Disneyland inclusion of Snow White scene draws criticism from some media

[Disney4me]

Disneyland pulled the plug on Snow White’s Scary Adventure at Disneyland following in the footsteps of its demise at Walt Disney World a few years back, but a new ride based on the classic fairy tale took its place, opening to the public for the first time Friday. The inclusion of the scene in which Prince Charming leans over to kiss a sleeping Snow White, though, drew criticism from one media outlet, which has snowballed into a social media talking point.

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Disneyland pulled the plug on Snow White’s Scary Adventure at Disneyland following in the footsteps of its demise at Walt Disney World a few years back, but a new ride based on the classic fairy tale took its place, opening to the public for the first time Friday. The inclusion of the scene in which Prince Charming leans over to kiss a sleeping Snow White, though, drew criticism from one media outlet, which has snowballed into a social media talking point.

A review of the new ride, Snow White’s Enchanted Wish, that appeared on the website SFGate.com in San Francisco praised the updated technology and scenes from Walt Disney’s first full-length animated film turned to life, but also highlighted the problem with the original film’s kissing scene, a kiss that is given without Snow White’s consent.

“Haven’t we already agreed that consent in early Disney movies is a major issue? That teaching kids that kissing, when it hasn’t been established if both parties are willing to engage, is not OK? It’s hard to understand why the Disneyland of 2021 would choose to add a scene with such old fashioned ideas of what a man is allowed to do to a woman, especially given the company’s current emphasis on removing problematic scenes from rides like Jungle Cruise and Splash Mountain,” reads the review. “Why not re-imagine an ending in keeping with the spirit of the movie and Snow White’s place in the Disney canon, but that avoids this problem?”

Reaction to the review from individuals as well as national commentary platforms has raised the profile of the column and discussion about the scene. Conservative-leaning outlets like FOX News devoted coverage of the review, even though other sites such as Huffington Post pointed out the criticism was only a portion of the review.

SFGATE’s headline, though, definitely played it up, “Disneyland’s new Snow White ride adds magic, but also a new problem” and that led to reactions.

Coverage of Disney and “cancel culture” had already surfaced in the last year with some bemoaning changes to the park over the years because of changing social attitudes to outdated, even racist, portrayals in Disney films and rides at the park.

Last June, “Song of the South” began trending on social media during the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement, and a petition online calling for Disney to retheme the attraction Splash Mountain to “The Princess and the Frog.”

The 1946 film is considered to be racist by some, a story about life on a southern plantation, famous for its song “Zip-a-dee-doo-dah.” It featured live action including narration from a character named Uncle Remus, but also animated characters like Br’er Rabbit and Br’er Fox.

Disney later that month announced that it was indeed going to change the ride, although it has yet to close.

Disney is also making changes to the Jungle Cruise, and in the past had made changes to rides such as Pirates of the Caribbean, removing scenes in which pirates chased women during the pillaging of the port town and even an auction of women.

The Orlando Sentinel received national attention last month when it published guest commentary from one contributor who decried Disney’s “wokeness” including the removal of problematic scenes from its historical rides.

“Disney proclaims that Splash Mountain must change because of its association with ‘Song of the South.’ Disney owns Splash Mountain so it can do what it wants,” wrote Jonathan VanBoskerck. “But if Disney screams at the top of its corporate voice, which is pretty loud, that it is changing it to appease a certain political point of view, now every time I look at the ride I am thinking about politics.”

Reaction to the column, that suggested among other things that Walt Disney would be aghast at the changes at his parks, was mostly negative, countering the guest commentator’s claims.

“VanBoskerck’s describes changes to employee dress code and certain rides throughout the theme park as wokeness that spoil the immersive and magical Disney experience and drifting from the original values of Walt Disney. I beg to differ,” wrote another guest commentator, David Collier-King, in reaction to VanBoskerck’s commentary. “Walt’s vision was a theme park where parents and children could go and enjoy the stories being told and the experiences being crafted. While Walt held conservative views and ideas that were reflected in much of his early work, the values of the company have never shifted.”