Why was Snow White live-action film’s title different from the original? Details explored

Disney's Snow White live-action remake has faced a lot of issues since before its release. Most of them were related to the changes the studio decided to make to the 1937 animated film. The fans of the original were not happy with the casting choices or the creative decisions it made related to its central characters. One of them was to shorten its name. The original film was named Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, but the latest adaptation chose to go with only the first half of the title.

This decision was reportedly made because of the objections raised about the characters with dwarfism. The Game of Thrones star Peter Dinklage pointed out his frustrations in February 2022, when the film was in its initial creative stages. Dinklage said,

“Literally no offense to anything, but I was sort of taken aback. They were very proud to cast a Latino actress as Snow White, but you’re still telling the story of ‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.’ Take a step back and look at what you’re doing there. It makes no sense to me. You’re progressive in one way, but you’re still making that fucking backward story about seven dwarfs living in a cave together. Have I done nothing to advance the cause from my soapbox? I guess I’m not loud enough.”

After that, the studio went through a series of creative changes, according to some reports and some rumors. Some note that Disney decided to hire only one person with dwarfism among seven human characters. Eventually, they went with the decision to bring all these characters to life with CGI animation.

A still from Snow White (Image via YouTube/Disney)

In the new movie, they were said to be magical beings who possess magical abilities. So, considering all these creative changes, Disney reportedly decided to drop the last part of its original title and call their live-action remake Snow White.

The change in the title aligns with Snow White's focus on the princess

The 1937 film was animated and made in an era when things may not have led to passionate or required discussions related to concerns against the socially vulnerable groups. However, over a century later, Marc Webb's remake decided to change some of the original film's elements and show them in a new light. One of these changes was related to the titular character, played by Rachel Zegler.

Despite the severe backlash to her casting, the critics were pleased with her central performance. Apart from that, her character was shown to have much more agency over her life than in the previous iterations. The ending doesn't show the prince waking her up from a slumber. Instead, it shows her taking back the reins of the kingdom that are rightfully hers.

Unlike the Evil Queen, Snow White wins with her compassion for the people in the land where they live. That's why she gets crowned as the queen in the final moments, replacing the Evil Queen. So, the title change may have helped the film focus more on Snow's tale and fleshing out her arc in a more dignified manner.