The live-action Snow White remake was already proving to be a headache for Disney thanks to a string of different controversies – and it’s now facing a backlash from several actors with dwarfism.

Performers from within the dwarfism community have been speaking out against the film in the past few days, due to the creative decision to reimagine the titular seven dwarves as CGI characters.

Over the weekend, the Daily Mail published quotes from Ali Chapman – an actor with hypochondroplasia, a form of dwarfism – who claimed that Disney was taking the opportunity for “talented little people the chance to shine” by “scrapp[ing] us completely and us[ing] CGI instead”.

“It’s a total travesty and there are a lot of angry little people, actors and actresses out there,” she said.

She added that “people are flying in from all over the world” as part of plans to protest the decision outside Disney’s headquarters, ahead of the film’s release next week.

Matt McCarthy agreed: “It’s hard enough in Hollywood. Everyone’s trying to make their dreams come true. When you’re a little person, opportunities are few and far between.”

“There were seven great parts right there but Disney decided to go with freaking cartoons. Shame on them,” he added.

Last week, Choon Tan voiced the opinion that there’s “nothing wrong casting someone with dwarfism as a dwarf in any given opportunity”.

“As long as we are treated equally and with respect, we’re usually more than happy to take on any acting roles that are suitable for us,” he told the Daily Mail.

“Plus it’s also an opportunity for young children to see someone with dwarfism, which they may have never seen before.”

“There are plenty of actors who are capable and would have loved to have played these roles and it’s just taken away one of the few opportunities that we have,” he said, adding: “I personally feel discriminated against as everyone should be given an equal opportunity.”

HuffPost UK has contacted Disney for comment.

Former Game Of Thrones actor Peter Dinklage, who has achondroplasia, previously voiced his disapproval when the Snow White remake – which is notably titled just Snow White, rather than Snow White And The Seven Dwarves – was first announced.

“I was a little taken aback by [the fact] they were very proud to cast a Latino actress as Snow White, but you’re still telling the story of Snow White And The Seven Dwarves,” said back in 2022.

“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?’.”

Peter added: “Take a step back and look at what you’re doing there. It makes no sense to me.

“You can be progressive in one way but you’re still making that fucking backwards story of the seven dwarves living in the cave. What the fuck are you doing man? Have I done nothing to advance the cause from my soapbox? I guess I’m not loud enough.”

A Disney rep said at the time: “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.”

Confusion later arose when photos supposedly taken from the set of Snow White were published in the Daily Mail.

The publication suggested that the original seven dwarves had been replaced by seven new characters of mixed genders, races and heights.

It later transpired that these characters were, in fact, seven new characters added to the story for the remake, and the seven dwarves were actually created using CGI and motion-capture technology.

Jeremy Swift, Tituss Burgess and George Salazar are among the actors playing the Seven Dwarves via motion capture and voice acting, all of whom retain their names from the classic Disney movie.

Snow White will hit cinemas on Friday 21 March.