Tyrion Lannister & Dwarfism in Fantasy

Today we're going to be talking about Peter Dinklage and dwarfism in the fantasy genre! As someone with dwarfism, I get asked all the time about my feelings on the character of Tyrion Lannister in "Game of Thrones," and I hope this video properly expresses them and clarifies some common misconceptions. As always, please let me know your thoughts and opinions, and if you're familiar with any of the projects I mentioned in today's video. And if you have any questions, or suggestions for future conversations I should have on this channel, I'd love to know!
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[@lostinthelookingglas]

As a person without dwarfism, I never thought of fantasy dwarves as being people with dwarfism the same way I never thought giants were people with giantism. Obviously, humans in those worlds with either condition are still humans. I'm glad to know that I wasn't alone in that assumption.

[@adrianaslund8605]

Agreed! Fantasy dwarfs are more like a different species. Tolkien was actually inspired by the jews when creating middle earth's version of dwarfs. Which is extremely sensitive in a completely different kind of way.

[@Alex-cw3rz]

Well Dwarves in fantasy are around the height of people with Dwarfism. Whereas people with gigantism are a lot, lot closer to normal ranges of human height, than a Giant. Who are normally at the very least double or triple the height of an average height person. Whereas the tallest person ever is not even close to twice the height of an average height person, in fact the top end of people with dwarfism are not half the height of the tallest person ever. So to compare them does not make sense.

[@jes6427]

Same, i always thought of it as a litteral species of its own in regards to fantasy and usually warriors

[@Elizabeth-x8c3g]

Which begs the question: can dwarves have dwarfism?

[@Rynewulf]

@@adrianaslund8605He was inspired by the literal dwarves of the Icelandic Sagas, which is where the names of the dwarves of the Hobbit and Gandalf also come from. The Jewish connection is from a letter he wrote in response to 1930s censorship inquiries from Germany, where he retorted to the question if any of the races were Jewish he replied along the lines of "Oh I should hope so, that would be great! You know what there are some Jewish parallels with the dwarves and thats a good thing actually"

[@allisongross2946]

I still think Peter Dinklage was way too pretty in the show to be a book-accurate Tyrion. EDIT: THE 10TH KINGDOM AAAAAAAAH I'm so glad you dropped that one. So nostalgic. I watched that a LOT when I was a kid

[@allisongross2946]

(In the books he apparently looks REAL rough in the face)

[@theaubreysmalls]

JUSTICE FOR 10TH KINGDOM

[@linpittsburgh2375]

I disagree because he looks so much like the actor who plays Jaime, with his spectacular jawline etc, that it helps to remind us of the family connection. Like if Tywin would just LOOK AT HIM without the hate filter, he would see that Tyrion was just as much his child as the other two.

[@happilyevernever4289]

Yeah but the other characters too were kinda different in the books. Shows almost always choose the pretty actors to portray characters.

[@purplewolfr2000]

@@allisongross2946 he has a much more pronounced brow and he was heterochromia (one eye is green while the other is black), people find his eyes really disconcerting and his favourite thing to do when he’s pissed off at someone is just stare at them because it freaks people out so much (he even makes a kid cry just by looking at her lol). In book two his nose gets fully chopped off (in the show they just gave Dinklage a hot scar) and for the rest of the series it’s just a huge scab in the middle of his face that he won’t stop rubbing at. Another much more notable thing about Tyrion is that he has real mobility issues with his legs, they’re always painfully cramping and this gives him an odd gait. Depending on the severity of the camping he can’t even walk, the cramps are triggered by strenuous physical activity. He designs himself a special saddle for horse riding thought that means he can ride with minimal pain.

[@xx-sof-xx]

In the books when Tyrion has to be undercover in exile, he ends up meeting other people with dwarfism who weren't born into a nobel family like himself and he learns that even though he did have a horrible time with ableism as a nobel person, it's even worse as a poor common folk person. Tyrion was able to talk back and be quick witted as a rich person, because his wealth and family protected him for any backlash, but now he's got none of that and if he talks back at an average height person, he might end up seriously hurt. I personally haven't read the books, but I my siblings have, so just mentioning what they told me. I forgot the name of the character that Tyrion meets who's a common folk woman with dwarfism, who teaches him how to act and do to stay safe, but I think it's cool there's multiple perspectives of what life is like for little people in this book series. I am however an average height person who's also not read the books, so it's limited what I can really say about the representation. Just wanted to mention it in case someone hadn't heard about this! Big content warning for the Game of Thrones TV show and the books (A Song of Ice and Fire) for literally everything, but especially SA, including CSA, and other forms of violence

[@fightthepowerman]

This is very interesting, thankyou.

[@mitochondria558]

I'm reading the books right now, and I'm very excited to get to this part! That's very cool.

[@caseco4979]

Her name is Penny (which he also comments on to himself) and yeah you got it pretty much exactly

[@purplewolfr2000]

The woman’s name is penny and she and her brother were the entertainers that were hired to mock joust at Joffrey’s wedding, specifically to embarrass/enrage Tyrion. When they first meet she tries to kill Tyrion because her brother got murdered by people who thought he was Tyrion. There’s this whole really fucked situation in the books where Circe believes Tyrion killed her son so she promises a lordship to anyone who brings her his head and basically that means that all these little people end up getting killed by people hoping to get that lordship.

[@purplewolfr2000]

I really like Penny as a character, she’s a teenage girl who is a great foil to Tyrion’s arc at that point in the books. Basically Tyrion is in this whole nihilistic downward spiral and is really full of hate, Penny is the complete opposite to his world view. She is still a really kind and positive human despite her having gone through incredible difficulties in her life because of her disability and class.

[@Freaky0Nina]

May I add perhaps another dimension to this, which is language? The German word for dwarVEs is "Zwerge". While a person woth dwarfism would never be (politely) called a dwarf, but "Kleinwüchsig" (transl. Smallgrown) . So when I first learnt that in english, not only is it called "dwarfism" but also are refered to as "dwarf" i was really a bit shocked. To me, the 7 dwarves or the dwarves in LotR were always a different humanoid species, so it feels wrong to use that same term for actual human people with dwarfism.

[@annasolovyeva1013]

Same in Russian. Fantasy Dwarves and gnomes merge together into "гном", but humans with dwarfism are "карлики". They exist in fantasy/fairytales too but they're human.

[@annasolovyeva1013]

@@Freaky0Nina for example at one of Pushkin's fancy there's cool but funny evil wizard who is a human dwarf with long beard and extravagant clothes flying around doing mischief and owning a magical palace.

[@wesleyruff4997]

like that comment purely so that i could be the 100th person to do so. ocd is a bitch

[@adaroben1104]

Zwerge is a great fantasy word, why couldn't english adopt that as a loan word?

