Disney’s much-maligned Snow White remake finally held its US premiere on Saturday, but it was a far cry from the lavish red carpets and huge turnouts that the House of Mouse has become known for.

With the film hit by a string of controversies, including claims of a feud between its stars Rachel Zegler and Gal Gadot, bosses opted for a low-key afternoon screening where local children were the guests of honour.

Having previously been absent from the film’s secret Spanish premiere earlier this week, this time Gal was in attendance alongside star Rachel, with the pair posing for stilted snaps together.

Shining a light on bosses’ attempts to limit the difficult questions Rachel could face about the film, a select number of pH๏τographers, far smaller than the number expected for a Disney premiere, were invited.

Following a series of scandals and PR nightmares that have beset the Snow White remake, Disney have scaled back the planned lavish premieres to a ‘handful’ of тιԍнтly controlled press events.

Noting the number of children that made up the guest list, the screening, held at LA’s El Capitan Theatre, took place at 3:30pm after a pre-party celebration that lasted just 90 minutes, according to Variety.

Disney’s much-maligned Snow White remake finally held its US premiere on Saturday, with stars Rachel Zegler and Gal Gadot in attendance (pictured with producer Marc E. Platt)

Instead of a vast array of press, which would be expected for a big-budget Disney film, the only interviewers the cast faced were employed by Disney, such as Jodi Benson, who voiced Ariel in the studio’s 1989 animation The Little Mermaid.

Cast members Martin Klebba, Jason Kravits, George Salazar, Andy Grotelueschen, Emilia Faucher, Lorena Andrea, Dujonna Gift, and Idris Kargbo, as well as director Marc Webb, screenwriter Erin Cressida Wilson, producers Marc Platt and Jared LeBoff, songwriters Justin Paul and Benj Pasek, composer Jeff Morrow and cinematographer Mandy Walker also walked the red carpet. 

Putting the focus on local children who were invited to the event, the pre-party celebration featured an array of sponsored activities to entertain the young guests while they waited.

Many children attending the premiere were from the San Fernando and Malibu chapters of the Boys & Girls Club.

Activities included a magic mirror nail polish installation from Essie, Joffrey’s Coffee & Tea serving a ‘Just One Bite’ brew and a MiracleGro booth where guests could make a flower bouquet to bring home after the film. 

Allegra was also part of the co-branded campaign with dwarves Sneezy and Sleepy prominently featured. 

Guests sipped on apple-infused drinks – appletinis, sparkling cider and Shirley Temples, which was an ode to the iconic child star who famously presented Walt Disney with an honorary Oscar for the original Snow White in 1938. 

During the screening, Rachel did briefly address the backlash that has surrounded the film, which has been branded woke over fears it has prioritised its messaging over authentic storytelling.

With the film hit by a string of controversies, bosses opted for a low-key afternoon screening where local children were the guests of honour

Having previously been absent from the film’s secret Spanish screening, this time Gal was in attendance alongside star Rachel, with the pair posing for stilted snaps together

Shining a light on attempts to limit the difficult questions Rachel could face, a select number of pH๏τographers, far smaller than the number expected for a Disney premiere, were invited

Instead of a vast array of press, as would be customary due to the interest in a bid-budget Disney remake, the only interviewers the cast faced were employed by Disney

Among the only press in attendance for the premiere were Disney-friendly names such as Jodie Benson, who voiced Ariel in the 1989 film The Little Mermaid

Putting the focus on local children who were invited to the event, the pre-party celebration featured an array of sponsored activities to entertain the young guests while they waited

Activities included a magic mirror nail polish installation from Essie, Joffrey’s Coffee & Tea serving a ‘Just One Bite’ brew and a MiracleGro booth

Guests sipped on apple-infused drinks – appletinis, sparkling cider and Shirley Temples, an ode to the iconic child star who presented Walt Disney with an honorary Oscar in 1938

Speaking about the reaction she’s had as the movie’s young star, Rachel explained she interprets people’s feelings about it as ‘their pᴀssion for’ the character. 

