British Paralympian Will Perry On Snow White: “I Don’t Think We Should Cancel A Fairy Tale That Is So Well-Loved”
John F. Trent
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British Paralympian Will Perry made it clear he disagrees with Game of Thrones actor Peter Dinklage and The Walt Disney Company’s thoughts on the classic Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs story.
An illustration from page 17 of Mjallhvít (Snow White) from an 1852 icelandic translation of the Grimm-version fairytale.
Photo Credit: Image provided by Landsbókasafn Íslands, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Dinklage caused a stir when he appeared on WTF with Marc Maron and discussed Disney’s upcoming live-action version of Snow White saying, “Well, you know, it’s really progressive to cast a— literally no offense to anyone, but I was a little taken aback by — they’re very proud to cast a Latina actress as Snow White. But you’re still telling the story of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs so.”
He continued, “Take a step back and look at what you’re doing there. It makes no sense to me. Because you’re progressive in one way but you’re still making that f*****g backward story of the seven dwarfs living in a cave. What the f*** are you doing, man?”
LONDON, ENGLAND – DECEMBER 07: Peter Dinklage attends the UK Premiere of “CYRANO” at Odeon Luxe Leicester Square on December 07, 2021 in London, England. (Photo by Joe Maher/Getty Images for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures & Universal Pictures)
“Have I done nothing to advance the cause from my soapbox? I guess I’m not loud enough,” he opined.
He then concluded, “I don’t know what studio that is. But they were so proud of that. And all love and respect to the actress and to the people who thought they were doing the right thing, but I’m just like, ‘What are you doing?’”
Later in the podcast, Dinklage added, “If you tell the story of Snow White and it’s [the] most f***ed up cool, progressive spin on it? Let’s do it. All in. But I just don’t know.”
LONDON, ENGLAND – DECEMBER 07: Erica Schmidt and Peter Dinklage attend the UK Premiere of “CYRANO” at Odeon Luxe Leicester Square on December 07, 2021 in London, England. (Photo by Joe Maher/Getty Images for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures & Universal Pictures)
RELATED: Disney Instantly Caves To Woke Criticism Of Live Action Snow White Film From Peter Dinklage
A Disney spokesman would respond to Dinklage’s comments telling The Hollywood Reporter, “To avoid reinforcing stereotypes from the original animated film, 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,” the spokesman added.
Source: Snow White’s Enchanted Wish, Disney Parks YouTube
TheWrap would then report that Disney is removing the Dwarfs from the film altogether and will instead be “magical creatures.”
Their report states, “Instead of dwarfs, Disney will fill the void with a group of what they describe as ‘magical creatures,’ according to casting sheets that TheWrap has seen.”
Source: Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs
Will Perry appeared on Good Morning Britain, where he declared, “I don’t think we should cancel a fairy tale that’s so well-loved. Obviously, so many people — they don’t love it for the Dwarfs — they love it for the story, and innocently as well. So I don’t think it should be cancelled.”
“It’s brilliant to have a little look. And say, ‘Okay. Let’s consult people with dwarfism. Get their opinion. We might have to make some tweaks, but I don’t think it should be cancelled at all even if it’s just adjusting the name slightly or the way we are presented.”
“We are not in a cave. We are in a house. We are not depicted as mindless, stupid characters. We are sentient beings. We have feelings,” he added.
Perry’s defense of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs comes about two weeks after he appeared in a BBC video criticizing film and television’s depiction of individuals with dwarfism.
A swimmer who represented Great Britain at the last Paralympic Games says he is “sick to death” of being laughed at because of his dwarfism. Will Perry, from Northamptonshire, said there was a “big party” after Tokyo 2020, but once the celebrations ended the abuse started again. pic.twitter.com/UeaepERf2X
— BBC Look East (@BBCLookEast) January 10, 2022
He stated, “With dwarfism, I face a lot of public abuse. This includes photography, being filmed, laughed at, pointed at, stared at. The list goes on.”
“I believe it happens because in so many films, social media posts, we’re depicted in a comical way. We’re described as funny characters and that’s the way people with dwarfism are mostly exposed to the public,” he continued.
Perry elaborated, “We’re not that common, so the way people see us it through film and that’s the way they learn about us and that’s the way they think we are in real life, when it’s completely the opposite.”
Source: Rupert Perry YouTube
What do you make of Perry’s defense of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs?
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