[@rhapsody98]

IIRC, Tolkien specifically spelled it differently, since his inspiration were fairy folk, elves and gnomes type folklore creatures that clearly didn't exist. From the beginning he didn't want people reading about the Sons of Durin and imagining a human being with dwarfism.

[@donnylurch4207]

I like wee races like gnomes and halflings in fantasy, but I do recognize their existence tends to erase humans with dwarfism from the setting, perhaps to avoid confusion. I always thought it would be funny/poignant to have a little person in a fantasy setting where gnomes and halflings exist, and is often confused for one of them by ignorant or unobservant people. Could be a good source for drama and commentary. I wouldn't want to be distasteful, though.

[@Nejvyn]

Yeah, it's always kinda weird when you know a lot of actors with dwarfism worked on a movie, but none of them is playing a human. I mean, come on, look around on your set - short humans exist, why don't they also exist in your fantasy world?

[@ConstantChaos1]

That's a thing in d&d though the taste level is dependent on the table or at least the DM And even the other races can have it, my current character is actually a gnome with very stunted growth (his specifically is just stunted but the mechanic is designed to work whatever the reason for it). I didn't have an agenda with the character but it made sense narratively and there were some mechanical advantages so I went for it. I have my own disabilities so it hasn't been the butt of any joke or anything, tbh its hardly even been addressed, but also my character is a fey creature riding a giant spider both of whom are constantly engulfed in non-harmful green spell flames that smell like wisteria and mountian lilac, so like to be fare there is a lot going on lol

[@margaretanderson6924]

That's a brilliant storyline, I can see the confusion being repeated to create an inside joke w the audience. 😄

[@DrFranklynAnderson]

I had an idea for a story like that, a human with dwarfism from fantasy London gets in trouble with the thieves guild and so goes to hide in the one place he won’t be noticed: the Shire. 😂

[@PrincessOzaline]

There's a a film about a an actor with Dwarfism getting sick of the typecasting and putting ona productiion of the Wizard of Oz where here plays the Tin Man. Which like the Munchkins in the book were just short not little people perse, but the Tin Woodman was a munchkin too (a munchkin wood cutter whose body parts ending up being replaced one by one) and even the Scarecrow should probably have a similar stature to the munchkins since he was made by a Munchkin farmer... Anyway, yeah.

[@ettinakitten5047]

My favorite thing about Willow is that it's set up like a prequel to a formulaic Chosen One story with Elora as the protagonist, so I spent the first half of the film expecting them to find a good home for Elora and then time-skip to her late teens, but instead, she's basically just the McGuffin that drives Willow to end the evil empire himself. So it's a nice subversion of a trope.

[@pixylips]

Look up Penny in the GOT books, she never made it on to the show, but She was a little person who grew up in a poor family of little people. She ends up traveling with Tyrion and he comes face to face with this stereotype of a little person while he was raised at court, and even though Tyrion was treated poorly, it was nothing compared to what common little people, like Penny, had to face in the book. Excellent writing and character development.

[@aarononeil9832]

Speaking purely from an outside perspective, it always felt to me like the bigger reason Tirion was such a groundbreaking character was that he's a purely real world type of little person, he's not another race or type of creature of any kind, he is a human being with dwarfism. And that's something I don't think I'd ever seen in fantasy before, even in Willow (one of my all time favourites to this day) the representation was still technically framing the little people as a completely different group from the larger humans. I feel like the way Lord of the Rings handles it is fine because the Hobbits and Dwarves in the world are very explicitly different races from humans. In this day and age, we should have room for both fantasy "dwarves" and little people in the same space, and I want fantasy creators to start creating works featuring both simultaneously asap

[@cablefeed3738]

Hobbits are humans in lord of the rings.You know that right

[@lucihegi9139]

​@@cablefeed3738 No. I don't know what evidence you have heard to suggest this, but it is absolutely not true. They are similar to humans in many ways, but they are an entirely different race of people. Treebeard even adds a new, separate verse to his poem for them.

[@cablefeed3738]

@lucihegi9139 No, they like "man" are the Atani and Tolkien said in his essay Of Dwarves and Men: "Hobbits on the other hand were in nearly all respects normal Men, but of very short stature"

[@trystanfranziskus]

i personally never associated fantasy dwarves with people who have dwarfism didn't know people did that

[@jymbreitbach967]

"I don't see color" pretending not to see something that is clearly happening is more harmful than participating

[@davidpatterson210]

Dwarf ....is in the name

[@davidpatterson210]

Ism it

[@calamitysangfroid2407]

People with dwarfism don't look like fantasy dwarves, same way a lot of orc depictions are based off racist stereotypes of indigenous people (of different countries too) but most peoppe don't look at an orc in dreads and vaguely tribal clothes and make the connection.

[@trystanfranziskus]

@@calamitysangfroid2407 idk i'm a tolkien guy so orcs are always grey black mutated elves in my head

[@les5503]

I have a lot of gripes with GoT, but Tyrion was pretty much always my favorite part. It's clear through the performance that Peter Dinklage cared a lot about the role

[@SirQuantization]

Agreed Tyrion is one of the best characters. He may have been physically smaller but his personality was easily the largest.

[@fashion-baller3399]

He was my favorite character by far. I told my brother if he dies I'm dropping the show I don't care anymore lol.

[@AliNahdee]

Willow is one of my favorite fantasy films. I loved that he had a family, he was a really good husband, a great dad, he had friends, he had bullies, he was allowed to be angry and frustrated but also vulnerable, loving, hopeful, and brave. And I --LOVED-- the way he and Val Kilmer interacted. It was really great hearing you talk about a childhood favorite. I learned a lot from this and thank you for making it

[@narutardednerd]

Willow is so underrated. I was so upset when they removed the series from Disney+. If they did a reboot, I'd love to see Warwick play the older sorceror. I can't imagine anyone else playing Willow as well as Warwick, but I'd love to be pleasantly surprised. I'll have to check out 10th Kingdom!

[@jes6427]

I love the original movie

[@Morna777]

I think it's on Apple TV?

[@valhatan3907]

I hate Disney always trying to erase anything into oblivion once it didn't give them profit. Even Netflix don't erase their worst shows

[@ashesandposies]

The series sucked They were making Willow look bad and the script was really not good and the acting not good. Even the actor who plays Willow seemed to know it sucked so didn’t give his best acting skills and I don’t blame him

[@raychapman1134]

​@ashesandposies i only made it through 2 episodes. It really was terrible. When they completely ripped off the horse off the cliff scene from young guns, the movie i completely checked out. It was so blatantly a completely plagiarized scene.

