You probably remember the poster. A tall, thin woman stands next to a shorter, curvier version of herself with the tagline "What if Snow White was no longer beautiful?" It sparked an immediate, massive backlash at Cannes in 2017. People were livid. Even Chloë Grace Moretz, who voiced the lead character, tweeted that she was "appalled" by the marketing. It was a PR nightmare. But if you actually sit down and watch Red Shoes and the Seven Dwarfs, the movie isn't really about what that poster suggested. It’s actually a South Korean animated feature from Locus Animation that tries—with varying degrees of success—to subvert the very tropes it was accused of promoting.
Animation is expensive. It's risky. When you're an independent studio like Locus, trying to compete with the likes of Disney or DreamWorks is basically a suicide mission unless you have a hook. Their hook was a pair of magical red shoes. In this version, the shoes don't make you dance until you die like in the grim Hans Christian Andersen tale. Instead, they transform the protagonist, Snow White, into a classically "slender" princess. Meanwhile, the "seven dwarfs" aren't actually dwarfs at all; they are the "Fearless Seven," a group of ego-driven warriors cursed to look like small green dwarfs whenever people are looking at them.
The irony is thick.
Why Red Shoes and the Seven Dwarfs Felt So Different
Most people expected a direct rip-off of the 1937 Disney classic. They didn't get that. The film, directed by Sung-ho Hong, leans much harder into the "Shrek" school of fractured fairy tales than the "Cinderella" school of earnest magic. It’s a story about perception.
The plot kicks off when Snow White finds these magical shoes at her stepmother's castle. Her father has gone missing. She needs help. She runs into the dwarfs, who are desperately trying to break their own curse. Merlin—yes, that Merlin—is the leader of the group, and he's obsessed with his looks. He thinks the only way to break the curse is to get a kiss from the most beautiful woman in the world.
It’s a bit shallow. Honestly, that’s the point.
The movie spends about ninety minutes watching these characters struggle with their identities. Snow White likes her "slender" self because the world treats her better, but she misses being able to run and jump without her heart racing. The Fearless Seven are so caught up in regaining their "handsome" forms that they ignore the fact that they're actually quite capable as small green guys.
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The technical side of things is surprisingly high-end. Locus Animation spent years on this. They brought in veteran Disney animator Jin Kim, the man responsible for character designs in Frozen and Big Hero 6. You can see his fingerprints everywhere. The movement is fluid. The lighting is lush. It doesn't look like "cheap" CG.
The Voice Cast and the Controversy
Getting Chloë Grace Moretz was a huge win for the production. They also snagged Sam Claflin for Merlin. These aren't B-list names. This was a serious attempt at a global blockbuster.
But then, the marketing happened.
The "body shaming" controversy almost killed the film before it had a chance to breathe. The producers eventually apologized, but the damage was done in the Western market. In 2019 and 2020, when the film finally started rolling out in different territories, it had to fight uphill against a reputation it had earned through a single bad marketing decision.
Interestingly, the film performed quite well in South Korea and parts of Europe. It turns out that audiences who actually saw the movie found the message—that inner beauty outweighs the physical—to be fairly standard, if a bit ham-fisted. It wasn't the "fat-shaming" manifesto the internet feared.
Breaking Down the World of the Fearless Seven
The world-building in Red Shoes and the Seven Dwarfs is a weird mashup of Arthurian legend and Grimm’s fairy tales. You have Merlin, Arthur, Jack, and Hans. It’s like a medieval Avengers.
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- Merlin: He’s the charismatic leader who uses lightning charms. He’s the most cursed because his vanity is the highest.
- Arthur: He carries a massive sword (Excalibur, obviously) that he can only pull from a stone... which he carries around with him. It’s a funny bit.
- Jack: He’s the "cool" one with a magic cloak.
- The Triplets: Hans, Pino, and Noki. They’re inventors. They provide most of the physical comedy.
The dynamics between these guys are actually the best part of the movie. They bicker. They're insecure. They’re not perfect heroes. When they meet "Red Shoes" (Snow White in her transformed state), they all start competing for her affection, which is both cringey and a very real reflection of how people behave around perceived "perfection."
The Stepmother and the Magic
Every Snow White story needs a Queen Regina. In this version, she’s a powerful sorceress who wants the shoes back to maintain her eternal youth. Standard stuff. However, the film adds a layer of "magic realism" to the shoes themselves. They aren't just an accessory; they're a parasite. They feed on the user's desire to be seen a certain way.
The climax of the film involves Snow White having to choose to take the shoes off. It’s not about a prince saving her; it’s about her saving herself from the expectation of being "perfect."
Why the Film Struggled in the US
Distribution is a nightmare for independent animation. Even though the movie was finished and high-quality, it took forever to get a solid US release. Screen Media finally picked it up for a digital and limited theatrical run in late 2020.
By then, the world was in the middle of a pandemic.
The film mostly lived on streaming services. On platforms like Vudu and Amazon, it actually found a decent audience. Kids didn't care about the 2017 Cannes controversy. They liked the green dwarfs and the slapstick humor.
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But for adults, the movie remains a fascinating case study in how a bad "hook" can derail a project. If the marketing had focused on the "Fearless Seven" aspect—the fallen heroes trying to regain their dignity—it might have been the next Despicable Me. Instead, it became a "problematic" footnote.
Does it hold up today?
Honestly? It's better than most of the straight-to-streaming junk you see on Netflix. The animation quality is legitimately impressive. The voice acting is top-tier. The story is a bit predictable, and some of the humor is a little dated, but it has a heart.
One thing that stands out is the action choreography. Since the "dwarfs" are actually world-class warriors, the fight scenes are surprisingly creative. They use their small stature to their advantage in ways that feel reminiscent of The Hobbit or Willow.
The Legacy of Locus Animation
Locus didn't fold after the controversy. In fact, they used the experience to pivot. They’ve since worked on other major projects, including the Yumi's Cells animation. They proved that a South Korean studio could produce "Disney-level" visuals on a fraction of the budget.
Red Shoes and the Seven Dwarfs remains their biggest international swing. It’s a movie that tried to say something about beauty standards in an industry—animation—that is obsessed with "perfect" character designs.
The irony is that to tell a story about how looks don't matter, they had to make a movie that looked incredibly good.
Actionable Takeaways for Fairytale Fans
If you're interested in checking out this specific corner of animation or looking for a way to discuss body image with kids through media, here's how to approach it:
- Watch the movie before judging the posters. The film actually refutes the "skinny is better" narrative that the 2017 marketing campaign accidentally implied.
- Compare the versions. If you're a fairy tale nerd, watch this alongside the 1937 Disney version and the 2012 Snow White and the Huntsman. It’s a great way to see how different cultures and eras interpret the same "Snow White" archetype.
- Focus on the "Fearless Seven" subplot. The most interesting part of the film isn't the shoes; it's the idea of heroes who lose their "status" and have to learn to be heroes without the glory.
- Look for Jin Kim’s influence. If you're a fan of character design, pay attention to the facial expressions of Merlin and Snow White. You’ll see the same "appeal" found in Tangled and Moana.
The film is currently available on various VOD platforms like Apple TV and Amazon Prime. While it may never be a "classic" in the way Toy Story is, it's a significant piece of animation history that shows the power—and the danger—of trying to subvert a timeless story.