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

What's with the Facial Scars and Subliminal Messaging in JOJO RABBIT?

Last weekend I was asked by a friend who has a facial difference, what I thought of the use of facial scars in the movie JOJO RABBIT. Now I hadn't seen the movie, as the trailer showing a child with Adolf Hitler as his imaginary friend, had instantly turned me off.

She then aroused my curiosity even more with her statement, that maybe the healing of the facial scars was a metaphor for JoJo's changing attitude towards the Jews. Anything facially related I have to see for myself - so of course I watched it - and in fact, three times.

If you are unfamiliar with JOJO RABBIT, here is a pretty good synopsis:

A World War II satire that follows a lonely German boy named Jojo (Roman Griffin Davis) whose world view is turned upside down when he discovers his single mother (Scarlett Johansson) is hiding a young Jewish girl (Thomasin McKenzie) in their attic. Aided only by his idiotic imaginary friend, Adolf Hitler (Taika Waititi), Jojo must confront his blind nationalism.

—Fox Searchlight Pictures

It is interesting that the majority of synopses I read, did not include a mention of the facial scars JoJo receives, and nor does the trailer.

I could tell straight away that JoJo Betzler was a fanatical 10-year-old Nazi youth. There were a few laughs at the Hitler Youth training camp, though Rebel Wilson's comedy did not come across well. I saw that JoJo's face was 'normal' so I was waiting on the edge of my seat for when the accident or incident would occur.

Spoiler alert!

The accident came soon after JoJo was told by the leaders to twist a rabbit's neck and kill it. He refused. They then killed the rabbit in front of him and bullied him about being weak... Now I must say I didn't see the funny side of this scene at all. It actually horrified me. JoJo ran off upset, had a chat to his buddy Adolf Hitler who pumped him up and sent him back to the throng feeling strong and courageous. JoJo grabbed a hand grenade and threw it. It hit a tree and ricocheted back to his feet, exploding.

The explosion affected the left side of JoJo's body from his face down to his leg (he limps).

Over the rest of the movie JoJo's face slowly heals and his limp recovers.

The story continues with JoJo, due to his injuries, not being able to join the troops and being put to work on jobs around the town e.g. putting up posters, collecting metal etc. After seeing a crack in the floor boards he finds a Jewish girl who's been hidden by his mother. Of course JoJo's mind is full of propaganda and lies about the Jewish people so he isn't very happy, but over time he gets to know Elsa and love her. I must say that JoJo has a well developed character arc. His mother is caught for her anti-Hitler advocacy and hung (I couldn't see the satire in that either).

I do wonder how a child becomes so brainwashed as JoJo was with a mother who was the complete opposite. How did JoJo become that way?

Anyway, back to the facial scars which is what I want to focus on.

The left hand side of JoJo's face is crisscrossed in scars. To me he looks okay - I've seen a lot worse, but I tried to put him in the context of the day.

In his bedroom, JoJo looks at his face and his mother comes in.

JoJo says, 'Your son is ugly like a monster.'

She replies, 'Hey you're no monster. Besides your scars will heal and you'll get most of the movement back in your leg.'

JoJo retorts, 'But I'll never be in Hitler's personal guards.'

And she responds with,  'Ah, you're fine as you are. I'm just happy to have you back home.'

I have no complaints whatsoever with this interaction. Rosie, his mum is comforting and loving.

In the next scene JoJo is dressed in his Hitler youth uniform to go outside. At the door he tells his mother, 'I don't want to go out there,.. I look stupid. People will stare.'

She replies, 'Enjoy the attention kid, not everyone is lucky enough to look stupid. I for one am cursed to look incredibly attractive. Now you're going to pluck up your courage, walk out that door and have an incredible adventure.'

This took me aback. I guess Rosie is trying to tell JoJo that facial scars are a good thing, but there was no denial in his thoughts that he looked stupid or that he would be stared at. Why did she agree with him? And to say she was cursed because she looked so incredibly attractive - what the???

As a child having grown up with a 'deformed' face as I was told, being stared at and pointed at, nasty comments made about me and trying to prove I wasn't stupid, on a daily basis, this hit me hard. I wasn't impressed.

I did though like Rosie's final words of telling JoJo to suck it up and go out into the world because she could have let him stay hidden at home which is more realistic of the time period.

Next when JoJo is at the rehab pool with other legless adults and children, Rahm (Rebel Wilson_ stretches his leg, saying, 'Soon your leg will only be a little bit deformed and pointless. I'm going to recommend another month off school though, because your face might scare the other kids. It's kind of ugly.'

