The actor who voices the character of Grumpy in Disney’s new live-action remake of “Snow White” says the studio made the right call in using CGI to bring the “seven dwarfs” to life.
Hollywood veteran Martin Klebba, known for his work on Disney’s “Pirates of the Caribbean” movies, spoke to The Post after news broke that the Los Angeles, California, premiere of “Snow White” scheduled for March 15 would be scaled back due amid the controversies surrounding the film, including its portrayal of the titular princess’ beloved “dwarfs.”
Led by embattled stars Rachel Zegler and Gal Gadot, “Snow White” has been criticized for using CGI to animate the “dwarfs” instead of casting little people in the roles.
“When it comes to the animated part of it, I guess you could have left it with just doing the animals animated,” Klebba exclusively told The Post. “And you could have tried to maybe find seven little people. But you’ve also got to find seven little people who could act and have good chemistry together.
“I don’t know other than Mr. [Peter] Dinklage or Warwick Davis, you know —— there’s only a couple guys out there that really could pull off the acting,” he continued.
Elsewhere, Klebba called “Game of Thrones” star Dinklage “one of the top 100 actors of all time.”
Regarding little people who may have chosen not to audition for a voice role in “Snow White” over the CGI controversy, Klebba said, “They were welcome to audition for the voiceover. If they decided not to, that’s their right.
“But I didn’t look at it like that,” he explained. “I was like, look, if it’s going to be CG then they’re looking at me just as an actor and they’re just giving me the opportunity. I was one of the seven that got to be a voice of one of the most iconic franchises ever. So that’s why I did it.”
Klebba added, “I was like, the people are great, and Disney has been great to me, with [‘Pirates of the Caribbean’]. So I couldn’t turn it down, you know, playing me basically — ‘Grumpy.’
“I’m not mad at Disney. Disney, like I said, they’re the ones who fed me, and they’re the ones who allowed me to have the life I’ve had.”
Disney’s treatment of Snow White’s “dwarfs” has been a lightning rod since the studio announced its plans to produce the live-action remake.
In 2022, Dinklage, who has a type of dwarfism called achondroplasia, blasted the project as “f—king backwards.”
“[Disney was] very proud to cast a Latina actress as Snow White, but you’re still telling the story of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” the Emmy winner, 55, told podcaster Marc Maron. “Take a step back and look at what you’re doing there.”
A vocal critic of dwarf stereotypes in Hollywood films, Dinklage continued, “You’re progressive in one way, but then you’re still making that f—king backwards story about seven dwarfs living in a cave together, what the f—k are you doing, man? Have I done nothing to advance the cause from my soap box? I guess I’m not loud enough.”
He added, “I’m just like, what are you doing?”
At the time, reps for Disney said they’d be “taking a different approach” to the original film’s treatment of the seven dwarfs.
“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,” a Disney spokesperson stated. “We look forward to sharing more as the film heads into production after a lengthy development period.”
Regarding Disney’s decision to scale back the upcoming Hollywood premiere, Klebba previously told The Post that he was “a little disappointed,” but not with the studio.
“I’m not disappointed in Disney. I’m disappointed in the world,” the actor shared.
He went on, “We’ve come to this place in society where people work really hard on this movie, where Marc [Webb], the director, is probably four years into putting this together, [along with] the producers and Disney, and just because a couple of people have views that not everybody feels the same way, now we’re having to alter the fun part of making a movie, which is premieres.”
The experience working on some of the company’s most iconic franchises has been a surreal one for the performer.
“When I was 8 years old and I went to Disney World, I was like, ‘I’m gonna work for this company one day,’” Klebba said. “Only I thought I was gonna be one of the characters that walked around the park with a big plastic head on, you know? Never did I think I was gonna become an actor and work on some of the biggest franchises of all time.”
“I love Disney. They do what they gotta do,” he added. “It’s sad that society has gotten to the point where we have to do this nowadays.”
The backlash not only stems from the CGI dwarves.
Zegler has faced criticism over speaking out against those who voted for Donald Trump in the 2024 election, causing several people to threaten to boycott the flick.
She also caught heat for calling the original animated “Snow White” “extremely dated.”
“She’s not going to be saved by the prince and she’s not going to be dreaming about true love. She’s dreaming about becoming the leader she knows she can be and the leader that her late father told her that she could be if she was fearless, fair, brave and true,” the actress told Variety in 2022.
The flick’s stars, Zegler as Snow White and Gadot as the Evil Queen, drummed up controversy over their opposite stances on the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip.
Gadot, who is Israeli, wrote on social media, “This is a vicious cycle that has been going on far too long. Israel deserves to live as a free and safe nation. Our neighbours deserve the same. I pray for the victims and their families, I pray for this unimaginable hostility to end, I pray for our leaders to find the solution so that we could live side by side in peace. I pray for better days.”
Meanwhile, Zegler has been vocal about her opinions, writing “free Palestine” on X after the first “Snow White” trailer was released online.
Earlier this week, Zegler walked the “Snow White” red carpet in Spain — without Gadot. Despite her absence, the actress urged fans to see the movie, calling it a “great film.”
“Snow White” hits theaters on March 21.
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