Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: Disney remake is being criticised

Disney has promised not to reinforce negative stereotypes in its remake of Snow White.

It comes after Avengers and Elf actor Peter Dinklage criticised the company over its upcoming live action version of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

Peter Dinklage - who has a form of dwarfism called achondroplasia - said he was surprised that a remake was being made when he felt that many of the stereotypes in the film were harmful.

Disney have responded to the criticism and said the live action remake will be updated to "avoid reinforcing stereotypes".

Why has there been criticism?

Speaking about the new Disney film Peter Dinklage said he was surprised when the team announced that they were proud to cast a Latina actress as Snow White, but still felt it was OK to just re-tell the same story of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

He worried that that an adaptation of the 1937 animated film would be "backward" because of the stereotypes the film has about dwarves - and he said Disney should have reconsidered the project.

He went on to say that the makers have been progressive in one way, with their hiring of a racially diverse actor, but then continue to tell the story of "seven dwarfs living in a cave."

Dinklage added that if there had been a "cool, progressive spin" put on the fairy tale, then he would have been "all in".

Diversity in films

Peter Dinklage (left) chatting to co-star Jason Momoa (right) who also played Aquaman

Diversity in films has been talked about a lot over the years, with campaigners wanting better representation on screen for people from all ethnic backgrounds and with different physical abilities.

In April 2021, 80 actors signed an open letter against what they said was the prejudice towards disabled talent in Hollywood. The letter said there is an "urgent need to act on disability inclusion" and work needs to be done to find opportunities for disabled talent and accessible hiring practices.

TV and film also have also been told they need to improve their representation of ethnic minorities.

In June 2020, an open letter was published calling for the UK's film and TV industry to "tackle structural and systemic racism" in the industry.

Many charities also say it is important that roles that are written for disabled people, are played by disabled people, rather than those who do not have a disability, pretending that they have.

Disney and lots of movie makers have been under pressure to show a range of characters from more diverse backgrounds in their films.

The first black Disney 'princess' was Tiana, from The Princess and the Frog in 2009, who joined a very short list of other non-white Disney princesses including Pocahontas and Jasmine back in the early 1990s.

Mirabel, from Disney's new film Encanto, is the first female lead character to wear glasses. In the past Newsround spoke with Lowri, who was campaigning for Disney to create a character with glasses, because they are often seen as geeky instead of beautiful.

Disney have also had to deal with issues arising from stereotypes in their old films. The film company now have warning messages before some of their movies on Disney+, to warn viewers that the content may contain "negative depictions and/or mistreatment of people or cultures".

There hasn't yet been a Disney princess who has a disability.

Representation

Away from animated movies there is also an issue for actors with visible disabilities or dwarfism who complain that mainstream roles they get are also often stereotyped - for example actors with dwarfism only getting to play elves or cute characters and aren't considered for leading roles.

Another example is people with facial disfigurement always playing baddies.

Dinklage is an exception to this and has played famous and significant TV and movie roles - that have nothing to do with his disability - and is also expected to be nominated as lead actor at this year's Oscars.

Snow White is a really old fairy tale that has been told countless times in books, TV and stage shows

Other Snow White films have also received criticism because of the representation of the dwarves - and the actors used to portray them.

2012 film Snow White and the Huntsman, had actors of average height play the dwarves, and their faces were digitally changed to be put on small bodies.

This received complaints from Little People of America, an organisation that supports people of short stature, who said the film industry should cast actors with dwarfism, to play characters that were written that way.

What has Disney said in response?

Rachel Zegler will play Snow White in the new film

In a statement, responding to Peter's criticism, Disney said, the live action remake will be updated to "avoid reinforcing stereotypes".

"We are taking a different approach with these seven characters and have been consulting with members of the dwarfism community.

"We look forward to sharing more as the film heads into production after a lengthy development period," they announced.

Rachel Zegler will play Snow White and Disney have not revealed who would play the dwarves.

There is no release date for the film yet.