The Seven Dwarfs are a group of seven fictional dwarfs that appear in the 1812 fairy tale Snow White and other renditions and adaptations.
History
The Seven Dwarfs are a group of seven dwarfs that live in a tiny cottage and work in the nearby mines, Snow White stumbles upon their house after being told by the Huntsman to flee from the Queen's kingdom.
The Seven Dwarfs return home and immediately notice someone has snuck in, because the house has been cleaned. During their loud discussion, they discover the sleeping Snow White. She wakes up and explains to them what happened. The Dwarfs take pity on her, saying: "If you will keep house for us, and cook, make the beds, wash, sew, and knit, and keep everything clean and orderly, then you can stay with us, and you shall have everything that you want." They warn her to be careful when alone at home, and to not let anyone in while they are delving in the mountains.
When the Queen, disguised as an old peddler, ties a colorful, silk bodice onto Snow White, it causes her to faint. The Seven Dwarfs return just in time and Snow White is saved when the Dwarfs cut the lace. The Queen comes once again, this time dressed as a comb seller. She gives Snow White a poisoned comb, but the Seven Dwarfs save her again. The Queen then appears disguised as a farmer's wife and gives Snow White a poisoned apple. Snow White bites into it and falls to the ground, apparently dead. This time, the Seven Dwarfs are unable to revive the girl, because they can't determine Snow White's physical state and, assuming that she is dead, they place her in a glass coffin. After some time has passed, a Prince traveling through the land sees Snow White. He walks up to her coffin and instantly falls in love with her, enchanted by her beauty. As the Prince transports her body back to his castle, her coffin is hit hard and a large piece of apple in her throat is released and thus revives her. The prince then marries Snow White and "they lived happily ever after."
Response from people with dwarfism
As a prominent cultural portrayal, the Seven Dwarfs have been recently controversial among people with dwarfism. One critical scholar has said it "followed the conventions of the freak show and perpetuated contemporary prejudices in their constructions of people with dwarfism," portraying them as "incapable, humorous, weird, childlike," and "overly naïve, perhaps even dim-witted." In 2022, the actor Peter Dinklage criticized Disney's planned live-action remake of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs as being responsible for "renewing damaging stereotypes", saying "You’re progressive in one way but you’re still making that fucking backward story of seven dwarves living in the cave. What the fuck are you doing, man?".
Others in the dwarfism community expressed different views. Professional wrestler Dylan Postl, better known by his ring persona Hornswoggle, voiced his disagreement with Dinklage in an interview where he, along with other dwarf actors, accused Dinklage of just virtue signalling and said that Dinklage's condemnation of the Seven Dwarfs' portrayal, and Disney's replacement of them with anonymous "magical creatures" and portrayed by voice actors, would have deprived dwarf actors of a possible starring role in a film based on an established property, denouncing Dinklage as "hypocritical" and "selfish...trying to take roles away". Comedian Brad Williams also expressed a similar sentiment, in that while he seemed to partly agree with Dinklage by calling the portrayal "mildly offensive" (likely with irony), he stated that there are ways to work around the issue by depicting the Dwarfs as a potential love interest for Snow White and de-emphasizing the prince's role in the story, also complimenting the positive aspects of the characters: "I mean, they have jobs, you know? They got good friends. They got a house. They like to protect her [Snow White]. They're diamond miners, so they're rich. They're self-made, wealthy."