Snow White: Waiting On A Meme…
A Look at 2025’s Snow White-Inspired Memes
By: John Witiw
When news came out that Walt Disney was planning to develop his first full-length animated feature, “Snow White and the Seven Dwarves,” critics infamously mocked the idea, dubbing it “Disney’s Folly.” While it proved to be untrue at the time, the idea would be prophetic. In 2025, the company would see the release of a live-action film adapting the animated classic. However, the project would eventually find itself at the center of multiple controversies and criticisms. However, bad news can be good news, when it comes to serving as fodder for memes.
It was in 1937 that Disney released the animated film that would start his legacy. As an adaptation of the classic Grimm Brothers fairy tale, the story sees a princess escape the murderous plans of her witch stepmother while finding refuge with seven dwarves.
Ever since Disney’s live-action adaptations of their animated films started picking up steam in the early 2010s, there had been speculation that the film that started it all would get adapted. Even years beforehand, rumors have come out of such projects. At one point, it was alleged that Disney was considering a live-action adaptation set in China, often dubbed “Snow and the Seven.” At another point, there were rumors of an adaptation that would’ve combined the story with “Snow White and Rose Red.” It also helps that the classic animated film itself took inspiration from a 1916 silent film adaptation of the story starring Marguerite Clark as the princess.
Disney’s first princess would finally get her own live-action film in 2025, with actress Rachel Zegler getting the title role and Gal Gadot playing the Evil Queen.
However, the film has been subject to all sorts of criticisms ever since it was announced. Early on, many animation fans thought that the idea of turning Disney’s “Snow White” into a live-action film was insulting. That wound up being just one of the various issues impacting the film, from the changes to the story, casting choices and the decision to make the seven dwarves CGI characters. The poor reception of the film was even rumored to have impacted production of a live-action remake of Disney’s “Tangled,” the company’s adaptation of “Rapunzel,” another Brothers Grimm fairy tale.
This, combined with reports of the film ultimately underperforming, got people talking. When something’s got people talking, eventually, they’re going to make memes about it.
The costume department has often been an issue for Disney’s live-action department, and the 2025 film was no exception. Snow White’s famously short locks from the animated film have been copied in costumes and cosplay over the decades. But a lot of memes poked fun at the 2025 film’s attempts to replicate it, from the lack of Snow White’s iconic bow to unflattering comparisons to Lord Farquaad’s hairstyle. It probably didn’t help that the “Shrek” musical made Farquaad the son of the seven dwarves, leading to jokes and memes claiming the 2025 Snow White was the “Shrek” villain’s mother. Other memes compared her hair to “Berries and Cream Starburst” mascot “Little Lad” and Coconut Head from “Ned’s Declassified School Survival Guide.”
It also likely didn’t help that Snow White’s modern actress, Rachel Zegler, posted a photo of herself on Instagram sporting a short curly hairstyle styled after Snow White’s original voice actress, Adriana Caselotti, complete with a red bow. Many fans were scratching their heads, wondering why the expensive film couldn’t have done something similar.
There’s some irony to this. In the actual 2025 film, Snow White’s hair is actually cut short when the Queen puts her to work as a servant in the castle. The young princess is seen mourning the loss of her long braid, and it’s implied she’s meant to keep her hair in this style to avoid competing with her stepmother. In other words, the style isn’t meant to be too flattering in-universe, either.
Snow White isn’t the only one criticized for her appearance. The use of CGI to bring the dwarves to life, instead of giving a big break to real actors, had already been controversial. That said, their uncanny designs in the final film have also been mocked in memes. Some commenters have jokingly asked why George R. R. Martin is taking a break, or expressed joy that Alfred E. Newman is still getting work after all these years.
“The use of CGI to bring the dwarves to life, instead of giving a big break to real actors, had already been controversial.”
With the power of AI, fans have also been having some fun with the movie. Some have made their own concepts of a live-action “Snow White” movie in fake teaser trailers. “Wicked AI,” in particular, poked fun at the film’s “strong, empowered” take on the famous princess by “casting” Samuel L. Jackson in the role.
In the generated video, Jackson makes it clear, “I didn’t ask for any of this. One minute I’m polishing floors and dodging my stepmother’s side eye. The next, I’m on the run.” Kinvara of “Game of Thrones” fame appears as the Evil Queen, with a dwarf sounding suspiciously like Chris Parnell offering to take care of her for Snow White.
Snow Jackson assures, “I’m done hiding. The huntsman did me a solid. And, now, I’m ready to pay back that favor. It’s time to storm the castle, crack that magic mirror, and show the evil queen once and for all, exactly who she’s f with.”
In an obligatory “Snakes on a Plane” shout-out, Jackson vows that he’s “had it with these motherf apples in this motherf forest.”
“‘Cause I’m Snow White motherf and I’m about to put a bullet in this bedtime story. And while you’re at it, maybe some combat boots. ‘Cause I’ve had enough of these slippers.”
The video, reaching nearly 2 million views within a month, proved popular enough to get a few follow-ups. This included things like a music video and “Jackson” winning an Academy Award for the film. Other fairy tale parodies from the channel also included Keanu Reeves as Cinderella and Will Smith as Little Red Riding Hood.
Jackson wasn’t the only fan choice for Snow White, either. Terry Crews also seemed to be a popular choice for the role, according to videos on TikTok and YouTube, plus a few purported internet polls.
Of course, not all viral trends were meant in good fun. On YouTube, quite a few viral videos appeared claiming “The Simpsons” had mocked the controversy over the episode in a recent episode. Some versions of the story suggested it was done in an episode that already aired. Some versions of the story even gave the supposed episode a title, “Snow Woke: The Reimagining.” However, this wasn’t true, and the episode didn’t actually exist.
It likely didn’t help that “The Simpsons” has parodied the 1937 film quite a bit over the years. Notably, Lisa retold the story in the episode, “Four Great Women and a Manicure,” complete with a segment where she played the title princess. Much like the 2025 film, there were some alterations made for political correctness, like Lisa assuring Snow White was rescued by a female doctor instead of a prince.
There were versions of this story that attributed the parody to other adult animated series, like “Family Guy” or “South Park.” Many videos sharing the story usually had AI-generated images of an animated Zegler, only slightly resembling the animation style of each show. All in all, it’s always important to have some level of caution, and not just when dealing with pedlars hawking magic “wishing” apples.
There are plenty of memes, jokes, and discussions people have been having about this movie. The film has had more critics talking than Snow White had dwarves. There might be a few more memes coming out of the woodwork. Ultimately, it would be tempting just to end things off with a joke, like, “A Meme Is A Wish Your Heart Makes.” But that was a different movie.