She said: ‘What an honor to be a part of something for which people feel so much pᴀssion. We’re not always going to have the same sentiments as those around us and all that we can do is give the best of ourselves.’

The actress posed for snaps in a pale pink ballgown with a flowing satin skirt, stopping to meet some of the young fans attending, who were dressed up as the iconic Princess. 

And while she and Gal, who stars as the Evil Queen, painted on smiles to pose for snaps together, fans were quick to spot the tension between them, amid claims of a feud behind the scenes.

One person on X observed, ‘Those are some bad, fake, forced smiles; none of the smiles are reaching their eyes.’

Another agreed, adding, ‘Guarantee the smiles dropped as soon as they were done with the picture.’

In reference to a pH๏τo featuring producer Marc E. Platt between the two actresses, someone commented, ‘He’s holding them back like two wild beasts trying to kill each other.’

Another person shared a pH๏τo of enemies feigning camaraderie while wielding weapons behind their backs, comparing the image to Rachel and Gal. 

This is the first red carpet event for the film Gal, who plays the Evil Queen, has attended, and instead she’s been leading the promotional tour on PR-friendly morning and late night shows

Rachel (left) and Gal (right) posed for stilted snaps together, amid claims of a behind-the-scenes clash between the stars over their opposing views on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

The premiere is the latest scaled-back event from bosses to promote the film, days after raising eyebrows by holding a ‘secret’ screening in Spain where global press were shut out 

It has been widely speculated that there is a behind-the-scenes clash between the live action film’s two leading stars.

AT A GLANCE: ALL THE CONTROVERSIES TO HAVE ENGULFED THE SNOW WHITE REMAKE 

Snow White’s skin color 

Since casting Hispanic actress Zegler as Snow White, Disney fans have highlighted the woke deviations from the classic fairytale.

While reflecting on comments made on social media about her casting as Snow White, Zegler insisted she doesn’t even try to wrap her head why ‘Disney adults’ would have a problem with someone Latina portraying the beloved princess.

Zegler revealed the line describing her character’s ‘skin as white as snow’ will reference ‘another version of Snow White that was told in history’.

Depiction of the Seven Dwarves

Disney sparked backlash after they announced that ‘magical creatures’ would replace the seven dwarves to ‘avoid reinforcing stereotypes’ after Peter Dinklage criticized the ‘f****** backwards story’. 

‘It makes no sense to me,’ he told Mark Maron’s WTF podcast. ‘You’re progressive in one way and you’re still making that f***ing backwards story about seven dwarfs living in a cave together, what the f*** are you doing, man? Have I done nothing to advance the cause from my soapbox? I guess I’m not loud enough.’ 

Zegler pans original over ‘Sєxism’ 

Zegler criticized David Hand’s 1937 original animated film as ‘extremely dated when it comes to the ideas of women being in roles of power and what a woman’s fit for in the world.’ 

‘The original cartoon came out in 1937, and very evidently so,’ she told Extra TV in 2022. 

‘There’s a big focus on her love story with a guy who literally stalks her. Weird. So we didn’t do that this time.’

Hollywood-style premieres ditched for  ‘тιԍнтly controlled’ press events

Film bosses had originally planned to stage a Hollywood soiree worthy of the staggering $269.4million spent on the movie – with events planned in Los Angeles, London and globally

Yet amid the series of scandals and PR nightmares, Disney scaled back the planned lavish premieres to a ‘handful’ of тιԍнтly controlled Press events.

 

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It’s believed to be over their opposing views on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict; Gadot is notably from Israel.

The premiere is the latest scaled-back event from Disney bosses to promote the film, days after raising eyebrows by holding a ‘secret’ screening in Spain where global press were shut out.

It wasn’t even described as a premiere, but was carefully referred to as an ‘European event’ after its glitzy global premieres were ditched in favor of ‘tightly controlled’ press events.