Again the message is, that if you have facial scars you are ugly and shouldn't be seen out in public. Yes put in the time period this would have been the norm, but this movie is being shown today and that's not the message we want to be sending. Children need to be shown people with facial differences so they are not frightened when they see someone and facial differences need to be portrayed in a positive light. The subliminal message needs to be one of positivity.

The next scene occurs when JoJo is in his bedroom talking to Adolf and he asks his imaginary friend, 'Do you think I'm ugly.'

Adolf replies, 'Yes.'

So again, it is reinforced and by this stage I am shaking my head trying to make sense of why. And anger is boiling in my belly!

The final referral to his facial scars occurs towards the end of the movie when Adolf is upset with JoJo because JoJo has feelings towards Elsa the Jewish teen. Right in the beginning of the movie Adolf calls JoJo 'really good looking,' and now he tells JoJo that Elsa is too old for him, he is ugly and she's going to leave him.

What message does that say to you? To me it says once again that facial scars make people ugly, and you won't be able to maintain a relationship because of them.

After this JoJo lets Elsa out of their house and she sees that the Americans are now in control and they both dance.

Now obviously I have left out a lot of the story which does not relate to facial scars. And to be honest there were many poignant moments throughout the movie. There were comedic moments and the dark humour came through more when I watched the movie with subtitles.

But as a person having grown up with a craniofacial syndrome, and been told I was ugly and stupid, and feeling that no one would love me, this movie hit me hard. My parents were told to hide me away though they like Rosie, pushed me out into the world.

Particularly during my first viewing, a knife JoJo had as part of his uniform, was stabbed into my heart. I just do not understand why the facial scars were included, or why there was the consistent message that facial scars make you ugly, a monster, stupid and unlovable. And why has no one done a commentary on this part of the movie? Is it acceptable?

To me, it is totally unacceptable. 

Possibly the healing of the scars could be a metaphor as my friend suggested - that as JoJo's face and leg healed his warming and acceptance of the Jewish people changed... but I find that hard to believe as scars and legs with therapy heal over time anyway. The character arc would have happened if his face had stayed red and raw.

It is also interesting that much of the movie was filmed with JoJo's scarred side turned away from the camera. I particularly noticed this when I was looking for photos to add to this article. There are very few publicity photos that show his scars. Why is that?

I will leave this review here but I would really like you to think more about this. When you see a person with facial scars, what is your immediate reaction?

Would you call them beautiful or ugly?

Would you call them stupid or believe they have normal intelligence?

Are they deserving of love?

Did you respond with similar answers that are subliminal in JOJO RABBIT?

Finally, I would like to implore script writers and producers to start changing how people with facial differences are portrayed in movies. Many of us living with facial differences hurt whenever you portray us in a negative light.

www.jennywoolsey.com

Why Toy Story 4 Fails on the Disability Narrative

Why Toy Story 4 Fails on the Disability Narrative

We all see the world from our own perception - I guess what other way to see it is there? As a author I often write in multiple points of view, so I have an insight into how perceptions can differ to a situation from a variety of characters. An example of this could be three people are standing on the sand at the beach. One is loving the sand between her toes and the wind whipping her hair in her face. It makes her feel at peace and content. One is hating the sand clinging to her feet and is wondering how she is going to get all the sand out of her car after their day at the beach. The third would rather have gone to the pool for a swim as she hates sea water, the lice, the seaweed and any other critter that may be in there too!

We can see from that brief scenario, three different reactions to the one situation.

Yesterday I went to see Toy Story 4, the latest instalment by Disney. I have really enjoyed the Toy Story franchise and have a Woody and Jessie doll. They belonged to my son and his name, Nick, is written on the sole of Woody's shoe. So you can see that nice memories are connected to these films.

I was quite excited to see number  4, as I'd read an online article at Variety.com that spoke about the film raising awareness of disabilities. As a disability and inclusion advocate, and a visually impaired lady, this excited me. When I posted this article on my Facebook page, the comments back did not match the article...so I went with an open mind, and not quite as excited as I initially was. .

Click on this link to read the opinion piece:

 Variety.com - Toy Story 4 Shows How Representation of Disabiliities Can Change the World

Now with that headline I think you can see why I was excited.

So how did I feel at the end of the movie?

In three words, severely let down.


Let me explain why I was so disappointed, by referring to the three elements that the article highlighted as being great disability narrative.

