Snow White continues Disney’s strategy of adapting its classic animated films into live-action features, but does so by taking things all the way back to the beginning. The original Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was released in 1937 and served as Disney’s first feature length animated film, making it one of the most influential animated films (if not films) of all time. The live-action remake stars West Side Story’s Rachel Zegler as the Disney princess and Gal Gadot as her stepmother, the Evil Queen.

While the past was very much honored in this new take on the story by director Marc Webb–Snow White pulled from original concept art to expand on the first film’s world–the movie was also beholden to modern moviemaking techniques. This was also true with the musical score, composed by Jeff Morrow. While other musicians like Benj Pasek, Justin Paul, and Dave Metzger worked primarily with the songs, Morrow had to supply the emotional undercurrent of the film through music, simultaneously honoring the animated movie’s score and updating styles that wouldn’t quite land with modern audiences.

ScreenRant interviewed Jeff Morrow about his work on the live-action Snow White. Morrow explained what he took from the original film and his past work on Disney projects like the live-action The LIttle Mermaid, as well as what he wanted to bring fresh to the story. Plus, Morrow shared what Rachel Zegler (who ScreenRant’s Snow White review called “the perfect Disney princess”) said about his music.

Jeff Morrow Explains His Approach To Live-Action Snow White

“I Wanted To Make Sure It Had Some Of Those Classic Elements”

Jeff Morrow got the gig as Snow White’s composer after he scored the first five minutes of the movie as a sample, but once he had the job, he spent lots of time talking with director Marc Webb about how to approach the music. “These movies, and especially Snow White, [have] such a strong musical legacy,” Morrow said, “And talking with Marc Webb about this, we definitely wanted to honor the original film, but there’s also the reality that this is a movie made for audiences in 2025, and there are real people on screen.”

Morrow continued, saying that he “wanted to make sure it had some of those classic elements to pay homage to the original animated version, but also make sure it sounded very much of 2025.” This was done through “orchestration choices,” or, “If I was doing a more classic Disney kind of thing,” Morrow said, “we produced it to sound big and high-fidelity, like a modern film score.”

In addition to that, Morrow made sure the score evolved alongside Snow White’s journey in the film. “The music that develops most through the film is Snow White’s theme,” the composer said. Morrow explained that “it had to be able to handle the sadness of her losing her parents at the beginning, the tragedy of her death, and the triumph at the end of the movie.” This was a real craft consideration: “I’m not just writing any old piece of music that pops into my head.”

So, to accomplish everything Snow White’s theme needed to, Morrow wrote something that “has some big leaps up and some small steps down. The leaps can be, depending on the context, triumphant or a little sad, and definitely the steps down are sad. It was a melody that thankfully worked for all of these spots.”

Morrow’s Score Is The Glue Between Snow White’s Past & Present

“The Score Had To Weave Its Way From The Pasek & Paul Songs To The Originals”

Not only did Morrow have to pay homage to the original Snow White score (written by Frank Churchill, Leigh Harline, and Paul Smith) while modernizing the sound, but he also had to make very different songs feel like they belonged in the same universe. The Greatest Showman writers Pasek and Paul wrote new music for Snow White that pre-dated Morrow’s involvement in the film–“because, of course, they used them to shoot with,” he said–but songs like “Waiting on a Wish” are a far cry from 1937’s “Heigh-Ho”.

“They’re very modern, but they also have a sort of timeless quality to them,” Morrow said of Pasek and Paul’s work, “so I had this beacon to aim towards, in terms of the aesthetic of the score, which I wanted to have the same thing–some modern harmonies, but in a way that doesn’t sound totally removed from the original. Also, I always felt like the score had to weave its way from the Pasek and Paul songs to the originals.”

One way Morrow did that was simply by taking old-fashioned parts of the score and recording it “in a very modern way” (see below), but the composer also worked to “weave the songs into the fabric of the film and the score.” A great example of this, Morrow said, is during the Snow White and Jonathan kiss–in that moment, the composer shared, he had the orchestra play “the most romantic Disney version of their love song, ‘A Hand Meets a Hand’.”

In general, attentive viewers will be able to hear snippets of song melodies make their way into Snow White’s underscore, subtly bonding the movie’s songs with its dramatic storyline. There’s a moment, for example, in which the Good King “sings a little melody to Snow White as he’s handing her the locket.” Morrow took that melody and brought it back, saying “every time the Good King comes back or the locket is a story point, the orchestra plays that melody the king sang.”

Morrow explained the importance of keeping the melody “alive through the film,” saying that it is “one that Snow White sings at the very end … as she’s approaching her confrontation with the Queen.” In that way, the composer subtly builds toward the film’s climax all through the story.

Rachel Zegler Loves Snow White’s Score

She Called It Her “Favorite Part”

Rachel Zegler is two-for-two when it comes to live-action movie musicals (although she also delivered a strong performance in Netflix’s animated film Spellbound). Both West Wide Story and Snow White benefit greatly from impressive performances by the actor, and that’s true even in surprising ways. “It’s a funny thing being a composer on a movie,” Morrow said, “because I spend zero time with the actors in reality, but then, in my studio, I’m mostly responding to them.”

Morrow shared that “it’s an actor’s performance that dictates what the tone of the music should be, or at least influences it,” and admitted that, by the time he’s done with a project, he knows “every little twitch and movement of their face.” In terms of Zegler, Morrow said, “I’m going off her performance. When I’m coming up with the Snow White theme, I’m thinking about her acting and how she delivers the arc of this character.”

The composer did meet Rachel Zegler, once, at the premiere. Although it was “for all of 45 seconds,” those were very good seconds:

Jeff Morrow’s Next Project Is A Documentary About Mel Brooks

He Hopes It Has “The Heart Of Springtime For Hitler”

As much as Morrow worked to maintain reverence for the original Snow White while working on the live-action remake, his next project sees him tackling the very much irreverent work of Mel Brooks. Morrow is currently working on a two-part documentary on the comedy legend made by Judd Apatow, and said “much like these Disney movies, [although] in a slightly different tone, Blazing Saddles was a part of my childhood. There’s just something so classic about Brooks as well.”

“He also wrote songs that are in the style of the American songbook,” Morrow continued, “so it’s been a fun challenge. In a way, like with Mel Books, I’m trying to take this classic American songbook sort of vibe, but make it feel modern. It’s still a score that is playing on TV screens or in theaters today, but I still want it to have the heart of Springtime for Hitler.”

And in case you haven’t seen The Producers, Morrow ended by saying, “I should be very clear that [Springtime for Hitler] is a song written by Mel Brooks that I have nothing to do with.”