Rather than the usual list of major news outlets flocking to the scene, local Spanish influencers and families from the small city of Segovia, which boasts a population of just 51,000, were among the chosen ‘VIPs’ in attendance.

The event – which took place thousands of miles away from the gaze of global press – featured a performance from Zegler of Waiting upon a Wish, with ‘VIPs’ standing in a crowd to watch, as well as a lavish meal with guests.

Select guests were given the chance to get a special exclusive screening of the movie itself as influencers gave a glimpse inside the cinema room on social media, though they have to remain mum on their thoughts on the release for now.

According to Disney, unnamed ‘press’, ‘content creators’ and families involved with local Spanish charities were among those who gathered outside the medieval castle.

However, there didn’t appear to be many big names from influencer circles in attendance as the Spanish content creators in the crowds boasted mere thousands of followers, rather than millions.

When asked by TMZ over the weekend how she feels now that Snow White is finally about to hit theaters, she answered, ‘It feels wonderful, thank you.’ 

Earlier this week, it was revealed by Variety that Disney chose to ‘scale back’ the movie’s LA premiere, limiting coverage to photographers and a house crew.

Martin Klebba, who voiced the character of Grumpy, slammed Disney for choosing to scale back on the Hollywood premiere. 

TMZ reported that the actor – who is also known for appearing in the Pirates Of The Caribbean franchise – is ‘seriously bummed and a bit p****d.’ 

He briefly commented on the controversies surrounding the movie, as well as the political opinions of the leading stars but said it ‘shouldn’t have overshadowed everyone else’s hard work.’ 

And while talking to The Hollywood Reporter, he further commented on the screening which will take place on Saturday and expressed, ‘It really isn’t going to be a red carpet.

‘It’s going to be at the El Capitan [Theatre], which is cool. But it’s basically going to be a pre-party, watch the movie, and that’s it.’

Martin added, ‘There’s not going to be this whole hoopla of, “Disney’s first f***ing movie they ever made.” Because of all this controversy, they’re afraid of the blowback from different people in society.’ 

Peter Dinklage previously hit back at Disney for remaking Snow White which he labeled as a ‘f***ing backward story about seven dwarfs living in a cave together.’ 

Read More Inside the Snow White premiere so woke it had to be held in secret – and only one star attended

Klebba said, ‘I don’t usually get into the political stuff, but I [felt], “Dwarfs aren’t going to go away just because you can’t imagine that they’re there.” 

‘We’re still going to be walking around. So I didn’t get the whole stuff about not doing the dwarfs. The story’s been around forever, and it’s a classic.’

It has also been rumored that there is a ‘feud’ behind-the-scenes with Rachel and Gal over their contrasting views on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. 

A source recently told People that the two stars ‘have nothing in common’ and added, ‘On top of that, their political views differ, adding to the tension.’ 

A large scale premiere would have also taken place at Leicester Square in London, but an insider informed DailyMail.com earlier this month that a decision was made to not hold one for the upcoming movie.

‘Disney are already anticipating an anti-woke backlash against Snow White and have reduced the media schedule to just a handful of тιԍнтly controlled press events,’ the source stated.

‘That is why they have taken the highly unusual step not to host a London premiere for the film and are minimizing the amount of press questions that Rachel Zegler gets.’

Zegler had attended an event in Tokyo to promote the film last week as she has led the press for the remake, but Gadot and the rest of the cast were not in attendance.

Disney’s choice comes following criticism and fears that the remake prioritized ‘woke’ messaging over authentic storytelling. 

Notably, the remake has dumped the traditional romance plot because of ‘Sєxism’ and reimagined the Seven Dwarfs as a diverse group of ‘magical creatures’.

Zegler herself has also criticized David Hand’s 1937 original animated film as ‘extremely dated when it comes to the ideas of women being in roles of power and what a woman’s fit for in the world’.

‘The original cartoon came out in 1937, and very evidently so,’ she told Extra TV in 2022. 

