Disney's Snow White 2025 - What's with the Dwarfs ... oops sorry, the 'Magical Creatures'?

Well, here I am again, writing about another movie that just doesn't hit the mark. Another movie that's gone too woke. Another movie where disabled and different actors should be playing roles but aren't.

 What movie am I speaking about? It's the latest instalment from Disney ... Snow White.

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

In this article, the BBC identifies various issues with the film, from Zegler's political statements to the dwarfs. 

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?

Be Weirdly Wonderful! Embrace your differences

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©Jenny Woolsey 2025

International Women's Day 2025 - Gender Equality in Action & Domestic Violence

I've been sitting here at my laptop as the lights flicker, the winds howl outside and the rain beats at the door. Ex-tropical Cyclone Alfred who pirouetted and spun out in the ocean before making landfall last night, is saying, 'I haven't gone yet!'

My daughter Jess, now nearly an adult, has just gone to bed. For the last half an hour she's been making her opinions known about domestic abuse. Why domestic abuse? Well, she was witness to the domestic violence in our household and knows that she's not to have a boyfriend who treats her badly ... and the TV was airing Queen Camilla's documentary around her endeavours to shine a light on domestic abuse in the UK. 

Queen Camilla speaks to domestic abuse survivors in 'powerful and emotional' ITV documentary | ITV News

I am guessing this documentary was planned to be screened today because it is International Women's Day and this year's theme is 'Let's Accelerate Action for Women's Equality'. We can't accelerate action if we're unaware of where action is needed. Domestic violence against women definitely needs more accelerated action. 

Before I delve into domestic violence, I feel it's worthwhile taking a few moments to stop and think about the state of equality of the sexes in Australia. How far has equality come? From the colonial and church ordained roots, to the different ways that religious and ethnic groups treat women. If we look at the general state of affairs in Australia, yes, we have drawn closer to our male counterparts ... We can vote. We can work. We've burnt our bras and don't have to wear one if we don't care to. Generally, our pay is the same, though there is disparity with lack of representation of women in senior positions and lower rates of superannuation due to child-rearing leave (Prime Minister Anthony Albanese brought in the Workplace Gender Equality Amendment (Closing the Gap) Bill 2023 to address these issues). We can choose our career, wear what we want, decide if we get married or have children, spend money on whatever takes our fancy and live where we desire. The world is our oyster. 

But if we dig deeper than the surface, what do we find?

The 2025 International Women's Day theme is here: 'March Forward'

Well, we find a high rate of domestic violence. In fact, 20% of partners have experienced partner violence since the age of 15 in Australia. That's millions of people. Domestic Violence Figures Australia | Safe Life And domestic violence affects both women and men. 

When we look deeper at the incidence of domestic violence statistics, we find:

* 2 in 5 women (39%) have experienced violence since the age of 15

* 1 in 2 women (53%) have experienced sexual harassment in their lifetime

* Violence affects all communities and cultures 

Oh my god! 2 in 5 women have experienced violence! These statistics are horrifying. 

So, why, if Australia has come so far in gender equality, does this violence towards women exist in our society at such high rates? 

On TV, at the moment, there are a couple of ads running ... one was just on. It was a consent ad - do we all know what consent is? The second is an advertisement aimed at boys and young men and focuses on disrespect towards women and that parents, particularly fathers, should be keeping an eye on what their sons are watching. 

In the year 2025, why is this happening? 

Why Australia’s domestic violence problem is complicated

From what I can find, there doesn't seem to be a clear cut reason why domestic violence is so high in Australia. Is it that men feel they are losing their power? Is it the rise in online pornography or other toxic graphic material? Is it society's general lack of respect for others? Is it the cost of living pressures?

One of the reasons that's been identified is the online world. The statistics report that 25% of teenage boys in Australia have accessed content from toxic social media personalities who perpetuate harmful gender stereotypes. And they don't have to go far! On my Instagram feed, scantily clad women, with their genitals barely covered, bare themselves provocatively. I am disgusted that women feel they need to do this. It makes women into meat to be salivated at. Women are more than their bodies. They have minds and hearts and souls.

FDSV summary - Australian Institute of Health and Welfare

Another reason identified for the rise in domestic violence, is society's generally accepted attitudes towards women. Attitudes like these from the FDSV summary:

* 25% of people surveyed believed that women who do not leave their abusive partners are partly responsible for violence continuing

*23% believed domestic violence is a normal reaction to day-to-day stress

*19% believed that sometimes a woman can make a man so angry he hits her without meaning to

If our society believes these lies and many others, it is going to take a very long time for significant changes to occur. 

We have to take our heads out of the sand! We must keep on partitioning the government for greater laws to protect women; and we must talk to our girls, our teens, our young women, so they know what domestic violence and coercive control is and the warning signs. I certainly didn't know as a teen what a healthy relationship looked like. Girls and women must be taught how to get help. And most importantly, women need to know that they are valuable human beings. No one has the right to disrespect them, hurt them, control them ... abuse them. 

So, on this International Women's Day 2025, I count my blessings as I shut down my laptop and make my way to bed. My safe bed where I sleep soundly, with my dog curled up against me. In the bedroom where once I detested the man who lay beside me because of what he was doing to me and my family. 

This blog is not about my marriage, or the one before which was coercive control, or about my low self-worth that led me into their marriages. It's not about my three children who were victims and will carry visible and invisible scars with them for the rest of their lives. It's not about how I have educated the three of them on what domestic violence and coercive control are, and what a healthy relationship looks like... Or maybe this blog is,,,

I, Jenny Woolsey, on this International Women's Day 2025, do solemnly pledge that I will continue educating and sharing with women and men about what domestic violence and coercive control are, the cycle of abuse and how much better it is out of those relationships. Will you?

If you want to know more about domestic violence and strategies to lead your best life, check out my latest book, Be Weirdly Wonderful! Embrace your differences. Available from all good online bookstores and from me. 

www.jennywoolsey.com

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