[@orangeoog1766]

WILLOW IS SO GOOD, I loved that film and I'm so glad it stands up to the test of time

[@angharadcrossley6253]

Loved Willow. The culture of his people, the Nelwyn, always felt completely separate to that of the Daikini. Not just the magical selection, but just little details like the country dance / maypole you see at the festival. It was never a "here's little people doing the same thing... in miniature". It was more a "here's a living, breathing society", which was incredible for a Fantasy movie of its time!

[@AliNahdee]

YES!!

[@Redem10]

One difference I noticed between 2014 and 2024 DND manual is that humans can now have be of small size now.

[@LaMarcheFutilé101]

Yeah, it's an interesting change, although a little confusing to me. Dwarves, who are roughly the same height as someone with dwarfism, are medium-sized creatures, so there's not really a "need" for someone to be able to make a small-sized human. But it doesn't really hurt anything, either, and I guess covers cases for more unusual cases or children/adolescents or whatnot? Just a bit of an odd thing to include, especially since it wasn't added to some of the other species.

[@rainbowsorceress2082]

@@LaMarcheFutilé101 dnd dwarves are medium -sized because they are stocky and broad, "big boned" if you will, so they basically trade height for width and it all evens out

[@chrismanuel9768]

​@LaMarcheFutilé101 Dwarves in D&D are only a foot or two shorter than humans, and half again as wide. Real life dwarfs are significantly shorter from what I've seen.

[@PeasantTS]

​@@rainbowsorceress2082 They are also not that short, having an average height of 1,30m. They are much taller than halflings, for example, who are around 0,9m only.

[@LaMarcheFutilé101]

@@chrismanuel9768 Dwarves in D&D are generally cited to have about the same weight as an adult human (120-200lbs), which actually isn't too far off the weights for people with achrondoplasia from what I understand. So dwarves really aren't "half again as wide" by the given physical characteristics, and they certainly don't look it from the artwork, either. It's not, like, a _problem_ or anything, it's just an odd mismatch in the rules that I've never seen a particularly good explanation for.

[@austinmiller6213]

I love Willow, I think it’s an amazing illustration of the social model of disability. It was so cool how they had the fairies which were smaller than the little people and the giants which were bigger than the average height people, and each race just lived in a way that automatically accommodated them without stigmatizing their bodies or idealizing the “correct” body

[@kobaltkween]

Yeah, I was going to say what I liked about making them separate groups was establishing the normal home base of the story as a whole functioning society designed by and for little people.

[@BarbarosaAlexander]

I first saw Peter Dinklage in "The Station Agent", and three minutes in, I was thinking, "this dude is going to be so famous". He really is an outstanding actor.

[@gwenmurbz7617]

Oh my gosh, I LOVED Willow as a kid, I'm gonna have to give it a rewatch now, great video!

[@theaubreysmalls]

WILLOW MOVIE NIGHT!!!!

[@maddiedoesntkno]

I’m _so_ in! Good gracious, Warwick Davis’ dimples really get to me. Between his nurturing demeanour with Elora and that _smile,_ Madmartigan in the pretty purple dress, and Sorsha in her armour, that movie awakened something in me as a young woman😅👀

[@pathevermore3683]

1:47 first thing i ever saw him in was PENELOPE where they never mention his height, but the fact that he has an eye patch is a major part of his character.

[@MammaMia]

god what a great movie that no one has ever heard of

[@bicokun]

Yeah, fantasy dwarves has its roots in Norse mythology as, like, a whole other thing. I’m pretty sure they weren’t even originally depicted as particularly short, but that came to be a common trope later (elves got a little of that, too, though Tolkien’s portrayal of them kind of allowed for a parallel trope), and I’m pretty sure the name of dwarfism was just taken from that. Nice to hear from somebody in the know on the topic.

[@standdownrobots_ihaveoldglory]

Please remember that people of unusually short stature predate folklore. They predate human *speech.* there certainly is historic interplay between the two, but you understand that people always exist BEFORE any myths or legends, right. It took a verrrrrrrry long for humans to tell a story, in that whole long era, there were people born of short stature. A mythological character always has some basis in something observed IRL, but then a lot is added. But no, fictional dwarves did not spring up with no connection to the natural variations in humans. Several types of “dwarfism” are almost definitely the inspiration behind mythological characters. Just because something is wrong, doesn’t prevent humans from doing it for tens of thousands of years…it is not cool to turn humans into myths but our forebears sure as shit did that very thing.

[@Ian-nl9yd]

​​@@standdownrobots_ihaveoldglory Sorry but OP is right, *in the oldest records we have of Germanic dwarf legends, they are not described as short.* There is linguistic evidence that small people and underground fairies were referred to originally by two similar-sounding words, which eventually became homophones as language shifted over time, eventually leading to the mythological dwarf to be thought of as having dwarfism.

[@sophieschaefer01]

I’m so glad I found you on here! I don’t know if you’ve ever heard of the movie time bandits from the 80s but I remember I grew up watching it a lot and I’d love to hear your take on it! From what I remember the plot was so crazy.

[@theaubreysmalls]

in the clerb, we all love time bandits 🛸

[@MishailaMakes]

Hey hey! you said to drop a comment, so that's what i'm doing. I hope the new year is going well for you so far! I'm really enjoying watching your content and learning so much about a disability that I was very uninformed and uneducated on. Excited for more content from you in this upcoming year :)

[@theaubreysmalls]

Thank you for being here! I hope you’re having as much fun as I am. 🤍

[@ExhaustedOwl]

I've been waiting to hear your thoughts (long form) on this! Thank you for the informative & thought-provoking video :) I'm looking forward to the next one! (As a side note, Peter Dinklage was on a podcast a little while ago and was joining in on really tasteless comments & jokes about trans women... He's a great advocate for little people, but the lateral violence against another minority was not cool. I guess he acts as a reminder that we all need to reflect on our own biases, no matter who we are.)

[@rightsarentpolitical]

💯

[@NathanielTavington]

That's so disappointing. Guess we all needed the reminder that even though he does have a disability that marginalizes him in one way, he is still a cis, hetero, white man and still speaks and acts from that place of privilege.

[@BobDeGuerre]

Thanks for the info. I'm trans & will be skipping PD's work from now on.

[@Miyahideko]

I know this is a wild statement but i have never associated dwarves with little people and Im not even sure why. Your commentary was super interesting to me so thank you for sharing!!

[@LyricSnowe]

sure girl sure

[@albino_penguin2268]

Its not a wild statement. Dwarves in fantasy are often magical creatures (i.e., a different species), and not related to people with dwarfism at all. Tyrion was a human with dwarfism. Gimli (LotR) was a dwarf, a totally different species to humans.

