A couple of months ago, a large billboard in my hometown displayed the Snow White movie promo. I got excited. I love Disney films and I'm a sucker for a good fairy tale. I pointed it out to my partner. 'I want to go and see that,' I said, a smile spreading across my face.
He turned his eyes from the steering wheel. 'I don't think you'll like it.'
My smile vanished. 'Why?'
'Well, for starters, the dwarfs are CGI.'
My eyes opened like UFO flying saucers. 'What?!'
He nodded.
'No, not again!' A ball of fiery-hot magma immediately formed in my gut. The same feeling from when I heard that Auggie Pullman in Wonder would not be played by a child with a facial difference, and when I heard The Greatest Showman was going to be a musical. Who made musicals about freakshow circuses and men just interested in making money from misfits and people with disabilities and differences?
My outrage continued, but sometimes I can be melodramatic, so I watched the trailer then Googled 'Snow White 2025' to see what was being said about the movie out there in media land.
The first article I read was by Sky News: Very surprising reviews roll in for new Snow White adaptation following widespread criticism over 'woke' take on the classic Disney tale | Sky News Australia
If you read it, you'll see Disney spent $264.9 million on the live-action film ... a remake of Snow White. It stars American (Colombian descent) Rachel Zegler as Snow White and Israeli Gal Gadot as the Evil Queen.
'The film has been criticised for prioritising 'wokeness' over authentic storytelling. Fans have noticed traditional romance was dumped for being too 'sexist', and the Seven Dwarfs were now seen as a diverse group of 'magical creatures' of all heights, races and gender,' says Sky News Australia.
Next, I read: The Anti-Woke Critics Aren’t Completely Wrong About ‘Snow White’ | Thought Catalog
Written by Evan Lambert, he states the five woke elements of the film are:
* Snow White is not fair-skinned with raven black hair
* The CGI non-dwarfs
* Zegler's early criticism of the classic 1937 animated Snow White film
* No true love's kiss
* Why another remake, Disney?
I kept going, reading the BBC's commentary: Will Snow White be a 'victim of its moment'? How the Disney remake became 2025's most divisive film
The Forbes article then caught my eye. Did Disney Make The Right Decision About The 7 Dwarfs For ‘Snow White’ Movie?
After reading the Forbes article, I scanned my Google search, and the headlines were all very similar, so I decided to stop there. Basically, the same issues were being identified, and it was obvious that people living with dwarfism were up in arms about the CGI magical creatures ... and there was a whole tribe of general haters. (There were also some people who liked it.)
After taking time for reflection, for I know my thinking can be black and white, and always turned towards the rights of people with disabilities, I've penned some thoughts on Snow White.
1) Fairy tales are to be used for change ... not be changed
I love fairy tales and am a staunch supporter of leaving fairy tales as the originals. Why? Because I love the nostalgia of them. I love seeing how society was at the time they were made - the good and the ugly. I love the hidden messages fairytales normally have ... the morals and positive values that are dearly needed today.
Now, I am a realist and agree that they often portray sexism, racism and ableism, which is why Disney is trying to modernise them (though I had never thought of the huntsman as a 'stalker' - quoted by Rachel Zegler). So what to do about these -isms? Instead of erasing these issues, like they never existed in the past, why can't we use fairy tales as vehicles for discussions with our children? Schools do this with literature. Why can't we use them for conversations on society and people and relationships?
2) Snow White's skin isn't fair
Now, even though I would have preferred Disney left Snow White with her pearly white skin, I'm a big girl and can cope with the change in skin colour. It's already happened in other films such as The Little Mermaid live action movie 2023. To be honest, I don't agree with it and see this as woke. Why is it filmmakers are trying to eliminate white people from movies? I also wonder what the reasoning behind Snow White's name now is. She was originally named after her fair skin. It was snow white in colour. Maybe now she was named after her snow white teeth (which babies don't have) or she was born in the snow (rather silly suggestions).
3) The seven dwarfs have been called magical creatures
When I watched the trailer, the dwarfs did not look like magical creatures to me. They looked like a modern-day take on the original animated dwarfs. In the Forbes article, I read that the magical creatures are called Bashful, Doc, Sneezy etc. These are the original dwarf names.
So what's happened here? According to what I've read, a little person named Peter Dinklage, complained about the 1937 film as being, 'a backwards story of seven dwarfs living in a cave together.' So Disney, wanting to distance itself from this stereotype, used CGI and called the dwarfs magical creatures. But in taking this route, maybe without really thinking it through, or speaking to little people about the impact the film would have, they have angered a whole heap of people. Me included.
Why are people up in arms about the CGI magical creatures?
I think it's pretty apparent, but by taking this route in Snow White, there are seven actors with dwarfism who missed out on playing a part and being seen on screen. They missed out on career opportunities. In Did Disney Make The Right Decision About The 7 Dwarfs For ‘Snow White’ Movie? pro wrestler Hornswoggle said, 'roles for people within the community are few and far between already, and Disney's decision to take away 'dream roles literally made for our community' ultimately hurt the community.'
Second, it can be seen as discrimination. In another BBC article, Snow White: Disney holds small-scale European premiere amid controversy, performer Choon Tan said the decision to use CGI was, 'absolutely absurd and discriminating in a sense. There really is nothing wrong casting someone with dwarfism as a dwarf in any given opportunity. As long as we are treated equally and with respect, we're usually more than happy to take on any acting roles that are suitable for us.'
Here is Zach Roloff's take on the use of the CGI magical creatures:
In my opinion, as well as the loss of employment for people living with dwarfism, this is such a missed opportunity for Disney to make a positive impact on the world. Disney has so much power and influence and like Zach says in the video, it's like they are erasing dwarfism ... sending them back into the Greatest Showman era. Bring dwarfism into the light - show the diversity and differences in our human race. Disney's missed the opportunity here to show children that living with dwarfism is nothing special or something to be scared of - it's just another way people are different. And Snow White could have been a conduit for making the world a better place for people living with dwarfism. So, children don't stop, stare and point when they see a little person. When people in pubs don't stay dumb stuff that's downright offensive.
Oh, Disney, I've loved your movies since I was a toddler, but where are you going now? We need movies showing diversity and we need movies with disabled actors. How about you create a new fairy tale instead of rehashing the old?
Thanks for an interesting article. I hadn't heard about this one, but it does seem crazy that they couldn't use actors living with dwarfism. Peter Dinklage is a well-regarded actor with Dwarfism, so his comment is interesting.
ReplyDeleteA lot of TV shows are now using actors with disabilities or differences. Just last week, my hubby and I were watching an episode of the Canadian show 'Hudson and Rex' and they had a guest star who played a blind podcaster. I commented to hubby about how good it was to see a blind actress in the role rather than someone pretending to be blind. A number of UK shows (e.g., 'Silent Witness', 'Vera', 'Dr Who', 'Grandchester') have included actors who are amputees or use a wheelchair, and they're just part of the cast. No big deal is made about any 'difference'. It's interesting how an attempt to try to 'rectify' one perceived problem can create more problems. Though some of the orginal fairytales (e.g., some of the Grimm's fairytales) are a lot darker than the older Disney animated versions we're used to.