1) Child in the Kindergarten has a cochlear implant.
There is only one main Kindergarten scene. The scene shows the first day of Kindergarten for Bonnie, the little girl who now owns the Toy Story team of toys. She doesn't have a good start as the other children completely ignore her. See the pictures above from the movie. Woody has sneaked to the Kindergarten in her bag as he is worried about her (she didn't want to go). He sees her distress in being left alone (where was the teacher???) and rescues some craft supplies from the trash can for her, and she makes 'Forky' who becomes her favourite toy. Now as I was watching Bonnie, I did not take a lot of notice of the other kids who were around her, and in the background, as none of them interacted with her. Apparently one of those other children according to the article had a cochlear implant but I do not know which one. I hope it wasn't the 'trash boy'. (My son did not notice the child either and he has perfect vision...)

My Tip - If I was the scriptwriter I would have the child with the cochlear implant interact with Bonnie to make it more noticeable. Put it out there. That child could have made their own forky with Bonnie.

2) Bo Peep's Arm Breaks
Yes Bo Peep's arm breaks and she says to Woody who is horrified, that it happens all the time and she is fine with it. She laughs and swings with only one arm and is strong. BUT then she gets the tape and tapes it back on, then is back to being a normal two armed doll with no disability. See the picture I found above. (I don't quite get that her arm doesn't need to be bandaged all the time, but I will go with the creativity of it.)

My Tip - Again if I was the scriptwriter and wanted to use Bo for disability awareness, make the amputation permanent, and have her coping with it like amputees do.

3)  Gabby Gabby feels she isn't loved by a child because she has a broken voice box
Gabby Gabby is a creepy character, living in an antique store being guarded by multiple Benson dolls, which my youngest daughter called Snappy from the movie IT. This part of the movie played out like a horror movie to me. She is the villain of the story, wanting to forcibly take Woody's working voice box to replace her own which has never worked (was defective as she called it).She says that if her voice box worked, she would have a child and be loved, like Woody was. So with the help of her evil Benson doll guards, she corners Woody and manipulates him into giving her his voice box.This whole scene I have a problem with, particularly if it is meant to show disabilities in a good light... which it doesn't.

At the end of the movie we see Gabby Gabby deciding to go after a lost child at the carnival. The little lost girl, picks her up, pulls on her voice box cord, and she speaks perfectly. The girl cuddles her and they go off happily and the girl is found by her parents.

So if we reflect on this, in light of the article, Gabby Gabby's storyline is to reflect imperfections in humans and that we can be loved as we are. BUT, now this is a big BUT... she is not loved for how she was. Gabby is loved at the end after her 'disability or imperfection' is fixed. If we relate this to disabilities, it is saying that a person with a disability can't be loved just the way they are - they have to be fixed.

My Tip - I think it's pretty self explanatory - have an imperfect doll being loved for its imperfection. 

***

I have gone looking to see if there are any other articles on this subject and I found one that I like:

Hollywoodreporter.com - The Trouble with Toy Story 4 and Its Disability Narrative

This article brought up a couple of extra points that I agree with.

Woody who has no idea what it is like to be defective, is the one who gives Gabby Gabby a pep talk. It would have been better for Bo who knows what it is like to have an arm that keeps falling off, give her the pep talk. Bo is a strong independent character, so it would have been perfect.

It is the 'normal' abled-bodied character (Woody) who rescues Gabby Gabby. It is he who talks to her after Harmony, the owner's granddaughter rejects her after her voice box is fixed. Wouldn't it have been nice to see another disabled toy help her? They could have had a broken Benson or one of the other toys in the antique shop reach out to her...

Kristen Lopez finishes her article with: And from a disabled perspective, she certainly helps me think that perhaps some representation is better than none at all. Now, from my own disabled perspective, I don't agree with this. If movies are going to portray disabled characters they need to be empowering and not ableist. They must show that people with disabilities are perfect in their imperfections and are happy to be the way they are. Being disabled can be a great thing!

 Feel free to contact me at jenny@jennywoolsey.com or visit my website at www.jennywoolsey.com

Wonder

W is for Wonder

There has been a lot of talk lately about the above children's novel, Wonder written by Raquel Jaramillo, under the pen name of R. J. Palacio. It was published on February 14, 2012.

Explanation of Wonder at Wikipedia 

I was very interested to read this book when I first heard about it, as like Auggie the main character, I was born with a facial disfigurement. Also two of my children were born with a facial disfigurement, so the subject was very close to my heart. I needed to read the book to see if it resonated with mine or my children's experiences.

When I finished the story I had mixed feelings. The first page could have been written by me when I was a child and about my children when they were young. We did ordinary things, but others did not see us as ordinary children. Because our faces were 'abnormal', we were seen as different. Being different meant stares, pointing and comments.

