Original 'Snow White' Director's Son, 91, Slams Disney's Upcoming Remake as 'Woke': 'Not into Any of That'
Star Rachel Zegler has said the upcoming musical features Snow White as a "modern woman"
A new live-action version of Disney's Snow White is on its way, but not everyone is happy about it.
In an interview with The Telegraph, David Hand — the son of one of the co-directors of 1937's animated Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, who was also named David Hand — slammed the new movie as lacking "respect" for the original.
A trailer has not yet been released for the film, which is slated to be released in 2024 and is directed by Marc Webb (The Amazing Spider-Man) and co-written by Barbie writer/director Greta Gerwig.
Rachel Zegler, who will play Snow White opposite Gal Gadot as the Evil Queen in the film, previously said they updated the character to be "more independent."
Hand, 91, told The Telegraph, per Entertainment Weekly, "It's a whole different concept, and I just totally disagree with it." He called it a "disgrace" that the live-action treatment is "trying to do something new with something that was such a great success earlier."
"Their thoughts are just so radical now. They change the stories, they change the thought process of the characters. … They’re making up new woke things, and I’m just not into any of that," Hand said.
"I find it quite frankly a bit insulting [what] they may have done with some of these classic films. … There’s no respect for what Disney did and what my dad did. … I think Walt and he would be turning in their graves.”
A rep for the Walt Disney Company did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment.
Related: A Guide to All of Disney's Live-Action Remakes
Zegler, 22, told PEOPLE at the D23 Expo back in September 2022 how the new movie will differ from the original.
"Most of my character does not work for today's audience, I'll just say it," she said at the time. "We did a really deep dive into fixing and making a modern woman out of Snow White."
To that end, the West Side Story actress said the filmmakers set out to "make a new version of the character."
"I think she's 13 in the original cartoon, so we started there and said, 'No, she's 18 in this one.' She's a bit more independent," Zegler continued. "She's also living in grief. I mean, there was a lot of complex emotion that we decided to deep-dive into. And understanding what it's like to be a teenager on top of all that."
The actress added, "It was really incredible to watch the cartoon and see, there's no more waiting for a man, which is really nice. So a little bit more agency. We really see the journey she goes to become a really just and wonderful leader."
In recent years, Disney has done various live-action reimaginings of its classic animated films, modernizing the portrayals of its heroines. For example, Belle (Emma Watson) in the 2017 Beauty and the Beast is an inventor, and Alice (Mia Wasikowska) in 2010's Alice in Wonderland is a warrior who defeats a dragon. Both earned over $1 billion at the worldwide box office.
Snow White is scheduled to hit theaters March 22, 2024.
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