March 20, 2025
Provided Image/Disney
Rachel Zegler plays a princess on a mission in Disney's 'Snow White' remake, which features original songs by Ardmore native Benj Pasek and his songwriting partner Justin Paul.
Disney has reimagined "Snow White," its first feature length animated film, as a live-action movie — and an Ardmore native had a hand in bringing the magic back to the big screen.
Benj Pasek, who grew up in the Philly suburbs, and his songwriting partner, Justin Paul, wrote new songs for the movie, which hits theaters Friday. The film follows Snow White, played Rachel Zegler — who rose to fame in the 2021 "West Side Story" remake — on a journey to liberate her kingdom from her cruel stepmother, the Evil Queen, played by "Wonder Woman" star Gal Gadot.
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Some elements of the 1937 Disney cartoon remain largely unchanged — like the Evil Queen's magic mirror and Snow White's puff-sleeved blue and yellow dress — but other aspects were updated for the remake. For instance, Snow White's love interest is no longer a prince but a "noble ruffian," according to a Variety review. Therefore, the classic song, "Someday My Prince Will Come," is missing from the new flick.
In its absence, Pasek and Paul have cooked up some new bops, like the clever "Princess Problems" and the emotional power ballad "Waiting on a Wish" (which Zegler performed last week on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!"). The movie's deluxe soundtrack came out Thursday.
Pasek said his work on the movie made his "childhood dreams" come true, adding that the original songs deeply explore the emotions felt by the characters.
"I think that the Disney animated movies we grew up watching were so larger than life, and getting to expand them to live action you want to bring the same element of something that's larger than life, and music really does that," Pasek told The Upcoming last week at the "Snow White" premiere. "It breaks reality and it lets a character express themselves in ways that mere words can't. So getting to write a really delicious, campy villain number for the Evil Queen or getting to express Snow White's interior and let her sing about what she dreams about doing, we love the medium that it allows you to understand character through song."
Sthanlee B. Mirador/Sipa USABenj Pasek, who grew up in Ardmore, wrote some of the songs on the soundtrack for Disney's new live action 'Snow White' film. Above, Pasek (left) and his songwriting partner, Justin Paul, at the movie's Hollywood premiere.
Last year, Pasek and Paul joined an exclusive club when they became some of the youngest EGOT winners, meaning they've earned Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony awards. Their award-winning work has included music for the series "Only Murders in the Building," the movies "La La Land" and "The Greatest Showman," and the musicals "A Strange Loop" and "Dear Evan Hansen," which Pasek has said was based on his experiences attending Friends' Central School in Wynnewood.
Check out the "Snow White" trailer below:
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