The son of the original Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs director has claimed his father would be "turning in his grave" over the upcoming live-action remake.
Rachel Zegler, who plays the Disney princess in the remake, recently sparked controversy when she called the 1937 animation "extremely dated" and hinted that the story would be significantly changed so Snow White is "not going to be saved by the prince".
In an interview with The Telegraph, David Hand, named after his animator father, said he and Walt Disney would be "turning in their graves" over the "insulting" updates, including turning the dwarfs into magical creatures.
"I mean, it's a whole different concept, and I just totally disagree with it, and I know my dad and Walt would also very much disagree with it," Hand, 91, said. "I think it's pathetic that people feel that way... these are art forms in the world of film today."
Hand, who worked as a designer for Disney in the 1990s, insisted the original film was made "with good taste when it was written".
He then urged Disney to stop making live-action remakes to their beloved animations, saying they "shouldn't be taking a classic and rewriting it in their own image".
"They change the stories, they change the thought processes of the characters, they just aren't the original stories anymore. They're making up new woke things and I'm just not into any of that," he stated. "I find it quite frankly, a bit insulting that they may have done with some of these classic films.
"There's no respect for what Disney did and what my dad did... I think Walt and he would be turning in their graves."
He added, "Pick on something else... create new characters, if you're gonna do this, but don't destroy or try to destroy something that is, that is a classic and is a beautiful piece."
Snow White, also starring Gal Gadot, is due to be released in March 2024.
