Warning: This article includes SPOILERS for Snow White (2025)!
Disney’s live-action Snow White remake introduces a love interest named Jonathan who replaces the Prince, offering a satisfying new character. Almost a decade after the Snow White remake started development, the movie hit the big screen on March 21, 2025, bringing the first feature-length animated Disney film to life. Like many live-action Disney remakes, I had high hopes and low expectations. It’s difficult to update beloved films in a meaningful way without upsetting fans.
Rather than just replicating the original, the 2025 live-action princess film tries to offer a fresh take on the fairytale. Unfortunately, Disney’s Snow White received mixed and negative negative reviews on Rotten Tomatoes. Many aspects of the live-action film didn’t work, but one of the best changes was the introduction of the character Jonathan, who’s the perfect replacement for The Prince.
Jonathan Is A New Character Created For Disney’s Live-Action Snow White
The Snow White Filmmakers Created Jonathan From Scratch
Disney’s Snow White’s characters include a young man named Jonathan, who will feel new to audiences. He doesn’t exist in The Brothers Grimm fairy tale, which features only Snow, the Evil Queen, the Huntsman, the Prince, and the Dwarfs. Similarly, the major male characters in the 1916 Snow White film that inspired Walt Disney and Disney’s 1937 animated film include a prince who saves Snow White’s life in the end, the Huntsman, and the dwarfs. The filmmakers for the Snow White live-action movie created Jonathan specifically for this film.
Jonathan and Snow White’s first interaction serves as the catalyst that pushes her down the path of fighting for herself and everyone in her kingdom.
Jonathan is first introduced early in the live-action Snow White adaptation when he’s stealing potatoes from the castle. He talks ill of the princess’s pᴀssiveness and urges her to take action against the queen when speaking to Snow White, not knowing Snow’s true idenтιтy. What he doesn’t know is that Snow already wanted to do what was right for her people.
Ultimately, Jonathan and Snow White’s first interaction serves as the catalyst that pushes her down the path of fighting for herself and everyone in her kingdom. However, it isn’t an immediate switch. Each additional run-in with Jonathan helps Snow White take another step forward toward becoming the woman who can rally the peasants, guards, bandits, and dwarfs together against the Evil Queen at the end of Disney’s Snow White.
Jonathan Replaces The Prince As Snow White’s Love Interest
The Prince Doesn’t Appear In The Live-Action Snow White Movie
When news was first coming out about Disney’s Snow White, some publications called the new character Prince Jonathan early on, causing confusion about his role in the film. Many thought that Jonathan was just a new version of The Prince. However, the two are entirely distinct characters. Jonathan is not a prince, and he replaces The Prince as Snow White’s Love Interest, which is one of the biggest changes to Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
Snow’s relationship with Jonathan starts out tense because he unknowingly speaks negatively of Snow White to her face. However, there’s chemistry between them despite their adversarial meet cute. The tension between them continues once Snow runs into him in the forest. Though they agree that the kingdom is harming the peasants, they have different opinions on how to handle the situation. Snow White wants to put her faith in the existing system, while Jonathan would instead care for himself and his bandits. Snow is also an optimist who believes in the power of kindness, while Jonathan is a cynical realist.
Despite this, they find themselves drawn to each other. They both bring out the best in one another. They fight for one another even when they can walk away, and they push each other to grow. The two actually make a fantastic pairing. Additionally, I think the fact that Snow almost kisses him on the lips of her own volition before they’re interrupted makes it exponentially less creepy when he kisses her later on, even if the consent is still iffy.
Why The Snow White Remake Didn’t Want To Use The Prince
The Prince Didn’t Fit Snow White’s New Story
While Disney’s Snow White gets rid of The Prince, I can’t find any definitive explanation about the decision. However, the comments from the cast help paint a better picture on why they left out the original character instead of revamping him. In an interview with Variety, Rachel Zegler and Gal Gadot confirmed that a prince wasn’t going to save Snow White in this version. Zegler goes on to explain that the new story isn’t about love but about becoming a leader.
Andrew Burnap agreed with this sentiment, saying “It’s no longer a princess waiting to be saved by a prince, but a princess waiting to be saved by herself and finding her voice” (via Man About Town). Considering they switched the movie to being about Snow White as a leader, the creative team needed to remove The Prince. Patriarchal societies would dictate that he would be the leader instead of her if they got together.
How Jonathan Is Different Than The Prince
Jonathan Is A More Interesting Match For Snow White
The most obvious difference between Jonathan in Disney’s Snow White and The Prince in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is the amount of screen time they receive in their respective films. Jonathan appears in about half of Disney’s Snow White, having multiple interactions with Snow. Meanwhile, The Prince shockingly only appears onscreen twice in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs – during the wishing well scene and when waking Snow with true love’s kiss.
The Prince’s name isn’t ever mentioned in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, but they retroactively named him Prince Florian. However, other names used for the character include Prince Ferdinand, Prince Fernando, Prince Charming, and David.
Another difference between Jonathan and The Prince is their personalities. Because The Prince only appears briefly in the animated movie, the audience doesn’t learn much about him. He seems sweet and romantic, but that’s about it. Meanwhile, Jonathan has a well-developed personality that feels like a mix between Flynn Rider from Tangled and Robin Hood from Robin Hood. He’s a cynical thief who steals from the rich to care for his group of bandits. Jonathan is snarky, clever, and has a roguish charm, which is quite a change from The Prince.
The most crucial difference between the two romantic leads is that The Prince is royalty while Jonathan is a peasant. By making Jonathan ordinary, he can challenge Snow White’s privileged and naive worldview, helping her see the true impact of the Evil Queen. He even gets a song on the soundtrack of Disney’s Snow White called “Princess Problems” that drives the point home. Additionally, Snow White and Jonathan have an opposites-attract dynamic that gives the fairytale a fresh spin on romance. Ultimately, Jonathan is a welcome change of pace in Disney’s Snow White, even if he’s different from The Prince.
