Disney's Snow White Production Harmed One Of The Character's Core Principles

Summary

Snow White live-action adaptation faces backlash for straying from original story and environmental impact.
Production of Snow White created 3,153 tonnes of carbon emissions, exceeding typical blockbuster levels by 62%.
Despite poor performance and environmental concerns, Snow White is among top 40 domestic movie musicals.

Disney’s Snow White is having more than just a bad week at the box office. The production of the $250 million live-action adaptation is also at odds with the environmentalist policies of the titular character.

Snow White is one of the most popular Disney princesses after the success of the 1937 animation, Snow White — which made $418 million through several releases — itself based on a German fairytale. But the Disney live-action adaptation has drawn more haters than fans; it’s safe to say that it’s the most disliked of such in recent times with its commercial outlook. The film’s downfall began when Rachel Zegler’s remarks during a press tour sparked controversy online. Her vision of reimagining the Disney princess as an independent heroine without the need for Prince Charming clashed with the sentiments of fans who cherished the original story. Disney’s controversial choice to replace the iconic dwarfs with CGI versions rather than casting live actors didn’t help matters either. The result is Snow White posting extremely poor opening weekend numbers.

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Figures of Snow White’s Greenhouse Gas Emissions Are Disturbing

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There’s more bad news for Snow White and its promoters. Despite sporting nature-centric marketing, the movie’s production was anything but nature-friendly. As revealed by The Guardian — upon analyzing over 250 sets of filings from the Walt Disney Company — Snow White’s creation directly produced greenhouse gas emissions in the United Kingdom. The movie was filmed at the U.K.’s Pinewood Studios on an expansive set and the sum of its fuel generator, main power, and flight emissions amount to 3,153 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e) in the Scope One category. Not only does this figure exceed the threshold of 2,600 tCO2e that The Guardian cites as typical for blockbuster productions by a staggering 62%, but it also surpasses Fast X’s U.K. filming, a movie notorious for its fuel-hungry engines.

It gets worse. For reference, when conjoined with 2023’s The Little Mermaid (5,127 tonnes), Snow White generated more equivalent (tCO2e) than the annual totals of Birmingham and Luton airports (7,829 and 6,243 tonnes respectively), Blackpool Pleasure Beach and O2 Arena. Both movies created more pollution than any UK-made Disney flick since 2019.

Snow White has been a battered film on all fronts

For a movie analysts predict will struggle to cross $100 million in the North American market, nothing spells bad press for Snow White more than alienating environmentally conscious viewers; they’re a demographic increasingly vocal and influential in today’s media landscape. Disney is still reeling from the estimated $115 million loss it would have to incur and the shame from the movie’s measly $86 million opening ($42.2 million domestic and $44 million overseas). Snow White may be inching closer to $180 million globally with its current $170 million cume, but the loud arrival of A Minecraft Movie at the box office has all but killed all hope of a $200 million finish. By comparison, the original Snow White animation was released 88 years ago and made $184 million or $187 million, depending on which numbers are chosen — Box Office Mojo’s or The Numbers’

Amidst all the doom and gloom, there’s still a piece of “good” news for Disney and its ambitions of adapting all or most of its classic animations to live action. Snow White is now among the top 40 movie musicals of all time at the domestic box office.