‘Snow White’: 11 Big Changes the Live-Action Remake Makes

‘Snow White’ Makes 11 Big Changes to Disney’s Animated Classic: ‘Someday My Prince Will Come’ Cut Out, No Glass Coffin and More

Disney’s live-action “Snow White” remake begins with a storybook opening up to tell the tale of the kindhearted princess. It’s exactly how Disney’s 1937 animated classic “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” begins, but it doesn’t take long for the two versions of the same fairytale to stop mirroring one another. Almost immediately, the new “Snow White” makes a pivot and builds a new backstory for the eponymous princess. It’s the first of many changes Disney applies to “Snow White” as it makes the jump from 1937 animation to 2025 live-action.

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Let’s face it, Disney’s animated “Snow White” is a technical marvel as the studio’s first animated feature but it is severely lacking when it comes to character development. The princess yearns for her prince, runs into the woods to escape the Evil Queen, meets the dwarfs, falls into a sleeping death and then wakes up from true love’s first kiss. That’s about it. The new live-action film, starring Rachel Zegler as Snow White and Gal Gadot as the Evil Queen, has most of these same story beats but dramatically fills them out with a lot more depth given to Snow White’s feelings and motives.

For the Disney purists wondering just how much the new live-action film differs from the 1937 animated movie, below is a rundown of the 11 biggest changes.

Snow White’s Backstory

Snow White gets her name in both the Brothers Grimm fairytale and Disney’s 1937 animated film from her physical features. Her skin is as white as snow, which is also meant to symbolize the character’s kindhearted innocence. With the casting of Rachel Zegler as the Disney princess, the live-action film gives Snow White’s backstory an update. She gets her name after being born on the night of a relentless blizzard. As the lyrics of “Waiting on a Wish” go: “My father told me long ago I braved a bitter storm of snow.” The rest of Snow White’s backstory pretty much follows the animated film. Snow White’s mother dies and her father marries the Evil Queen, who disposes of him and forces Snow White to grow up as a scullery maid in her kingdom.

“Someday My Prince Will Come” Gets Cut Out

With the exception of “Heigh-Ho” and “Whistle While You Work” (both of which get updated lyrics), the live-action “Snow White” remake includes new songs by “La La Land” and “The Greatest Showman” duo Benj Pasek and Justin Paul. These songs include “Waiting on a Wish,” “Princess Problems,” “Good Things Grow” and “All Is Fair,” among others. One of the most iconic songs from the animated film, “Someday My Prince Will Come,” has been removed entirely, as has “I’m Wishing/One Song.” Both songs are examples of the classic Disney “I Want” song, in which the princess sings about what her heart most desires. In the animated film, Snow White longs for a prince (as she sings: “I’m wishing for the one I love”) and that’s basically it.

The live-action film does not actually include a prince (see more below), so “Someday My Prince Will Come” wouldn’t have made sense anyway in the story. Snow White’s “I Want” song in the new movie is “Waiting on a Wish,” in which her hearts desire is to be the daughter her father wanted her to be. She learns over the course of the film that she already is what she’s wishing for, which encourages her to take back the kingdom from the Evil Queen.

Dopey Talks!

Perhaps the most shocking change in the “Snow White” remake is when Dopey talks. The character in the animated film is entirely mute. In the new movie, Dopey is voiced by Broadway star and “No Hard Feelings” actor Andrew Barth Feldman. He speaks after Snow White is able to unlock his self-confidence. The end of the live-action film reveals that it’s actually Dopey who is serving as the narrator.

No Glass Coffin

One of the most iconic images from the 1937 “Snow White” is that of the princess in her glass coffin in the forest after she takes a bite from the Evil Queen’s poison apple. But there is no glass coffin in the live-action remake. Instead, the dwarfs place Snow White’s body on a rock in the woods and put up an open tent around her adorned with dangling flowers.

