Disney’s live-action remake of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is set to begin production this year and will star West Side Story lead Rachel Zegler as the titular character and Gal Gadot as the Evil Queen.
While the studio has been praised for casting a Latinx actor in the starring role, Game of Thrones alum Peter Dinklage has criticised the remake for completely missing the mark when it comes to the portrayal of the seven dwarfs.
Appearing on comedian Marc Maron’s popular podcast WTF, Dinklage took umbridge with the fairytale’s “fucking backwards” depiction of the seven characters.
“There’s a lot of hypocrisy going on,” Dinklage said. “Literally no offence to anyone, but I was a little taken aback when they were very proud to cast a Latina actress as Snow White. But you’re still telling the story of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Take a step back and look at what you’re doing there. It makes no sense to me.”
He continued, “You’re progressive in one way but then you’re still making that fucking backwards story about seven dwarfs living in a cave together, what the fuck are you doing, man? Have I done nothing to advance the cause from my soap box? I guess I’m not loud enough. I don’t know which studio that is but they were so proud of it. All love and respect to the actress and all the people who thought they were doing the right thing. But I’m just like, what are you doing?”
According to The Independent, “the story has previously been criticised for being ableist because several of the dwarfs are depicted as being stupid or clumsy, and in the film, Snow White assumes they are all children.”
Disney has not yet announced how or if it will adapt the storylines of the dwarfs in the remake but Dinklage said he would be excited if the story was told with “a fucked up, cool or progressive spin on it,” rather than just the re-telling of the traditional fairytale.
Listen to the full episode of WTF below.
Read more stories from The Latch and subscribe to our email newsletter.