Entertainment company Disney has responded to criticism of its forthcoming live-action adaptation of ‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs’ made by Game of Thrones star Peter Dinklage. The actor said the remake of the 1937 animated film, based on a story from the Brothers Grimm, was “backward”, reports bbc.com. Dinklage also said Disney should have reassessed the project.
Disney, in its reply, said it was going to “avoid reinforcing stereotypes from the original animated film”.
“I was a little taken aback by [the fact] they were very proud to cast a Latina actress as Snow White,” he told podcaster Marc Maron. “But you’re still telling the story of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs”.
Dinklage has a form of dwarfism called achondroplasia. “You’re progressive in one way but you’re still making that backward story of seven dwarves living in the cave,” he continued.
“They were so proud of that, and all love and respect to the actress and the people who thought they were doing the right thing but I’m just like, ‘What are you doing?'”
In a statement, Disney said the live-action remake will be an updated version of the original 1937 film. “We are taking a different approach with these seven characters and have been consulting with members of the dwarfism community,” it said in a statement.
“We look forward to sharing more as the film heads into production after a lengthy development period.”
Oscar-nominated producer Marc Platt, who also worked on Disney’s live-action rendition of ‘The Little Mermaid’, is set to produce the film.
The release date of the film has not been announced yet. Meanwhile, Twitter is divided on Dinklage’s statement.
(With IANS inputs)
