.

 

[Andrew C]

Capitalism dictates you reach for new markets.

With a good product...

If a significant number of traditional consumers are so full of hate and fear that that inspires massive resistance,

That is an interesting assumption where we could do a deeper dive...

Do you alienate the growing markets to placate the screaming minority of traditional consumers?

Don't really need to alienate anyone if you focus on creating a good product.

 

[Californian Elitist]

It seems that's just what they're doing, no?

Right. They’re already doing that. And they won’t be the last. There have been numerous takes on the original story, Walt Disney’s 1937 version included (I don’t recall the original story having any songs about wishing in water wells). Nothing unusual going on here.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

What is the distinction to you?

Because it isn’t Disney’s obsession with diversity that’s the problem here.

Disney and Bud Light both reached for new markets, as capitalism dictates, and the noise machine and its consumers flew into a destructive rage.

Actually, they each reached out to established minority fandoms, and they have been doing so for a long time.

The only difference is this time, the supermajority were privy to what was going on, and their fragility couldn’t handle it.

 

[Tha Realest]

Stop taking Zegler’s words out of context. Post her interviews in full, and reference them only within a week of it occurring. And she doesn’t “hate” Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. She just thinks the Prince is a stalker, that the main character should be redefined, and the seven compatriots need no longer be dwarfs.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

It's bizarre to be so defensive when there is a simple solution that satisfies both people who want to see "different attitudes" reflected in films while also not annoying those who don't want to see classics changed. Why not simply do the thing that is straightforward and addresses all concerns? Why do something that is likely to annoy a significant portion on the potential audience.

Go make a girl boss animated film. That's cool, no one is saying it is a bad idea on the surface. There's no reason that film should be "Snow White".

You’re confusing satisfying both people with only satisfying one.