The fight over Disney's live-action 'Snow White' proves that the studio needs to stop making these remakes once and for all
- Disney is being mocked for changing the "seven dwarfs" in its "Snow White" remake.
- Conservatives are calling it too "woke," and TikTokers say the inclusivity is overzealous.
On Friday, the Daily Mail published set photos from the upcoming live-action remake of Disney's first animated feature film, "Snow White." The photos appeared to show that the new movie had swapped out its seven dwarfs in favor of seven diverse individuals, and mockery quickly ensued.
Conservatives, in particular, swarmed to poke fun at what many called an overzealous attempt at inclusivity. It was not helped by the Daily Mail's headline, which jokingly called the movie "Snow White and the Seven… Politically-Correct Companions?" An op-ed from the New York Post proclaimed in its headline, "Disney's live-action Snow White takes wokeness to absurd new low."
Initially, a Disney spokesperson told the Daily Beast that the apparent set photos were "fake and not from our production." However, they later backtracked; they confirmed that the pictures were real but added that they weren't "official photos." While right-wingers like Tomi Lahren, Megyn Kelly, and Robby Starbuck were arguably the most outraged about the change to this children's movie, some TikTokers were also debating whether Disney's attempts at inclusivity were backfiring by further limiting the already-limited acting gigs available for dwarf actors.
In the end, though, the major takeaway is that it's obvious there's no winning for Disney here, no matter whether they bring the story up to appropriately modern levels of inclusivity or leave in the outdated, now offensive elements. So they may as well just cut it out with the remakes.
Peter Dinklage, a prominent working dwarf actor who starred in "Game of Thrones," derided Disney for attempting the remake in 2022 and called the tale a "fucking backward story of seven dwarfs living in a cave." Dinklage said the studio was hypocritical for keeping the dwarf element while still touting its "progressive" casting of Rachel Zegler, a Latina actor who has been targeted with a resurgence of hateful and racist commentary on her casting.
Disney responded almost immediately to Dinklage's comments. A spokesperson told The Hollywood Reporter in a statement that it was consulting "with members of the dwarfism community" about how they'd take a "different approach with these seven characters" and "avoid reinforcing stereotypes" from the original movie. Alas, the "different approach" they opted for — one dwarf, not seven — is clearly a flop in the eyes of many.
Disney keeps making live-action adaptations because they're pretty much a guaranteed box-office success with a proven audience. Some have made Disney lots of money. But many of the remakes have been poorly received by critics and fans. There are probably numerous reasons these movies aren't working, but one is likely the inherent difficulty of attempting to reinvent something from 1937 for a modern audience.
You can't. It's from 1937. Perhaps Disney would do better to leave it in 1937 and try some new stuff that's actually groundbreaking and genuinely inclusive without being performative and inventive.