[@Zivilin]

​@@albino_penguin2268Because fantasy dwarves originate from germanic folklore where they are supernatural beings. Same with elves.

[@baonkang5990]

Probably because they're built like a brick wall with arms thicker then most mens head.

[@angiepen]

She didn't do all that much SFF, but I need to shout-out Linda Hunt. She's an excellent actor, and got a lot of roles where her height wasn't the point at all, where they could've cast a woman a foot taller and no one would've thought anything of it, but they cast Linda Hunt because she was perfect for the role. I first noticed her playing a saloon owner in a western (I think it was Silverado?) where she was behind the bar for the first however long, and it wasn't until she came out front that you realized she was a little person and must have a platform behind the bar. But she wasn't hilighted as "Hey, look it's a dwarf!" -- she was a character who had her own interests and goals, and she kicked ass at the role. She played the housekeeper in the original Dune movie, when the book doesn't mention the character being a little person, and Hetty Lange (NCIS: LA) could've been a taller woman, but they cast Ms Hunt because she rocked it. I know this video is about fantasy dwarves, but you were talking about little people playing characters who weren't all about their dwarfism, and Ms. Hunt blazed some major new territory as an actor with dwarfism.

[@lisafish1449]

You may not know that for one of Linda Hunt's first roles, she played a male photographer in The Year of Living Dangerously. She won an Oscar for the role.

[@standdownrobots_ihaveoldglory]

@@lisafish1449darn! I wanted to shout out her winning the Oscar for playing a man. Altho now I’m remembering she played an Asian man, but the year of living dangerously was def a movie of its time… But yeah, my mom has an unusual disability that can be “fixed” now, so she’s the only lonely but she sought other representation of “different” people - Linda Hunt & Warwick Davis are both big big names in my house. And I just looked up the movie, lol, how did I think Peter Falk was in it instead of Mel “Sugartits” Gibson 😂??? I’m beginning to wonder if I really know who Peter falk is?? (PS he’s Columbo! 😂 I’m thinking of a skinny British guy, who knows…)

[@lisafish1449]

@standdownrobots_ihaveoldglory I know Peter Falk very well. He was also the Grandfather in Princess Bride and the Movie Star in Die Himmel über Berlin. (Wings of Desire in the US).

[@drungus3763]

I think you're doing a great job transitioning to youtube! I wasn't 100% sure on the whole separation between the two so i learned something! Willow has always been one of my all-time favorite fantasy films!

[@theaubreysmalls]

Aw, that means so much to me because I've actually been having so much fun with these videos. I appreciate you being here!

[@WiscoKnight0806]

The cat freaking you out was so funny. I'm not sure why you came across my algorithm, but I'm glad you did. And Willow is one of my favorite movies. I like to watch it while I cook/bake.

[@JessicaAKA]

I’m an autistic historian of neurodiverse court fools and wonders (folk with gigantism or dwarfism). Tyrion in Got/asoiaf inspired me to get into disabled history. Weirdly class really influenced if you were accepted. Rich folk with dwarfism like Mary Grey, sister to Jane Grey the 9 day Queen, caused a scandal when she married a giant. Meanwhile poor fools with autism like me and wonders with gigantism and dwarfism were accepted at court and in the case of those like Jeffrey Hudson, highly rewarded though as always the role often involved the figures laughing at themselves and being mocked. Interestingly your mention of small actors disliking ‘mystical’ roles, is due to a mix up in Arthurian and romance literature of the medieval period. Originally dwarfs in these were fantasy creatures with ties to magic and clairvoyance but as court roles for wonders became a thing, rep of fantasy dwarfs basically became a mirror of real roles for court dwarfs instead of a separate fantasy species.

[@JessicaAKA]

I’ve just finished my doctorate in this at St Andrews! If you ever wanted to talk about real history and the surprising stories of those like Jeffrey Hudson just ask anytime. Hudson’s life story is amazing. He became Charles I and his Queen Henrietta Maria’s court dwarf as a little boy, was brought up as a Prince ‘in miniature’, was a captain of the queens horse in the civil war but then a courtier that bullied him and called him ableist shit dared him to a duel. Guy turned up with a water gun, laughed again at Jeffrey who as a perfect marksman just flipped his gun out and shot the guy dead. Going into exile he was unfortunately caught by Turkish pirates and spent most of his older life as an Ottoman slave. 😢

[@JessicaAKA]

Just saw your Shrek and dwarfism video! Awesome to see content by someone else who knows disability history too! ❤

[@aidanelizabeth]

As a writer who dabbles in fantasy this was so so informative!!! Obsessed with your content!

[@AliasPhex]

I owe my identity to Willow. My name is literally Alora Danon. (Mom changed the spelling.) Also, that village party scene holds a place in my heart to go back to when I forget what wholesome community is like. That movie is a classic for a reason and the quips, the cast, the music… it’s amazing.

[@standdownrobots_ihaveoldglory]

Girl! Do not give out this info online hun, if you’re the only person with your name, keep it on the DL online. You’re setting yourself up, sweety. Also I can tell you are young, but no your identity isn’t your name & with time, that will be clear. It’s really cool - that movie is special in my family too - but do not give people such info - I can immediately see how easy it would be to con you because of that. If you use aliasphex anywhere else, I could look it up, then pretend to “meet” you online & present myself so that you think we are fated to meet. I don’t want to explain how to scam in detail, but it’s very very easy to target people if they give as much meaningful info as you just did. And people who think like me, a lot of them are just always looking for exploitable weaknesses; they just keep their eyes open for opportunity. Just be cautious! Also didn’t mean “sweety” sarcastically, I’m just old.

[@CleonofTarsus]

When he paused after saying JRR Martin I was like okay cool he'll correct himself, and then he got further away lol

[@maddieb_99]

lol i noticed that too 😂

[@standdownrobots_ihaveoldglory]

Psh George wishes he had a J in his name. He’s icky.

[@saraellwood630]

I have never seen Willow! Thank you for the recommendation, it looks lovely. ❤

[@killedbyrabbits]

I didn't watch Willow as a kid, but my partner did. We watched it together last year, me for the first time and him for the first time after a LONG time. We both really enjoyed it and it actually held up to what he remembered enjoying. Unlike some other movies from his childhood that we have watched as adults together. I'm sad to hear that Disney lost the Willow series because we were planning to watch it, just hadn't gotten around to it yet.

[@j.z.1876]

Fun fact: There's a trilogy by Chris Clairmont and George Lucas that is basically what happened to Willow and Elora Danan after the movie. The first 100 pages or so of the first book are slow and world-building, but it speeds up after that.

