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Chloë Grace Moretz Apologises, Says Red Shoes Is Actually "Powerful For Young Women"

Sabrina Rojas Weiss
Last Updated 31 May 2017, 20:40
Photo: Owen Kolasinski/BFA/REX/Shutterstock.
Chloë Grace Moretz has responded to criticism of the marketing for her upcoming animated film Red Shoes and the 7 Dwarfs.
"I have now fully reviewed the [marketing] for Red Shoes, I am just as appalled and angry as everyone else, this wasn't approved by me or my team," the actress wrote on Twitter. (The statement in full is spread across three adjoining Tweets.)
She continued, "Pls know I have let the producers of the film know. I lent my voice to a beautiful script that I hope you will all see in its entirety. The actual story is powerful for young women and resonated with me. I am sorry for the offence that was beyond my creative control."
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This story was originally published on May 31 at 10:35 a.m.
We're all for giving fairy tales a modern twist, considering how times have changed since the days of those Brothers Grimm. But an upcoming "sequel" to Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is probably going in the wrong direction, based on reactions to the movie's trailer and poster, which point out some blatant fat-shaming.
South Korean animation studio Locus is behind Red Shoes and the 7 Dwarfs, which is voiced by Chloë Grace Moretz, Gina Gershon, and Jim Rash. According to the Locus site, the titular character is "a Princess who doesn't fit into the celebrity world of Princesses — or their dress size." Apparently, in order to fit in on Fairy Tale Island, she uses a pair of magical shoes that make her skinny. "In her quest to find her lost father, she learns not only to accept herself, but to celebrate who she is, inside and out."
That message of acceptance seems to be lost in the trailer, however, which shows two dwarfs who sneak into her home and watch her undress (and this is a family film, mind you). When she kicks off those red shoes, she returns to her true form, a curvier girl who relaxes in her armchair and burps. The dwarfs are horrified.
Model and body-positive advocate Tess Holliday pointed out a poster for the movie that is just as shameful, Mashable reported. "What if Snow White was no longer beautiful and the 7 Dwarfs not so short?" asks the tagline.
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"How did this get approved by an entire marketing team? Why is it okay to tell young kids being fat = ugly?" Holliday wrote, and directed the question to Moretz's Twitter handle.
Other Twitter users agreed.
"What if Snow White felt beautiful no matter what because people treated her as a person, not an object?" @RoofBeamReader asked.
"Watch the trailer," @Goofy_ginger wrote. "They sexualize her and then fucking body shame her. What a great fucking children's movie!"
"So much bullshit in this trailer, I don't even know where to begin," wrote @ritualhound, who also called out Moretz. "It really sucks bcus this seems like a really good concept. I'm unsure if its a marketing problem, or if this is a reflection of the story."
Moretz, whose involvement in the project was just announced earlier this month, has yet to respond to the criticism. The movie's producers were seeking distribution at Cannes. Perhaps if they're successful, the distributor will think of a better way to promote it.
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