Disney has been praised by media-types in recent years for their diversity initiatives. The company has publicly stated that by next year they expect half of their casting in new films and TV shows to be people of color and/or marginalized groups. While many support this initiative to bring diversity to film and television, not everyone supports the effort. The hashtag #gowokegobroke has been trending for months in protest of diversity in Disney films.
One aspect some may not have seen coming is the erasure of certain stories, or representation. The upcoming Snow White live-action film, for example, is a case where nothing Disney does is going to be correct. The studio decided to remove dwarves from the story in order to be sensitive to those individuals who are part of the dwarfism community. This has led to backlash as many see the move as taking jobs from people with dwarfism, a condition that makes finding work in Hollywood difficult.
One actor, in particular, says this initiative has harmed his career. Dylan Postl wrote an open for Newsweek detailing how, in his words, “Disney’s progressive casting” has hurt the Dwarfism community. The actor began his career as a professiinal wrestler, which was a dream ye didn’t think he’d ever achieve. He said “I am not the six foot, 200lb person that WWE would normally hire, but it was always my dream—I wasn’t going to let anything stop that. In 2006, I heard that WWE was looking for a person of my stature to fill a role in wrestling, and to my surprise, they hired me.”
Postl lived his dream in the WWE for nearly 10 years and gained notoriety for himself along the way. Because of this he was able to transition into acting, which was another dream he never thought he would accomplish. “During my childhood, I rarely saw people with dwarfism on screen, and while it increased as I became a teenager—cameos in movies like Jingle All The Way and Elf—those roles felt very few and far between, and they were never main parts,” he said.
That’s why when a live-action version of Snow White was announced Postl got excited. He felt the film was an excellent opportunity to employ members of the community and showcase Dwarfism in Hollywood in a positive light. The leaked photos of the film’s casting, though, left him “heartbroken.”
“That’s why I was so heartbroken when, earlier this month I saw leaked photos of the seven dwarfs in Disney’s remake of Snow White, which showed the characters were being portrayed by actors who appear to be a mix of heights,” he wrote. He feels the casting took jobs from others living with Dwarfism and gave them to people of typical heights in an effort to be “inclusive.”
Many have echoed these sentiments and feel that changing the story erases an entire group of people who all too often feel invisible. Little is known about the new Snow White film except that it stars Rachel Zegler and Andrew Burnap, the seven dwarves have been changed to seven magical creatures, and the film posises a new take on the beloved classic. Disney has yet to comment on the casting and when they have spoken about the leaked photos, they’ve issued conflicting stories. Snow White hits theaters March 22, 2024.