Snow White: How is the Evil Queen's death different from the original animated film? Explained

Snow White is the latest addition to Disney's long list of recent live-action adaptations that bring old stories from one's childhood back to the big screen. With such projects, there is an added advantage of the masses' general familiarity with the central narrative. Hence, the viewers might already know the basic plot that such films are based on. However, their writers often introduce certain changes through their scripts for various purposes like appealing the contemporary audiences or retelling the same story from an alternate perspective.

Sometimes, the changes can be related to a difference in approach that gives the traditional story a fresh spin. This year, Robert Eggers' Nosferatu used a feminist lens to investigate its age-old tale. It puts the focus on its female protagonist instead of the monster that evokes the horror. Jon M. Chu's Wicked also explored contemporary themes through its fantastical narrative. Following the trend, Marc Webb's 2025 film for Disney attempts to do something similar.

For those not familiar, Snow White is based on the Grimm Brothers' fairy tale. It was previously adapted by Disney in 1937 for making an animated film titled Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. This time, American playwright and screenwriter Erin Cressida Wilson has adapted the same tale for her live-action remake, which presents the titular character along with the Evil Queen. However, it introduces key changes in the depiction and their respective fates. In this adaptation, Snow's liberation isn't intrinsically tied to her kiss with the prince. Evil Queen's death also feels less accidental than the previous film.

Snow White: How does Disney's live-action remake differ from their 1937 animated film

The latest Snow White adaptation differs from the 1937 film in some key aspects, including the manner in which the Evil Queen dies. Both narratives are centered around a fundamental morality tale where Snow's compassion triumphs over the Evil Queen's wickedness. However, the animated film portrays a few things in a certain manner. Those who have seen the original would know about Queen's Magic Mirror, to which, she asks who the fairest of all is. The mirror appeases her by saying her name.

One day, the mirror hears the Queen's stepdaughter Snow White singing and calls her fairer. This makes the Queen jealous who takes pride in her beauty, vanity, and capacity to be evil, quite unlike Snow, who is empathetic. The same compassion leads her to a brighter path against the Queen who eventually dies.

In the original story, the dwarfs chase the Queen on a cliff, who tries to throw a boulder onto them. However, as if due to some divine intervention, a lightning strike kills her.

The Rachel Zegler-led Snow White portrays this death differently. After she attempts to kill Snow with the poisoned apple, it shows the Evil Queen returning to her kingdom instead of being killed by the Dwarfs. The princess meets her and confronts her, which makes her mad. Enraged, she breaks her mirror and gets sucked into a vortex, thus leading to her death.

The 1937 ends with the prince waking Snow up from her slumber and saving her life. Unlike this climax, the latest film ends with Snow White's rise to queendom. So, her victory is not tied to someone saving her. Instead, the ending of the latest film shows her more in charge of her life's choices. It shows people celebrating her as an even-handed and empathetic person who has finally risen to power.