At this point, Disney’s live-action princesses should be able to sue for damages. Snow White, like The Little Mermaid before it, has thrust a promising new star into the centre of a lazily conceived, visually repellent remake, depending entirely on her talents to drive its machine. But it’s offered her nothing in return – not on screen nor support behind the scenes, considering our new Ariel and Snow White, Halle Bailey and Rachel Zegler respectively, are both women of colour targeted by rampant racist abuse online.
Zegler, like Bailey, was born for a role like this. She’s a classic theatre kid, bouncing off her first onscreen role as Maria in Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story to give us a wide-eyed, deeply earnest Snow. There’s a touch of Judy Garland in how she delivers the character’s new signature power ballad, “Waiting on a Wish”, with a beautifully clear voice and dreamy naivety.
