While Snow White herself might be at one with nature, the production of the film left much to be desired.
By analysing more than 250 Disney film sets, Snow White was revealed to have created at least 4,258 tonnes of carbon dioxide.
This was the second most polluting Disney film, after The Little Mermaid live action remake which contributed to 5,983 tonnes, since 2019 when the environmental reporting requirement was introduced.
The combined emissions total more than Birmingham’s and Luton’s annual CO2 contributions, according to The Observer.
Snow White also created more greenhouse gases than the latest Fast & Furious film Fast X, despite the blockbuster principally being set around cars.
This is only the latest setback that has turned this fairy tale into a nightmare.
The film starring Rachel Zegler as the title character reportedly had a whopping production budget between $240 million and $270 million, not counting the hundreds of millions poured into publicity and advertising.
Snow White opened with a disappointing $42.2 million at the domestic box office last weekend, and then it dropped a whopping 66% drop in its second weekend.
By analysing more than 250 Disney film sets, Snow White was revealed to have created at least 4,258 tonnes of carbon dioxide
The projected loss is based on an estimated global take of $225 million, $100 million domestic and $125 million worldwide
This live-action rendition of the original 1937 animated classic hasn’t been a hit with critics either, with just a 40% score on Rotten Tomatoes.
A new report from Deadline claimed that Disney will likely suffer a loss of $115 million from the film, when all is said and done.
The 23-year-old lead came under fire almost immediately after her casting due to her Colombian and Polish mixed heritage.
Many fans were upset since the original Brothers Grimm fairy tale describes the character as having, ‘skin as white as snow.’
Zegler previously said that the origin story has changed, and in Disney’s new version the princess earns the name due to a snowstorm she survived as a child.
The lead then came under fire for criticising the 1937 animation, calling it ‘dated’ during a red carpet interview with Extra TV in 2022.
‘There’s a big focus on her love story with a guy who literally stalks her. Weird. So we didn’t do that this time,’ she said.
‘We have a different approach to what I’m sure a lot of people will assume is a love story just because we cast a guy in the movie.’
Disney’s Snow White has been suffering a number of embarrassing setbacks
The remake’s Evil Queen Gal Gadot became a subject of backlash for her support of Israel
Zegler eventually walked back her comments and assured fans that the love story would be ‘integral’ to the remake’s plot.
Disney fans then expressed discontent at Zegler when she said she was ‘scared’ of the original version as a child and only watched it one time.
Zegler wasn’t the only point of criticism during the making of the film, as the remake’s Evil Queen Gal Gadot became a subject of backlash for her stance on the Gaza war.
Gadot, an Israeli native who also served in the Israel Defense Force, has been vocal about her support for the country.
Meanwhile, Zegler on the other hand, expressed her support for freeing Palestine from Israel’s occupation.
Disney’s attempts to make the remake friendlier to ‘woke’ audiences have fallen flat at times, with actor Peter Dinklage calling out the company’s hypocrisy in 2022.
‘It makes no sense to me,’ he told Mark Maron on the WTF podcast.
‘You’re progressive in one way and you’re still making that f***ing backwards story about seven dwarfs living in a cave together, what the f*** are you doing, man? Have I done nothing to advance the cause from my soapbox? I guess I’m not loud enough.’
It’s long been suggested that any sort of off-screen controversy can tend to disrupt a film’s box office prospects, and Snow White seemed to prove that true
The film also suffered yet another rather humiliating blow, with its dreadful 1.5 rating on IMDB currently one of the worst of all time.
A review by Daily Mail’s Brian Viner gave the film a pitiful two stars, calling it ‘a painfully muddle-headed affair.’
‘Disney’s contorted attempts not to offend anyone have somehow managed to offend everyone,’ Viner wrote.
Despite best efforts to make the film progressive, the film did not succeed in catering to the environment.
The damning data was seen in the environmental reporting requirements which forces companies to disclose how many emissions were made in the UK during a project.
This means the true figure for Snow White’s impact may still be higher as it does not cover pollution made internationally.
CO2 emissions are divided into different ‘scopes’: the first covers direct fuel emissions like generators that would power cameras and heaters, the second is dedicated to creation of electricity during the movie’s production, and the third looks at emissions generated by goods and services suppliers.
Snow White generated 3,153 tonnes for scopes one and two, whilst scope three is often overlooked as this is largely out of the control of the companies being measured.
A fire broke out at Pinewood Studios in Buckinghamshire during filming of the Snow White live action movie
Smoke issuing from the Richard Attenborough stage at Pinewood Studios in Buckinghamshire
The Little Mermaid by comparison generated 5,127 tonnes and is significantly higher than what a source at Disney allegedly said was suitable for a production.
Snow White – like The Little Mermaid – was filmed at Pinewood Studios, just outside London, where studios can get 25.5 per cent of their spending reimbursed by the government in a push to incentivise the film industry.
The latest Disney blockbuster flop was reported to have received £44.9million in returns, while The Little Mermaid got £49.7million.
It is also not yet known whether the fire that tore through Pinewood studios during Snow White’s filming in 2022 would have contributed to the pollution.
Images at the time show the inferno rampaging through the set, which appears to include a thatched cottage, as well as lights and other equipment.
A dozen fire engines were scrambled to the scene in Buckinghamshire, as smoke billowed through the air.
However, Pinewood studios had switched to renewable supplies for energy after the green tariff in 2020.
