People Slam Disneyland’s Snow White Ride For Including Prince Charming’s ‘Non-Consensual’ Kiss

Disneyland’s recently revamped Snow White Ride has been praised for retaining the charm of the original, which was one of the last remaining attractions that has been there since the California theme park opened back in 1955. Because of the pandemic, Disneyland was able to give the ride a “major upgrade,” but not all fans are happy with the results.

  1. The focus isn’t on Snow’s encounter with the Evil Queen. Instead, the focus has shifted onto Snow White and Prince Charming’s romance. While that does play a part in the story, the fact that the biggest source of conflict – the Queen’s jealousy of Snow and her attempted murder of the “fairest of them all” – has been all but omitted is a bit weird.
  2. The new Snow White ride “adds to the movie’s biggest problem.” Katie Dowd and Julie Tremaine at the San Francisco Gate have admitted that technically speaking, the ride is very impressive, but its merits are overshadowed by a major problem: consent.
  3. Early Disney movies really did not care about consent. This is likely because they were made in a different time in which society didn’t acknowledge or talk about such a thing. However, now that we’re all aware of how important it is that everyone consents to any kind of romantic or sexual encounter, storylines like Snow White’s seem almost out of place. “Haven’t we already agreed that consent in early Disney movies is a major issue?” the women wrote. “That teaching kids that kissing, when it hasn’t been established if both parties are willing to engage, is not OK? It’s hard to understand why the Disneyland of 2021 would choose to add a scene with such old-fashioned ideas of what a man is allowed to do to a woman.”
  4. Other “problematic scenes” have been removed from rides in the past, so why not this one? “Why not re-imagine an ending in keeping with the spirit of the movie and Snow White’s place in the Disney canon, but that avoids this problem?” they questioned. That is a fair point…
  5. Not everyone gets the uproar. Some commenters called the columnists out for nitpicking, saying that it’s really not that serious. “The criticism of this scene in the ride is absurd. Also shows complete ignorance of the story of Snow White and fairytales in general. Snow White already knew he was her true love, otherwise she wouldn’t have woken up,” one person wrote. Another added: “Give me a break! Stop taking the classics that made us all wish for the happy ending, dreams, and possibilities of better! Who raised these whiney asses?”
Piper Ryan is a NYC-based writer and matchmaker who works to bring millennials who are sick of dating apps and the bar scene together in an organic and efficient way. To date, she's paired up more than 120 couples, many of whom have gone on to get married. Her work has been highlighted in The New York Times, Time Out New York, The Cut, and many more.

In addition to runnnig her own business, Piper is passionate about charity work, advocating for vulnerable women and children in her local area and across the country. She is currently working on her first book, a non-fiction collection of stories focusing on female empowerment.
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