Disney holds small-scale European premiere amid controversy

Disney’s live-action remake of Snow White is set to be released in UK cinemas next week, marking the latest efforts by the film studio to revive a beloved old classic.

But the film, which stars Rachel Zegler and Gal Gadot, has faced several issues throughout its production.

The movie is being released amid a debate about how the seven drawfs are represented on screen, while Zegler has made headlines for critical comments about the original 1937 film.

The European premiere was held on Wednesday at a castle in Northern Spain, instead of a more traditional and high-profile location such as London’s Leicester Square.

The debate around the film began making headlines in January 2022, when Game of Thrones star Peter Dinklage, an actor with Drawfism, described the decision to retell the story of “seven dwarfs living in a cave” as “backward”.

Disney has used computer-generated dwarfs in the remake and said it would “avoid reinforcing stereotypes from the original animated film”.

But this week, other actors with Drarwfism have said they would have liked the opportunity to play the roles.

Speaking to the Daily Mail, 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,” he said.

“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,” he added.

Another performer, Blake Johnston, told the newspaper that “we have plenty of dwarf actors out there who are dying for roles like this”.

He said he also said he believed Disney had “succumb to peer pressure on political correctness, which has now given top dwarf actors less work”.

Dinklage, who has a form of dwarfism called achondroplasia, criticised the film in 2022 during an interview with podcaster Marc Maron.

“I was a little taken aback by [the fact] they were very proud to cast a Latina actress as Snow White,” he said, referring to Colombian-American actress Zegler.

“You’re progressive in one way, but then you’re still making that backward story about seven dwarfs living in a cave together? Have I done nothing to advance the cause from my soapbox? I guess I’m not loud enough.”

The actor had previously spoken about the representation of dwarfism, saying it was “bad writing” to make it a “dominant character trait”.

In a statement released after Dinklage’s comments, Disney said they were “taking a different approach with these seven characters” and had made their decision to use CGI after “consulting with members of the dwarf community”.

The film’s European premiere took place on Wednesday at a remote castle in Spain, which was the inspiration behind the castle in the 1937 original animated film.

Zegler performed a rendition of original song Waiting On a Wish at the event on Wednesday evening in Segrovia, north-West of Madrid.

Most media outlets were not invited to the medieval castle, and Zegler instead performed to a relatively small crowd.

The Los Angeles premiere, meanwhile, will be reportedly smaller than usual for a film of this magnitude, with the stars only expected to pose for photographs and speak to Disney’s in-house crews.

News journalists have not been invited to attend the red carpet and therefore have not had the opportunity to interview the film’s cast and creatives.

However, the cast are taking part in a few select sit-down interviews with some outlets as part of a press junket which is taking place this week.

The debate about the seven dwarfs is not the only controversy which has surrounded the film, which has reportedly cost £217m to make.

Early in the film’s production, there was controversy around Disney’s decision to cast Zegler, a Latina actress, in the role of a character deemed to have skin “as white as snow”.

It was part of a drive by Disney to cast a more diverse range of actors to play updated versions of some classic characters.

Halle Bailey, a black actress, was cast in another recent Disney live-action movie, The Little Mermaid. Both actresses faced abuse online after their casting was announced.

Zegler also made headlines after she made critical comments about some elements of the previous animated film.

“The original cartoon came out in 1937, and very evidently so,” Zegler said in 2022. “There’s a big focus [in the original] on her love story with a guy who literally stalks her. Weird! So we didn’t do that this time.”

Zegler also called the original film “extremely dated when it comes to the ideas of women being in roles of power,” adding: “People are making these jokes about ours being the PC Snow White, where it’s like, yeah, it is – because it needed that.”

Elsewhere, fans have speculated that there may have been a behind-the-scenes rift between Zegler and Gadot, who plays the wicked stepmother, because the actresses have opposing views on the Isreal-Palestine conflict.

Zegler has publicly taken a pro-Palestine stance, whilst Gadot is Israeli and served in the country’s army for two years.

However, others have said rumours of a rift are misguided, noting Gadot and Zegler have appeared publicly together on several occasions, including when they jointly presented an award at last week’s Oscars.

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is the latest in a long line of classic animated Disney stories which have been remade as live-action films.

Other recent live-action remakes the studio has produced include Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid, The Lion King, Dumbo and The Jungle Book.