| Red Shoes and the Seven Dwarfs | |
| Director: | Sung-ho Hong |
| Music: | Geoff Zanelli |
| Studio: | Locus Corporation |
| Distributor: | Next Entertainment World[1] |
| Runtime: | 93 minutes |
| Country: | South Korea |
| Language: | English |
| Gross: | $9.7 million |
Red Shoes and the Seven Dwarfs, known in Korean as simply Red Shoes, is a 2019 English-language South Korean animated fantasy film produced by Locus Corporation. It is based on the 1812 German-language fairy tale "Snow White" by the Brothers Grimm, and its name is derived from the 1845 Danish fairy tale The Red Shoes by Hans Christian Andersen. The film features the voices of Chloë Grace Moretz, Sam Claflin, Gina Gershon, Patrick Warburton, and Jim Rash.
A group of heroic princes called the Fearless Seven—Merlin, Arthur, Jack, Hans, and identical triplets Pino, Noki and Kio—save a Fairy Princess from a dragon. However, once they see her green face, they assume that she is a witch and attack her. To teach them a lesson, she curses them to transform into green dwarfs whenever people look at them, and the only way to undo the curse is if they receive a kiss from "the most beautiful woman in the world".
Seven years later, the King's overweight but strong daughter, Princess Snow White ("Snow"), returns to her family castle, where her stepmother, Queen Regina, has taken over. She finds a diary about how Queen Regina had taken over the kingdom with a warning from her father, the rightful king, not to touch the shoes she finds hanging on a tree. Snow puts on the shoes regardless, and they transform her into a slim version of herself. Queen Regina suddenly attacks her, unaware that she is Snow. Snow escapes but crashes at the dwarves' house, alerting the seven nearby. They prepare to attack, thinking she is the Fairy Princess, but welcome her into their home upon seeing her. In the dwarves' house, Snow is shocked when she sees herself in the mirror and introduces herself as "Red Shoes". The seven are immediately smitten by her and strive to impress her so she might kiss them. Regina hires the selfish Prince Average of a neighboring realm, who sends his soldiers after Snow, though she is saved by Merlin. Average attacks the dwarves and tries to abduct Red Shoes but fails. That night, Snow and Merlin grow emotionally closer. Regina gives Average and his bodyguards a magic apple and turns them into monsters.
In a secluded forest, Snow tries to give Merlin a hint about her real self but instead confesses her feelings for him, and they kiss. Merlin is shocked to see that the kiss did not undo his curse as he still thinks Snow is the prophetic beautiful woman. He fights off an attack by Average, who falls into a river, taking Merlin with him. Snow saves Merlin but accidentally loses her shoes and reverts to her true appearance. She calls out Merlin for helping her only because of her looks, causing him to leave in shame. She then puts on her shoes again, hoping to reconcile with him. Merlin talks with his dwarf self and, realizing that Snow White likes him for himself, decides to help her. In the forest, Queen Regina disguises herself as Merlin and asks Snow to eat the apple and take off her shoes, but the real Merlin arrives, and the exposed queen escapes with Snow.
Queen Regina tries to force Snow to eat the apple. When her stepdaughter refuses, she threatens to kill a captured Merlin. Snow tells Merlin to save her father and eats the apple, transforming her into an apple tree. Merlin fails to escape from queen's mirror until the other dwarves save him. Merlin sacrifices himself by falling down the castle with Regina to save Snow. Pino, Noki, and Kio take him to Snow, and he admits his sincere romantic feelings before dying in her arms. Snow gives Merlin one last kiss, reviving him and restoring his human form for good. They happily accept each others' appearances, while the other dwarves remain confused by Snow White's true appearance.
In the end credits, Snow and Merlin marry, while the other princes find their own unusual-looking girlfriends. The Fairy Princess fishes Average out of a river and turns him into another green dwarf after he makes a rude remark.
Additional voices by Brian T. Delaney, Benjamin Diskin, Terri Douglas, Piotr Michael, Amanda Troop, and Kari Wahlgren.
Reception of the film has mixed.[2] [3] [4] [5]
A marketing campaign for the film revealed at the 2017 Cannes Marché du Film was criticized by critics and audiences for alleged fat shaming.[6] [7] Chloë Grace Moretz, who voiced Snow/Red Shoes, stated she was "appalled" by the marketing that she felt it did not reflect the actual film's message.[8] The production company immediately terminated the campaign and issued an apology, stating:[9]
As the producer of the theatrical animated film Red Shoes and the 7 Dwarfs, now in production, Locus Corporation wishes to apologize regarding the first elements of our marketing campaign (in the form of a Cannes billboard and a trailer) which we realize has had the opposite effect from that which was intended. That advertising campaign is being terminated. Our film, a family comedy, carries a message designed to challenge social prejudices related to standards of physical beauty in society by emphasizing the importance of inner beauty. We appreciate and are grateful for the constructive criticism of those who brought this to our attention. We sincerely regret any embarrassment or dissatisfaction this mistaken advertising has caused to any of the individual artists or companies involved with the production of future distribution of the film, none of whom had any involvement with creating or approving the now discontinued advertising campaign.
Later sources, including organizations aimed at promoting positive messaging in family entertainment, would be more sympathetic to the film, noting that Red Shoes and the Seven Dwarfs is "loaded with valuable lessons for children and adults"[10] and "promotes body image and self-acceptance, while confronting stereotypes."[11]