Comedian and activist for little people Fats Timbo has weighed in on the conversation surrounding the new Snow White movie.
Disney’s latest live-action remake has been at the centre of several controversies over the past few years.
When it was first announced, Emmy winner Peter Dinklage questioned why Disney was choosing to tell “that fucking backwards story of the seven dwarves living in the cave”.
At the time, Disney responded: “We are taking a different approach with these seven characters and have been consulting with members of the dwarfism community.”
It later emerged that the classic characters from the original 1937 movie were depicted in the film using CGI and motion-capture technology, with only one of those seven actors coming from within the dwarfism community.
This decision was criticised by some performers from within that community in the lead-up to its release, sentiments which were echoed by Timbo during a recent interview with Sky News.
“Our representation is already small as it is – no pun intended. It’s already limited,” she explained. “To erase that and use CGI, like we’re mythical creatures or people that could be made on computers, it’s disregarding us in general.”
Timbo – who was born with the condition achondroplasia – continued: “Let’s say kids have never seen somebody that has my condition and they’ve seen a CGI version of me. It’s going to be a bit baffling to children.
“It could have been a real educational piece to have actors that have the condition and give them the role they deserve.”
Martin Klebba – who plays Grumpy in Snow White – has a form of dwarfism called acromicric dysplasia.
Another cast member, George Appleby, who has achondroplasia, portrayed a new character, one of the seven “bandits” added specifically for the remake, which is notably called just Snow White, while the original was titled Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs.
Read more about the controversy surrounding the film here.