“Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” which premiered in 1937, posed other remake challenges, including how to sensitively handle Happy, Sneezy, Sleepy, Dopey, Bashful, Grumpy and Doc.

The live-action remake of Disney’s Snow White, starring Rachel Zegler and Gal Gadot, hits theaters Friday. The film is the latest in a steady stream of remakes of original films into modernized ...