[@lillietheoneandonly]

Glad to see you on KZbin!!

[@theaubreysmalls]

Thanks for joining me over here

[@matildasmarmalade6735]

I was never on TikTok, and while I’m sorry you have to deal with the ban I’m really glad it’s led me to finding your content on youtube!

[@Grinnar]

I just discovered your channel, because I'm binging things on fantasy novels and I'm glad I found you. You've given me much to ponder in my own works, especially regarding how to treat the smaller races/species of my setting aside from a few words in the old lexicon. Thank you, I'll be sure to check out your content more frequently.

[@FizzyMcPhysics]

This was so interesting! Thank you so much. I think the 80s and 90s were great for diversity generally and it's all gone downhill since then. I only saw will I recently and the Nelwyn village was absolutely amazing! I think you make a really interesting point about the difference between little people and short races.

[@selwatchesyt]

I'm so happy I found your channel. I love Tony Cox, Warwick Davis and Peter Dinklage. I grew up watching Tony Cox and Warwick Davis. I absolutely loved Warwick's show, Life's Too Short. I remember first hearing about Dinklage acclaimed performance in The Station Agent but the first movie I saw him in was Penelope. He was a reporter that's willing to go too far for his stories in an urban fantasy setting. I really appreciate how much gravitas he brings to his acting. Then he played my favorite character, Tyrion, from A Song of Ice and Fires series. I don't know if fantasy is your thing but in the books, Tyrion is such a complex and compelling point of view character and he's even more fleshed out there.

[@MasoTrumoi]

I feel like fantasy races have become an excuse to include body diversity in fantasy stories, to make sure that people jumping into adventure have a "reason" to include heavier, shorter, thinner, or "stranger" people. What bothers me about this, as a world builder, GM, and player myself, is we don't need them? Like, obviously if you want to play as a lizard man, a building-sized giant, or a robot I understand why you'd want to separate them mechanically. But most shitty fantasy races are just humans with like...one trait, often one humans can have in real life. Maybe we should stop leaning on them as an excuse to put in little people, heavier people, etc, and just put those people in the world and stories you make without needing to justify them?

[@samamies88]

Interesting.. i wonder what would be best way to do it. Could this work: 1) first write people in in a way u need them (politicians, merchants, bar keepers, villains etc) with their personalities, goals, quirks etc 2) randomize their race, size, skills etc (either all of the biology & training this character needs or if u for example need orc sorcerer that is cripple for the story then handpick the things story needs and roll rest) 3) then finalize it by rounding up these characters based on their appearance and skills. Because while u don't wanna write these in stereotypical way there are still things these characters would logically learn and/or experience because of their background. And ofc u can write them in a way that they actively worked against these elements so for example a thin orc would get bullied by big muscular orcs but maybe that made him learn martial arts, magic or pursue towards inventing new stuff. These sorta things can add to the character and make them feel more real when they reflect their past experiences when interacting with other people (for example maybe they don't trust people from certain races, classes or backgrounds cuz of local war or attack towards his hometown in near past and this character slowly learns that not everyone is the same)

[@gothwolf13]

OMG 10th Kingdom mention!! I was OBSESSED with that series as a kid and Ive met few people who have even heard of it. Acorn is a cool character. Just found your channel and subscribed. :)

[@kingbaard5395]

Hey Aubrey! New viewer and fan here! I would love to see you do a video talking about (my favorite movie) Time Bandits. Unfortunately when they remade it into a series they no longer used any actors with dwarfism, which is truly a shame as its one of the only original properties I can think of with a lead ensemble all with dwarfism, aside from Willow. Loved the video! Your backlog is going to keep me company while I do some chores today.

[@duckydae]

*loving the long-form content!* honestly, i would absolutely love to hear your thoughts on the depiction of dwarfs in the dragon age series. i think as the games have gone on they’ve definitely gotten better and whilst the characters are so deeply linked to their “race” (elf, human, dwarf and qunari) it’s never the individuals defining characteristic. they’re never treated as a joke and they’re never a monolith. scout harding is a great example in both her appearances, but especially in the veilguard. not gonna lie, you would be so spoiled in the uk with how much davis is on the telly. he’s always on panel shows, he hosts his own show and he actually made an appearance on kids tv not to long ago playing a foster parent to his irl daughter. 😂 i remember watching it being like, “oh this is the uk version of miley working with her dad.”

[@theaubreysmalls]

I think I’m definitely going to have to do some research into these amazing video game recs and do a video on it in the future. I appreciate the suggestion! I’m not super familiar with these games. I play my Fortnite and call it a day. 🤭

[@Skootfairy]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts! I was just thinking how Peter Dinklage opened up more doors to have roles casting those with dwarfism that where the height of the character is not the main point of their character. GOT portrayed Tyrion well, but his main character plot for that was discrimination. However, Dinklage's portray was so good that due to the show's popularity a wide number of people were exposed to the possibility of successful characters of all heights. After that role I noticed he's been in many movies where the character has dwarfism, but that isnt the main plot point for the character (He's a mob boss in "I Care A Lot" for example). Before this the only time I would be able to recall a character who had dwarfism that wasn't an xmas elf, fantasy dwarf, etc, was the guy in Seinfeld who was an actor that only got xmas elf and fantasy dwarf as roles. I am hopeful this will help more of the film industry include great actors with dwarfism generally. I have not watched Willow, but I will go watch it now!

[@AngelInTheMarble014]

It's not just dwarfism. This is part of a much wider conversation. I am still hopeful that one day the film industry will include great actors with *disabilites* generally and give them a chance to become great. I have CP, and I can count on one hand the number of times I've seen a disabled character appear in a storyline who wasn't just turned into a plot device, a scheming villain, or motivation for the main character in some way. I can only think of two characters who are genuinely well done - Tyrion, of course, and Ivar the Boneless of "Vikings". *Two.* That's it. Even when they *do* show up, they're too often played by able-bodied characters who have no idea what it's like to live with a disability. Alex Hoh Andersen was absolutely phenomenal, but he doesn't have a physical disability. Daniel Day-Lewis gave an equally beautiful performance, and I respected the artistry behind it, but he certainly didn't have Cerebral Palsy. Don't even get me started on "Me Before You". Yuck. Cringe. Disability in general is a *huge* blind spot for the film industry (and entertainment more broadly). A willful, deliberate one, I think. It's slowly getting better. The little boy in "The Last of Us" was actually deaf, for example. But we have a hell of a long way to go. Anyway! Sorry for the spiel. This is close to my heart. :)

[@mewmewdino]

I would love to hear your perspective on Time Bandits (1981), another fantasy film, the main cast is mostly comprised of little people

[@samm4158]

ur vibe is so “my friend is hanging out with me and we’re just havin a good time while they’re telling me about their interests and opinions” that i forgot i was watching a yt vid for a sec.