The hardest thing about being born with a facial syndrome, is you can't hide your face. In the story, Auggie wears a motorcycle helmet to school - to me that seems a bit extreme. But I must confess to putting blankets over my children's prams when I didn't feel up to dealing with the public and wearing of sunglasses always hides eyes that are bulgy or turned.

The difference between Auggie and my experience, as well as my children's, is that we lived in the same town from babyhood to adulthood. Auggie lived in New York, which I suppose is why he wasn't well known (though I question this). We were known around the town from the moment we were born. It was only places where we weren't known that we struck the most difficulties.

Some of the chapters in Wonder are about Via, Auggie's older sister. Via was angry and sad about having a brother with a facial disfigurement. I know that my two older brothers still carry emotional scars from having me as their little sister. They hated that I had frequent medical appointments, and would get into physical fights at school protecting me. There were times that they would ignore me and not want me around. One of my brothers bullied me as well. In my children's case, the older two both have the syndrome and in some ways this mutual similarity has brought them closer. My youngest daughter is oblivious to them being different.

Auggie only had a few friends in Wonder. I was blessed with many friends. And my friends stood up to those who picked on me. I was invited to parties and playdates. I went to sleepovers. I played sport and was in Girl Guides. My best friends stayed best friends into adulthood. Something that Auggie didn't seem to have experienced.

My children did not experience the amount of bullying I did. Overall they were accepted. My daughter had friendship difficulties all the way through school, but whether it was her personality, the clickiness of the girls in her grade, some of her autistic traits or her face, we do not know. Auggie's small number of friends was attributed only to his face. In Year Two the other kids told my daughter that she had big eyes, and she didn't know how to cope with this. She didn't think she was different, so it was a shock to her to be told that she was. She acted out at that time and we had to work through the situation with her. In Year Four, my daughter had a facial halo on her face for four months. The halo pulled the bones in the middle of her face forward. She decided that she wanted to go to school with it on, once it was safe to do so. This was a massive thing for her to do but she did it. No one teased her about the halo. In fact most of the children were in awe of her braveness. We have photos of my daughter acting in the end of year play with her face painted around the halo and a flower in her hair. She had no bullying at all after this, though her friendship difficulties continued. She flourished until the end of Year Nine.

My son found his group early on and those friends have stayed with him from the beginning grades of primary school through into high school. Due to his surgeries my son was not allowed to do sports or play rough, so his group of friends have always been girls - and this has never bothered him. The other boys accepted the situation and if they did say something to him, it was water off a duck's back. My son didn't care what others thought. I can't say that my children's experiences mirrored Auggie's at school.

I guess the part of the story that most bugs me is the last part of the book about Julian. I have not heard of any child who's had nightmares about how my children looked. No parent ever reacted to them the way Julian's parents did and no way would someone be so callous as to photoshop out their faces. In fact my photos with my facial syndrome have been shared over facebook by my friends who I grew up with.

Now there are things about Wonder I like. It shines a light on people born or living with facial disfigurements. It highlights the amount of surgeries some children need to go through. (I had four, my daughter's had twelve, and my son's had eight) The book shows the different reactions kids can have. It focusses on bullying. It shows that Auggie sees himself as an ordinary child, though others don't. It shows the anxiety people who are different can encounter when they have to meet people for the first time, or go somewhere for the first time.And I like that it tells people to be kind to people born different.

I am curious to see the movie. I am curious to see how close to the book it is, and what creative interpretation has been made. I hope it is an empowering movie... A movie that shows that people born different can overcome.

At this point I must promote my own book, Ride High Pineapple. In my story, the main character, thirteen-year-old, Issy Burgess, also was born with a craniofacial syndrome (Crouzon syndrome). This is the syndrome that myself and my two children have. Issy is fictional but she is a mash-up of mine and my daughter's experiences in high school. The story, written as a journal, is real, honest and raw. People who know me and have read it, say they can hear my voice as they read it. Ride High Pineapple is a very different story to Wonder. It is about overcoming the bully by working on your passion, which in Issy's case is her love of skateboarding. The story is about not keeping secrets. It is about how awesome friendships can be, and the ups and downs girls experience. It is about dealing with severe anxiety by using the analogy of 'becoming a pineapple'. And Ride High Pineapple is also an Australian story which makes it unique. Anyone who was born different will identify with something in the story.

Ride High Pineapple is available online as a paperback or ebook. I would love people to read my story.

LINK TO AMAZON.COM - RIDE HIGH PINEAPPLE