Live-Action Disney Movies Should Have Accurate Casting

Animated Disney movies are a nostalgic aspect of many people’s childhoods. Specifically, Disney princess films like Cinderella, Snow White, The Little Mermaid, and Beauty and the Beast are very memorable to teens and adults around the world. Film producers decided that remaking Disney Princess movies as live-action films would likely rekindle the shared love for some classics. One important factor in these adaptations gaining popularity is their similarity to the movies we remember from our childhood. The first step to getting there is accurate casting. 

The first adaptation was in 2015 with the live-action Cinderella. Lily James starred in a beautiful blue ball gown and incredible blonde hairstyles. In short, the storyline and the actors/actresses were comparable to the original Disney film from 1950, making it more pleasing to those who enjoy modern versions of a great movie they watched growing up.

However, when Disney released a live-action remake of The Little Mermaid in 2023, there was a bit of backlash regarding the woman playing the main character of Ariel. Halle Bailey, who played the lead role, is an actress who patently does not look like the fair-skinned, bright red-headed mermaid we all know from the original The Little Mermaid. 

Keeping up with the diverse casting in Disney remakes, the 2025 live-action Snow White, released in March of this year, currently has a 1.5 out of 5-star rating from “all audience” on Rotten Tomatoes. It had mixed reviews, but the majority of the positive ones were describing the movie as just “okay” or “pretty good”. The bad reviews had trends of mentioning that the movie did not do the original justice, and the acting was terrible. The beautifully portrayed main character of Snow White was played by Rachel Zegler in the adaptation, an actress whose physical features are not comparable to Snow White’s. Her haircut and makeup for the film were forced and did not scream “Snow White” whatsoever. 

Actresses should not get any hate for auditioning for a main role, but castings for these adaptations have become notorious for being inaccurate. As one verified review on Rotten Tomatoes exclaimed, “If you were gonna remake SNOW WHITE, you gotta REMAKE SNOW WHITE. Ya know?” Love for the live-action Disney movies is going to diminish eventually if this keeps up, but there are still plenty of 10/10 films left to honor.