Op-Ed: Here’s Why Rachel Zegler SHOULD Play Snow White

The decision to cast Rachel Zegler as Snow White (Walt Disney’s first-ever princess) has resulted in a tumultuous debate, but here’s what we think…

It’s hard to say which topic is more controversial in the minds of Disney Fanatics: the replacement of Splash Mountain with Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, or the casting of West Side Story actress Rachel Zegler in the role of Snow White for the upcoming Disney Princess remake.

So far, Rachel Zegler has been making a terrible impression on Disney Princess fans. The young actress has criticized the original 1937 film, alienated the fans of romance-loving Disney Princess actresses like Elle Fanning, and called Snow White’s love interest a “stalker.”

Zegler’s comments during the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strike have also alienated some onlookers (although when it came to her wages, there were actually quite a few supporters who stood up for the actress and singer instead).

Will This Douse the Fire?

The new Snow White’s recent apology video has, unfortunately, done nothing to douse the digital fires surrounding her Disney role — but there is one asset that many Disney fans don’t seem to acknowledge when it comes to this new Disney Princess!

Ironically, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) fans seem to be ignoring or dismissing the fact that Rachel Zegler was cast as the lead character Maria in the prestigious West Side Story (2021) musical because she is a phenomenal singer.

Snow White might not be a Disney Princess with a tremendous amount of songs to sing in her film, but it’s likely that Disney will add new songs to the live-action remake and allow Zegler to display her powerful singing skills several times.

After all, Disney saw fit to add this famously-mocked Awkwafina rap to the new Little Mermaid movie!

Rachel Zegler’s Snow White Is “Still Hurting”

There are many videos of Rachel Zegler singing that can be found online, including clips from the 2022 West Side Story movie.

However, a professional voice teacher and vocal coach has vouched for Zegler specifically after watching her sing “Still Hurting” (a song that was originally sung in The Last Five Years, a poignant 2014 musical starring Into the Woods actress Anna Kendrick)!

Hannah Bayles is a voice teacher and vocal coach who shares singing tips and reaction videos on Youtube.

She has reacted to Frozen star Idina Menzel’s performances, as well as plenty of other Disney-affiliated celebrities’ performances, and shares information about the more technical or anatomical aspects of singing while doing so.

In the video shown below, Hannah Bayles can be heard praising Zegler’s vibrato, vocal balance, and fine-tuned ability to “mix” her chest voice and her head voice during trickier musical notes.

“I Am Now Absolutely Obsessed”

“It seems that Rachel has incredible technique,” Bayles gushed, adding that “you can tell that she has such a strong foundation in vocal balance…I am now absolutely obsessed with Rachel’s voice.”

Rachel Zegler actually responded to the video, saying the following in a Youtube comment: “thank you so much. this made me cry. i’ve been doubting my abilities lately (probably from not working and feeling powerless) and this made me feel so much better about why i do what i do…thank you for your kind words and your tips.”

Did you already know that Rachel Zegler would be bringing phenomenal singing to her new Disney Princess role? Does this change your mind about Zegler’s casting in the new Snow White movie? Tell us what you think in the comments below!

DISCLAIMER: The opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own and may not reflect the views of Disney Fanatic as a whole.