[@HotDogTimeMachine385]

I don't know much about people with dwarfism so I'm happy I found you. Thanks for making the video!

[@3MadCats]

I wonder if you could talk about The Station Agent from 2003, if you haven’t already-it’s a favorite movie of mine I saw many years ago, and have rewatched many times. It’s not fantasy, but it’s just one of the sweetest heartbreaking stories and I think not enough people know about it💕💕💕

[@boristokarev9170]

Followed you here from TikTok and will follow you to the end of Earth. Much anticipated topic - thank you!

[@theaubreysmalls]

🥹 I appreciate you so much!

[@definetlyNotRee]

I'm so glad this video popped up in my recommended videos! I saw Willow years ago when I was a kid and while I don't really remember the plot, I know that I really enjoyed it. I will definetly rewatch it soon!

[@JustADD_CosinessSeries]

I learned so much, thank you for making more long form content like this on YT 🙏

[@LaddTr0n]

Peter Dinklage was in ‘The Station Agent’ long before GoT was even a popular novel. Great movie and Peter was given a the lead role which was serious character with depth.

[@qkranarchist3015]

I saw Peter Dinklage first in The Station Agent. It's the only film my spouse and I watched twice; the characters were all so impactful with their personal stories then how they interact.

[@bronzedionysus]

Hey Aubrey, hope youre doing ok with the TikTok ban. Ive always appreciated seeing your videos about the history of dwarfism. I cant wait to see more videos like these here.

[@Ericnorify]

Love to hear different perspectives like this. Great video Aubrey!

[@zacharyzielinski8609]

Oooooh I’ve been waiting on this one. I play D&D and fantasy dwarves are often characters in the games I’ve played. So interesting to hear about the distinctions between fantasy dwarves and little people. Thanks, Aubrey!

[@TheDanishGuyReviews]

15:01 I was waiting for that mention! He and Warwick Davis seem like the nicest dudes, on top of being phenomenal actors.

[@rodanandme]

first time seeing your channel and ive always been interested in hearing a little person's opinions on this topic since im big into fantasy. i wish you success with more of these videos!

[@MohamedShou]

Peter Dinklage’s portrayal of Tyrian Lannister was the first time in my life *maybe this will sound horrible* looking at dwarfs as “normal” human beings. When I watch Tyrian Lannister in Game of Thrones there was many times that I forgot he was a dwarf because the character acted like a regular normal human being 😅 *obviously Tyrian far more then “normal” he was super intelligent, brave, well,spoken and tries to do good*

[@KyleMaxwell]

"Willow" was one of my very favorite movies in my childhood, and I've come to realize in therapy later that Willow Ufgood was one of my models for healthy masculinity. I always love hearing it mentioned!

[@ohrobert65]

The Billy Barty appearance in Willow was EPIC! 🤩🤩🤩👏👏👏

[@fornamnefternamn1532]

I know you cannot talk for all of the community but it is still nice to hear your views, as a amateur fantasy author that has different human species in my world, and they are different sizes (as an average, there is always variation within a species). It's actually inspiring to hear about. I ofc have a dwarf species, heavily inspired by Norse mythology, and I don't think they thought about them as humans with dwarfism at all. They were elves, just like the "normal" elves.

[@nutherefurlong]

Glad I stumbled upon this channel. Obviously no one person speaks for everybody but appreciated your thoughts on these things. Too bad about the Willow series getting buried like that, it had its flaws but I enjoyed watching it over all. I do think some people are becoming even more risk-averse now with regard to these roles, which doesn't help the talented people out there looking to work and express themselves

[@callanrose]

so happy u made a youtube channel

[@AlatheD]

As an old(tm) I remember when Willow was new, the special effects were cutting-edge, and the only place I had seen so many little people (although that's not what the common terminology was then) was the Oompa-Loompas. As a kid I remember being extremely fascinated by little people, because those two movies were really my only perspective. I don't remember ever not understanding that actors and characters are different, so the fact that there were multiple people who fall into that category was a thing that stuck in my brain for quite a while. I remember happily sucking up every interview/behind the scenes/etc that involved Warwick Davis or any others. When I was in my late 20s, I think, I had a friend/coworker who was literally one inch to tall to qualify for dwarfism (I can't remember if that's what it was called then, but the 80s/90s terminology had definitely been considered a slur to the best of my knowledge), and it sucked because she could really have benefitted from having things adjusted by height (lowered light switches/counters/etc). After she mentioned it, I put together that a few things (like limb proportions) were a bit different. To me, all of those things were just part of her being Lonnie, my coworker and friend. Before I decided I had to leave Twitter, I enjoyed following Jeremy Crawford. He seemed pretty darn cool. I loved the portrayal of the group of Dwarves from those scenes (as compared to the book scene). While I did not really enjoy Game of Thrones, Tyrion was one of the few characters I cared about watching. Because Peter Dinklage is a great actor. And I did actually know that he was in a band! I don't think I knew he played trumpet, though. Oh, and any reboot of Willow is going to have to be AMAZING, because I can't help judging remakes in comparison to the originals. I almost think a side story/prequel/sequel would make me happier. Though for a prequel or sequel, it would have to be far enough in the timeline from the original that the characters from the original aren't there or only make brief appearances. But that's just my opinion. :) Anyway, please forgive my rambling, I just get excited about things. :)

[@xWillawisp]

I've been reading Game of Thrones and this popped up in my recommended - instant click! And a few minutes in, instant subscription ^_^ Really appreciated your thoughts on everything and getting to learn from you!

[@lucicooke4666]

Just came from your last TikTok live steam 😭 I am absolutely loving your KZbin videos so far!! I am so sad I didn't get to watch the Willow series on Disney+, I only heard about it after it got removed.

[@theaubreysmalls]

OH HEY GIRL!!!!!

[@lucicooke4666]

@theaubreysmalls HEY!!

[@sincomyy]

Such an interesting video! As a person who's very into fantasy that often includes dwarves as a race or species, these are things I've sometimes thought so thanks for opening up on the topic! And I think I've seen Willow when I was younger but after you've mentioned it in multiple videos, I'm intrigued so I have to try finding and watching it now 😄 Also I love your videos, keep going! They are such a nice combo of chill and fun while being very educating and interesting ❤

[@wizard-lizard]

I don't know you from tiktok, but watch a lot of fantasy/ d&d stuff on here so I'm glad this came up! Also, surprisingly I've never heard of Willow before so now I have a great new movie to go watch! It's nice to hear someone with dwarfism speak about the variety of representation in fantasy media, especially when there's been so much. press around Snow White recently but mostly not including little people's voices in the major media discussing it.

