The casting of Zegler, a Latina actress, as Snow White drew criticism, as the character is described in the original material as having skin "as white as snow". Zegler responded to the comments in January 2022, saying that Snow White is popular in Spanish-speaking countries and having a Latina in such a role is rare, so she was proud to be cast. In August 2023, it was revealed that another Latina actress, Renata Vaca, was one of two finalists in the casting process for the role of Snow White. Vaca stated that the casting call for the role of Snow White was "open to all ethnic groups", and that the first phase of auditioning consisted of singing a Disney Princess song. In October 2024, Zegler revealed that in the film the character would be given the name Snow White after she and her parents survived a snowstorm to remind her of her resilience, which Zegler says was a plot-line used in another ve
The casting of Zegler, a Latina actress, as Snow White drew criticism, as the character is described in the original material as having skin "as white as snow". Zegler responded to the comments in January 2022, saying that Snow White is popular in Spanish-speaking countries and having a Latina in such a role is rare, so she was proud to be cast. In August 2023, it was revealed that another Latina actress, Renata Vaca, was one of two finalists in the casting process for the role of Snow White. Vaca stated that the casting call for the role of Snow White was "open to all ethnic groups", and that the first phase of auditioning consisted of singing a Disney Princess song. In October 2024, Zegler revealed that in the film the character would be given the name Snow White after she and her parents survived a snowstorm to remind her of her resilience, which Zegler says was a plot-line used in another version of the fairy tale.
The BBC reported that British film critics have mostly panned the film, while US critics were more favorable. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 44% of 179 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5.4/10. The website's consensus reads: "Snow White is hardly a grumpy time at the movies thanks to Rachel Zegler's luminous star turn, but its bashful treatment of the source material along with some dopey stylistic choices won't make everyone happy, either." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 50 out of 100, based on 47 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on a scale of A+ to F, while those surveyed by PostTrak gave the film an average rating of three out of five stars, with 39% saying they would definitely recommend the film.
