Little Steps
By Gordon Hopkins
I warned you this was gonna happen. But would you listen? Noooo.
Next weekend, the Bonham Theatre will be playing the “re-imagining” of Walt Disney’s very first animated feature film, “Snow White.” I have not seen the movie and I am not here to trash the movie, which could be a cinematic masterpiece for all I know or care. Instead, I’m more concerned with how the movie was made
In recent years, the Disney company has cranked out several “live action” versions of their well-know animation films. I put “live action” in quotes because, like so many big budget, big studio movies, the filmmakers depend in large part on CGI (Computer Generated Images). In “Aladdin” (2019), the character of the genie was played by Will Smith. At least, that’s according to the credits. In reality, when he was a big, blue floating Thanksgiving Day parade balloon, the character was actually CGI. How else would you do that in a live action movie. As for, “The Lion King,” the cast were all animals, meaning they were all CGI. Obviously using a computer is easier than teaching a warthog how to sing “Hakuna Matata.”
It makes sense when you have a movie featuring creatures that don’t exist in real life to use computers to put them on the screen. Over at Marvel, they have done a pretty good job of turning the Hulk and Thanos into (mostly) believable characters.
But “Snow White” is something different. The Disney original was called “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.” While the seven dwarfs were dropped from the title, they are still in the movie.
And, yes, they are all CGI. The problem I am having here is that dwarfs (or little people, to use the socially approved terminology) are not Hulks. They are not lions. They are not werewolves or unicorns or aliens or any mythical creature. Dwarfs are people. Hence, the term, little people. They are smaller and more fuel efficient than the average sized person but they are still just people.
Is it really weird that the studio decided to use computers instead of casting agents to put those characters in the movie? No, not really. It is just the next logical step.
Unsurprisingly, actors with dwarfism are decrying the move. “Disney had the great opportunity to cast very talented actors like ourselves,” said three foot, eight inch tall Ali Chapman.
Are any actors out there closer to six feet tall worried? They should be. Pretty soon, Hollywood won’t need actors at all.