[@strigoi_guhlqueen8355]

1:10 that door tho 😬

[@theaubreysmalls]

i was literally afraid for my life

[@orchidrose1410]

Peter Dinklage is GORGEOUS! ❤❤ the smolder smirk 😏 😆😆😆😆😆😆

[@jacksparrowismydaddy]

and its kinda cool he was in a punk band. it's like when I learned Christopher Lee did heavy metal.

[@DawnDavidson]

@@jacksparrowismydaddyI mean, Saruman in a heavy metal band is possibly the most metal thing ever. And Dinklage is gorgeous. Way too attractive to play that role from GOT. 😂

[@jacksparrowismydaddy]

@@DawnDavidson I know right? but hollywood knows the public wouldn't give book Tyrion a chance. plus there's no make up artist that can make Peter look like book Tyrion. I believe the fellow is also missing his nose. its the same vein of Umbridge being played by an adorable auntie rather than finding an actress that can be transformed in to a scary looking squat little toad monster with no neck. somehow she seemed more threatening as auntie.

[@DawnDavidson]

@ I found Umbridge quite unsettling. I’ve met her type IRL. *shudder*

[@jacksparrowismydaddy]

​@@DawnDavidson I think my middle school teacher was Snape and Umbridges love child... I can't figure out which one she resembled more. She was as mean as both of them but physically resembled Snape more more. I have my doubts she'd ever put her life on the line fighting Voldemort though.

[@heidehahn1889]

The first time I knowingly saw Warwick Davis act was in Gullivers Travels. Its one of my favorite Fantasy Films to this day. Its not so widely known but you might be aware of it. I loved his acting, even as a child. I felt he outacted prettymuch evryone in the movie and it lead me to seek out other productions with his involvement and to find willow. Reflecting back on it now I realise his character was bad representation of the community of people with dwarfism as well. Davis portrays a really vindictive character who is the smallest persson of the Land of Brobdingnag where to us evrybody is a massive giant. He seeks revenge on Gulliver after his standig at court fell due to not beeing the smallest entertainer anymore. The Island has a kindwof Baroque setting so its somewhat historrically accurate fantasy. And damnn did that negative character leave a good impression with me but i totally see your point and i agree that we need more positive and empoweringly depicted representation for little people.

[@TheTudorgirl]

As a huuuge fantasy fan, your video was very interesting and educational 🪄

[@AnotherDuck]

I like your attitude that risking offending people is better than to just avoid using little people in productions to not offend people. I don't really get why people would think it's offensive to use people with dwarfism as stunt doubles for hobbits or ewoks or something else like that. The thought is more, "I wish we had a short person who could do this, as it would be much easier for the production," than anything offensive or motivated by stereotypes. The alternative is often using kids, who're typically not the most disciplined bunch (source: I work at a preschool), or special effects, which might be expensive and harder to work with for other actors (like how they ended up using the shots with Andy Serkis and editing him out in while filming LotR). Practical choices like that are just to make a better end-product, and for those it's better to use what you can. I'm also reminded of the old Daredevil film where they had Michael Clarke Duncan as Kingpin because he was the best actor of an appropriate size, and didn't worry too much about his skin colour (and that worry is why the character was made originally white, as having a black villain seemed offensive).

[@LynshereeEastman]

Love that I found your channel! Really enjoy your perspective and your sass 😊 I wish you all the luck and continued success ❤

[@Chris-io4iz]

This is my first time seeing one of your videos. Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts about this. I'm a big fantasy fan (I'm sure that's why it was recommended). I was a big fan of Willow growing up, and I would love to see a reboot or sequel! Also, I love that your cat showed up.

[@MammaMia]

Love the punk dinklage insight! WHAT! I didn't know that and I am so glad I do now XD you didn't mention the Willow sequel series. did you not hear about it? It didn't have enough PR so so many people didn't know it existed until Disney had already removed it from streaming 😩 I really loved Willow's new best friend in the series Silas, played by Graham Hughes. He was such a good second to Willow. They did an interesting thing in the series. In the original, Val Kilmer's character arc is like learning to not be fantasy-racist to Willow, but in the series ONLY the bad guys are fantasy-racist to him

[@link6035]

another great video! while i've heard other little people talk about depictions of little people in fantasy, i was excited to hear your thoughts! Especially since I'm a big fan lord of the rings and dungeons and dragons- both of which obviously contain races that are smaller folk than humans typically are. I had always seen it as a separate thing entirely- races that were not meant to represent people with dwarfism. But also when it comes to a case like Willow- it's genuinely really cool to see little people be cast as the small folk who make up a race of people (be it dwarves, the nelwyn from willow, etc). I like the emphasis on the less savory depictions, the nuance is always helpful and good to keep in mind, so thank you! In recent times I've definitely had thoughts of "should i even have this character" when it comes to my own character writing and playing (in dungeons and dragons), this video helps process those thoughts a lot more!

[@fluffy4192]

YO i follow you on tik tok and you randomly showed up on my youtube recommended i'm excited for more long form content from you!

[@hank_430]

Love the 10th Kingdom reference! Acorn popping up at the end in swamp witch drag was such a delightful and hilarious surprise. He's actually the smartest character in that show come to think of it lol

[@VonPatzy]

Thank you for pointing out that it’s studios that decide to run away from the conversation by erasing a minority entirely instead of listening. I’m so tired of people attacking sound bites of Dinklage critiquing historical representations as the reason doors have been closed. No individual is a spokesman for a community ON TOP of the fact that that isn’t even what he was saying.

[@MeredithHagan]

I’m so glad yt recommended this video to me. I loved your TikToks and I’m so happy to find you have a yt! My favorite (non-Tyrion) PD role was in “Penelope.” His height is never even mentioned, he’s a hard-boiled paparazzo on a mission, I suspect there was no physical description written at all when the character was scripted out. Warwick Davis was SEVENTEEN in Willow??? The character has a wife and two children! Wild.

[@theaubreysmalls]

Him and his wife Samantha actually met as teenagers on the set of Willow at 16 and 17 🥹🤍

[@MeredithHagan]

No I didn’t know that and it’s the most romantic thing I’ve ever heard. They were literal kids and they’re still together I can’t. 😭

[@AngelInTheMarble014]

@theaubreysmalls Awww!! My soul! That is the most wholesome and beautiful thing I've heard all week. Thank you.

