The controversial CGI Dwarves of Snow White remake thoroughly divided VFX artists

The life-struggle Snow White Remake is already earning a strong response from VFX artists. Continuing Disney’s trend of reimagining its classic animated hits, the upcoming Snow White Movie stars Rachel Zegler, Gal Gadot, Andrew Burnup, Ansu Kabia, and more. The movie reportedly had a budget of over $200 million, fueled by expensive reshoots and an expensive all-star cast. Although it was originally going to have magical creatures in live-action instead of the seven dwarves, Disney recently revealed that the movie will instead have CGI dwarves.

As a part of their “VFX Artists React to Bad & Big CGI” series, The Corridor crew took to YouTube to share their reactions to the Snow White Trailer. They first examined the dwarves, which they described as “Painterly“and”Faithful to the cartoon in the sacrifice of being human“. The artists disagreed about the quality of the animation with one describing it as an invisible valley effect, while another argued that the proportions made that impossible. In one full quote, they explained that the whole issue was extremely controversial:

I feel like the movie would have been easier if Snow White herself was full CG, because now they have to… it’s more complicated when you have to integrate all the CG elements with a live-action plate. You’re locked to where the person is acting and they move in the camera angles, all that stuff. If everything was completely CG, there’s a lot more flexibility to make sure you get the shots right.

I mean, honestly, it doesn’t look bad from a visual standpoint, but as another thing you know, people will say that this is definitely an unusual valley, as far as dwarf faces go, but it’s like their proportions are super wild . , so they will never be able to get to the human level no matter what, without changing their proportions to be more human.

What the VFX issues mean for Disney’s Snow White

The controversial Snow White Remake has already proven to be a divisive production. Peter Dinklage sparked much of the criticism after explaining that Disney portrayed itself as a progressive company, and also based an entire franchise on magical dwarves. Disney tried to replace the seven characters with magical creatures, but it faced criticism from other people with dwarfism, because the decision meant that they were not able to take a rare but available role. Disney was left struggling to respond to both sides of the divide and eventually elected to move to a fully CGI appearance for the dwarves.

While the Corridor crew admitted that the CGI was effective in mixing live-action elements with computer-generated characters in a faithful recreation, Disney did not escape the mounting criticism. The decision still left the actors of Jobs, and Dinklage’s first argument remains prominent. Much like WonkaDisney has no easy way to avoid alienating members of his audience. As incredible as the CGI appears to be, it will remain highly controversial.

Our take on Disney’s Snow White’s VFX issues

The mounting criticism is a significant issue, however It is unlikely to be the root of the movie’s problem. Wonka had a similar problem with his decision to cast Hugh Grant as an Oompa-Loompa, and the film earned $632 million at the box office on a $125 million budget. Still, Disney’s various live action remakes have received mixed receptions, ranging from The Lion King (2019) $1.67 million total to Mulan (2020) $70 million:

The movie’s divisive nature will undoubtedly convince some viewers to avoid the movie altogether, but Wonka Proves that it is unlikely to play a significant role. The hard dislikes against Disney’s Snow White Trailer is a sign that there was an extremely negative reception. Still, the movie promised to be faithful to the original, and the dwarves appear to copy the art style of the animated classic. That alone can save it. As long as the VFX avoids an invisible effect, it can still see the success of The Little Mermaid (2023).

Source: Corridor crew