The Prince Is Now a Bandit Named Jonathan

Prince Charming who? The new “Snow White” does away with the prince character from the 1937 original and replaces him with Jonathan, a bandit from the forest played by Andrew Burnap. The prince was barely in the animated film, while Jonathan has ample screen time in the live-action movie. He first meets Snow White in the kingdom while he’s stealing potatoes from the Evil Queen to feed the hungry townspeople. They meet later in the woods and Snow White helps Jonathan and his group of bandits evade the Evil Queen’s guards, who are in pursuit of the princess. Snow White and Jonathan fall in love, and it’s Jonathan who kisses Snow White and awakens her from death’s sleep.

“Whistle While You Work” Restaged

Just like in the 1937 animated movie, “Whistle While You Work” remains one of the big musical moments in the live-action movie. However, it has been entirely reworked and restaged. Not only does the song feature a mix of the traditional lyrics with entirely new verses, but it is also presented as a group number between Snow White and the seven dwarfs as they clean up their messy cottage.

In the animated film, “Whistle While You Work” notably takes place before the dwarfs come home and meet Snow White. The animated princess believes the cottage belongs to seven orphaned children, so she teams up with her animal friends to clean the home. The animated film features a predominantly orchestral “Whistle While You Work.” The live-action includes many more lyrics as Snow White encourages the dwarfs to work together to clean and overcome their stubbornness toward each other.

Evil Queen’s Death

The Evil Queen mostly has the same beats in the live-action “Snow White” as she does in the animated film, although she gets her own musical number with “All Is Fair.” However, the Evil Queen’s death is entirely different. In the animated movie, the dwarfs arrive back at their cottage to find Snow White in death’s sleep and the Evil Queen responsible. A chase ensures between the dwarfs and the Evil Queen that ends up with the latter trapped at the edge of a cliff. The Evil Queen tries to roll a boulder down the cliff to crush the dwarfs, but the boulder is struck by lightning and causes the Evil Queen to fall to her death.

There is no chase in the live-action movie. The Evil Queen makes it back to the kingdom after tricking Snow White into eating the apple. After Snow White awakens due to Jonathan’s kiss, she teams up with the dwarfs and the bandits to take back her father’s kingdom. Through kindness, Snow White convinces the Evil Queen’s guards to switch sides. The Evil Queen asks the Magic Mirror one last time who is the fairest of them all, and the mirror responds that it will forever be Snow White. The Evil Queen has a meltdown and, after smashing the mirror, she ends up disintegrating and getting sucked into it.

No Dwarfs Bathing

Another major set piece from the animated film that has been entirely cut out from the live-action movie is “Bluddle-Uddle-Um-Dum (The Dwarfs’ Washing Song),” a nearly five-minute musical number in which the dwarfs take a bath full of slapstick hijinks after Snow White requests they wash before they eat dinner.

Snow White Doesn’t Bake Gooseberry Pies

In addition to the dwarfs no longer bathing, the live-action “Snow White” also does away with Snow White cooking and cleaning for the dwarfs while they go to work each day. Snow White famously makes the dwarfs gooseberry pies with their names written on the crust in the animated film. Don’t expect any pies in the live-action movie.

“Heigh-Ho” Expanded

Similar to “Whistle While You Work,” the dwarfs’ iconic “Heigh-Ho” is greatly expanded from the animated movie. The song still takes place as the dwarfs go to and from work in the mines, but it now includes new verses where each dwarf gets to introduce himself. The other dwarfs humorously reply each time: “Yeah, we know!”

You Actually See the Kingdom

The animated “Snow White” only features Snow White, the Evil Queen, the Huntsman and the seven dwarfs. The live action film greatly opens up the world of the story by featuring the people in the kingdom in both the opening and closing musical numbers, both of which are a variation on the original song “Good Things Grow.” Unlike the animated movie, the remake shows us how the kingdom’s villagers lived their lives in the town square and how Snow White’s father gained favor among the people by bringing them fruit and baking them apple pies. Snow White rallies the people of the kingdom against the Evil Queen during the movie’s climax.

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