[@gentle_beasts]

love the video! it's great to hear your perspective, and we really appreciate you taking the time to share it with us! you make a lot of really excellent points, and say a lot of things we already agreed with but didn't know how to put in words. thankyou! (for context on our perspective, we're average height ourselves, but we're wheelchair users and a bunch of other marginalised things, so we think about & try to seek out less-represented perspectives a lot.) we've heard mixed things from various different little people about dwarf races in fantasy. some people we've heard from agreed with you, some said it was a complex issue with no real yes/no answer, and some said they consider the inspiration for fantasy dwarf races (like folklore about the fae for example) to be likely to have come about partly due to stereotyping & othering of little people to begin with, way back in history, even though they ended up being portrayed differently. it seems like a very varied topic (which we're sure you know better than we do, lol). personally we could always tell that fantasy dwarf races, hobbits, etc are not people with dwarfism. it seems pretty clear to us, there are so many differences. but we did notice that there's a potential for them to be read that way by some people which could result in stereotypes? and we also noticed that their presence in fantasy often tends to sort of... replace actual people with dwarfism? like, for example in DnD we heard someone get told "oh no humans can't be that small in DnD, just play a dwarf". or in fantasy books and movies there seems to be this tendency to include dwarf races and then feel like that's got height diversity covered, and forget to include any actual people with dwarfism into the world. we haven't been able to see the original yet (for disability reasons) so we would absolutely LOVE to see a Willow remake! especially if it's made with creative control from people who actually have dwarfism, like you suggested. we could see that being a fantastic movie and really taking off! like you said, there is SO much skill and talent in the community of actors with dwarfism, and it's so often not recognised. and we agree that the story (what we know of it from reading etc) could totally be a hit too. remakes can be very hit-or-miss, sure, and we've had some pretty dreadful misses lately. but if they're handled well, in a way that respects the spirit of the original work and all the people who helped bring it to life the first time, they can be a great way to bring a deserving piece of media to a whole new audience. the world needs more good representation of little people in our media! not only do you all deserve better, but without you in the picture, our world is incomplete and we're missing out! we're about to go check out the rest of your videos, so please ignore this if you've already covered it somewhere. but if you didn't mind we'd really love to hear your take on the character of Trick McCorrigan - played by the excellent Rick Howland - from the 2010 tv series Lost Girl? he was our absolute favourite character in the show, but we always like to bear in mind that as folk without dwarfism, there could be things we just wouldn't recognise about a portrayal that we ought to be more aware of. at the same time though, it's not your job to educate us, and you're not gonna have seen everything featuring actors with dwarfism, obviously. so please be encouraged to just ignore the question if you don't feel like it, or anything! 💜 thanks again for this awesome video, it's great to hear more discussion about these things! (also please forgive us if we just vanish from your comments, our disabilities make words & socialising very challenging. we seem to only have 2 speeds - silence, or giant text wall, lol.)

[@hedgie_doll2314]

I love your vids, they are so informational and well researched! I'm so glad the KZbin algorithm decided to show me your channel!

[@JessieBanana]

Okay, I am glad that wasn’t my ignorance. I never associated dwarf type characters in fantasy with humans in real life. They’re humanoid for sure, like elves, but I have never thought they were supposed to represent human beings. It has never crossed my mind.

[@memryse]

i’ve been watching GoT recently so this video found me at such a great time, really good and informative video!! as someone who doesn’t use tiktok glad to see you’re still posting here even though the ban has been reversed ❤

[@IsaFlores-m3z]

I’m so glad you make KZbin videos now that TikTok is gone. You’re one of the few content creators I can listen to talk about anything and your content is so informational. Thank you for educating us

[@ARhysJensen-tq9cv]

Dinklage Stan here! Great video - looking forward to going back to your previous vids because there’s so much I don’t know and want to learn

[@janetseager4069]

I always considered Tyrion to be the main character of GOT. Peter Dinklage was great in The Stationmaster and In Bruge

[@danem.9402]

I loved this video. Very interesting and informative. Subbed!

[@star.gir1]

first video of yours that i came upon and i really enjoyed it! i am a dinklage stan as well. as for the fantasy dwarf thing, i never equated the race with actual little people.

[@spookyaliens6286]

I LOVED Willow growing up that’s one of my favorite movies of all time!! I think about the village people consulting the bones pretty frequently. I also loved that Warwick Davis’ character had a wife and family. I feel like beauty standards for women, especially in fantasy tend to be really tall thin women with really long hair so it was so refreshing that his love interest was a little person. I think everything about that movie except the hydra CGI s at the end has aged beautifully. I was also so excited when I heard about when the reboot was proposed and so sad about when it got scrapped. Also thoughts on fantasy dwarves as a race- most just seem like fantasy German people to varying degrees. Like in world of Warcraft theyre super German they even have an Oktoberfest basically (this is also a series that has basically fantasy Jamaicans for trolls)

[@galactic_socialist]

No matter what his stature Dinklage is a legend.

[@DonnaBarrHerself]

My hypothesis is that Cyrano was written FOR A DWARF. There is a specific 17th century painting of a dwarf that is like a clone of Dinklage at his most intimidating. I think the aurhor saw that. It really only works with a dwarf.

[@user-ft3pj1nr6c]

So happy to see you here! I’m off the tok for good and I missed your work!

[@iheartjackieyes]

Willow is one of my favorite movies. We had it on VHS growing up, i can still picture the maroon & sepia case for the tape. I was soooo peeved when Disney took down the Willow series before i could afford Disney+. It's just disrespectful what happened. 😢

[@beaujagr]

The first season they released of the Willow TV show on Disney+ was ABSOLUTELY incredible, and I keep hoping it will get renewed. Willow is my favorite movie and it was actually really important for me as a kid to learn that people of different sizes still deserve to be seen as equal, because I grew up in an environment where there was a lot of bigotry. It also helped me better accept my own disabilities as I aged, because Willow's message still is so powerful!

[@liriohardy7240]

I came to the comments to mention the Willow TV show too! it was sooo good but it has been literally .... /removed/ from Disney+, not just cancelled but fully taken off the platform because it didn't perform well enough 🥲

[@fiverx313]

really interesting, i enjoyed hearing your perspective on all of this :) i really enjoyed willow, the movie AND the series. good stuff!

[@littlefoxglove276]

the care that went into the costume design and the casting and the sets for willow's nelwyns was insane. and that was the 80's!! i never got to see the reboot before it was removed (i was hoping for a physical release) and it strikes me as one of the nastiest things disney has ever done as a company also i had zero idea there was little people rep in the witcher!! despite having seen multiple seasons worth of gifs 🤔 i must check it out, those costumes alone looked real nice

[@hollydillon4613]

I really wanted to know know if little people had a problem with the fantasy race sharing a name with their condition. Thanks so much for clarifying.