Jim Shull - a decades-long member of Walt Disney Imagineering - has responded to criticism of Disneyland's updated Snow White ride after some people disapproved of the Prince's unconsenting kiss.
Earlier this month, Disneyland in Anaheim, California, finally reopened for the first time in over a year, following the park's closure as a result of the ongoing pandemic.
And when fans rushed back to the beloved theme park, they were treated to a revamped version of the 'Snow White's Scary Journey' ride - now called 'Snow White’s Enchanted Wish' - which is based on the 1937 animated classic, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
Disney Imagineers - the incredible team that brings the Disney theme parks to life - had opted to provide the guests with a more light-hearted storyline, as well as introducing updated animatronics and all-new scenes.
However, one scene that stayed true to the movie's ending was that depicting the Prince waking a sleeping Snow White with a kiss.
Now, although this is something many of us wouldn't have thought twice about back in 1937 - or even 1997 - some people found the fact Snow White could not consent to the kiss rather outdated.
Reviewers for California-based publication SFGate labeled the ending of the ride as "problematic", stating: "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".
People on social media were torn over the matter, but now legendary Disney Imagineer Jim Shull has shared his views on the ride's conclusion.
Writing on Twitter, Shull shared a snapshot of a Fox News broadcast, in which a headline reads, "Cancel Culture Targets Snow White".
In response, Shull tweeted: "Allowing for the fact that cultural changes occur over decades it must be acknowledged that in the context of the tale on which the film is based that the ride is accurate.
"People are of course allowed to dislike the story but the Imagineering team did a spectacular job!"
In a further response to the backlash, Shull took to Twitter a couple of days later to state: "Many European fairy tales were published over 200 years ago with an expressed purpose to both entertain and educate. Reading books was a valued public occupation.
"In a version of the German fairy tale Schneeweibchen (Snow White), the comatose young woman is revived when one of the prince’s servants drops her body which dislodges the poisoned apple from her throat and the prince didn’t kiss her."
Well, I'm sure we can all agree on the relief that we didn't watch that version of the story play out when we were kids...
