You’d think Disney’s long-anticipated Snow White remake had already taken enough hits—but then Seth MacFarlane got a hold of it.
The Family Guy creator wasted no time taking aim at the troubled film during NBCUniversal’s Upfront presentation at Radio City Music Hall on Monday morning.
And he didn’t just throw shade—he sang it.
While celebrating NBC and poking fun at rival streamers like Disney, Hulu, and Netflix, Seth delivered a biting tune that included a dig specifically aimed at Snow White’s bizarre CGI dwarves.
“The Dwarves Look Really Weird”: MacFarlane Mocks Disney’s CGI Creatures
In the middle of his musical number, MacFarlane belted out:
“You might be attracted by Disney, for the magic that they have magically appear.
But you’ll feel fright when you see Snow White, ‘cuz the dwarves look really f**ing weird.”*
The moment quickly went viral, adding yet another layer of public embarrassment to a film that has been relentlessly dragged since it was announced.
The Film’s Long List of Controversies
The Snow White remake, starring Gal Gadot and Rachel Zegler, was already swimming in backlash well before its March release.
From creative decisions to casting choices, the movie struggled to find its footing—and never really recovered.
One of the biggest points of contention? Disney’s decision to use CGI to create “magical creatures” in place of the traditional seven dwarfs.
That move was heavily criticized, especially by members of the dwarfism community.
Real-Life Protest Over CGI Dwarves
The backlash wasn’t just online. Actor and TikTok creator John Ferguson, who has dwarfism, staged a one-man protest outside a movie theater dressed as one of the dwarfs.
Holding a sign that read “Hire real dwarfs,” he voiced his frustration directly to fans and passersby.
“It seems like nowadays you can protest just about anything,” he said in a social media video.
“But why don’t we protest the fact that Disney didn’t hire real dwarfs?”
Ferguson added: “We could’ve gotten those roles.
We could’ve been paid. But instead, we were completely overlooked.”
Critics Rip the Remake Apart
When it finally hit theaters, Snow White failed to win over the critics.
Brian Viner from the Daily Mail gave the film just two out of five stars, describing it as “a painfully muddle-headed affair” and a “pallid reimagining.”
He did acknowledge Zegler’s acting chops, saying she “plainly has oodles of talent,” but criticized Disney for trying so hard to be politically correct that it managed to “offend everyone.”
Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian was even harsher, slapping the movie with just one star and calling it “a pointless, exhaustingly awful reboot” with “tiresome pseudo-progressive additions” that made the whole thing fall flat.
Clarisse Loughrey of The Independent echoed similar sentiments, also awarding it one star and criticizing the studio for responding to controversy with “the most corporate solution possible.”
From Casting to Song Changes: A Snowball of Missteps
Even before the CGI controversy, Snow White had raised eyebrows.
One major point of debate was casting Rachel Zegler, who is of Colombian descent, as the iconic fairytale character originally described as having skin “as white as snow.”
Disney attempted to address this by rewriting the origin story.
In the new version, Snow White earns her name after surviving a snowstorm as a child—not because of her appearance.
Zegler’s public comments didn’t help. In a 2022 red carpet interview, she called the original Snow White animation “dated” and admitted she was “scared” of the film as a child, watching it only once.
These remarks caused backlash among die-hard Disney fans.
Though Zegler later walked back her criticisms and reassured audiences that the love story would still be a central theme, the damage had already been done in the public eye.
A Box Office Letdown That Just Won’t Go Away
Despite being part of Disney’s iconic fairytale roster, this Snow White reboot failed to make a splash where it mattered most: the box office.
The movie’s performance has been labeled a flop, and between the lukewarm reviews, social media firestorms, and now Seth MacFarlane’s on-stage mockery, it’s hard to imagine a more brutal takedown.
Disney had hoped this reimagining would bring a beloved classic into a more modern, inclusive era—but in trying to reinvent everything, they may have lost the magic altogether.