‘There’s a big focus on her love story with a guy who literally stalks her. Weird. So we didn’t do that this time.

‘We have a different approach to what I’m sure a lot of people will ᴀssume is a love story just because we cast a guy in the movie.’

‘All of Andrew’s scenes could get cut, who knows? It’s Hollywood, baby!’ she joked.

Notably, the remake has dumped the traditional romance plot because of ‘Sєxism’ and reimagined the Seven Dwarfs as a diverse group of ‘magical creatures’ 

About the 1937 film, she added: ‘I was scared of the original version. I think I watched it once and never picked it up again. I’m being so serious.’

Zegler also told Variety that her version of Snow White would be dreaming about becoming a ‘fearless leader’ rather than ‘dreaming about true love’.

Sources previously revealed to DailyMail.com that Zegler’s reputation as a ‘loose cannon’ nearly got her axed from playing Snow White.

Zegler’s strong opinions have prompted some haters to vow to boycott the film.

Reflecting on comments made on social media about her casting as Snow White, Zegler insisted she doesn’t even try to wrap her head why ‘Disney adults’ would have a problem with someone Latina portraying the beloved princess.

Zegler proceeded to reveal that the line describing her character’s ‘skin as white as snow’ will reference ‘another version of Snow White that was told in history,’ in which the character ‘survived a snowstorm that occurred when she was a baby’.

‘The king and queen decided to name her Snow White to remind her of her resilience,’ she noted. ‘One of the core points in our film for any young woman or young person is remembering how strong you actually are.’  

The star also admitted that it was ‘sad’ to see so many people rip her apart for teasing that her version of Snow White would not not be saved by a prince.

Disney also sparked backlash after they announced that ‘magical creatures’ would replace the seven dwarves to ‘avoid reinforcing stereotypes’ after Game of Thrones actor Peter Dinklage criticized the ‘f****** backwards story’ last year.

‘I was a little taken aback when they [Disney] were very proud to cast a Latina actress as Snow White, but you’re still telling the story of Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs,’ he told Mark Maron’s WTF podcast. 

‘It makes no sense to me. You’re progressive in one way and you’re still making that f***ing backwards story about seven dwarfs living in a cave together, what the f*** are you doing, man? 

‘Have I done nothing to advance the cause from my soapbox? I guess I’m not loud enough.’ 

Dinklage’s concerns were shared by some charities, including the Restricted Growth ᴀssociation in the UK.

‘I very much stand with Peter Dinklage on the disappointment and irritation towards Disney for the remake of Snow White,’ Rhonda Cutmore, a member of the ᴀssociation, told The Telegraph.

Meanwhile, Dwarfism writer Steph Robson said she hoped film producers make an effort to avoid stereotypes in its retelling of the classic movie.

‘It is my hope that the latest live action remake, and Disney, will, at the very least go some way to redress the decades of the one-dimensional stereotypes that our disability continues to experience, especially within arts and cultural settings,’ she told the outlet.

The story has also been criticized as being ableist for portraying the dwarfs with lesser intelligence and Snow White seeing them as children.

The film has drastically scaled back its press tour with a handful of controlled screenings, following fears the remake prioritised ‘woke’ messaging over authentic storytelling

Zegler has also criticized David Hand’s 1937 original animated film as ‘extremely dated when it comes to the ideas of women being in roles of power and what a woman’s fit for in the world’ 

Disney later said it’s ‘taking a different approach’ with Snow White’s seven companions.

In a statement last year, the company said it had been consulting with members of the dwarfism community throughout the early stages of production. 

‘To avoid reinforcing stereotypes from the original animated film, we are taking a different approach with these seven characters and have been consulting with members of the dwarfism community,’ a spokesperson said.

‘We look forward to sharing more as the film heads into production after a lengthy development period.’

In December last year, sources close to the production said Snow White’s seven ‘dwarfs’ were not going to be fully computer generated, and wouldn’t be dwarfs at all.Instead, she would be befriended by magical, forest-dwelling creatures.