Naked Dwarfs and Police Intervention: The Pinocchio Premiere Disney Wants You to Forget

By all accounts, Disney’s early animated classics changed the world of cinema—but the premieres that launched them? A little less magical.

Back in 1940, the Pinocchio premiere in New York City spiraled into pure chaos when Disney’s publicity stunt went completely off the rails—literally involving nudity, drunkenness, gambling, and eventually police intervention.

Fast forward 85 years, and Disney’s modern-day Snow White reboot, led by Rachel Zegler, has become another type of spectacle—one that ended not with pillowcases and arrests, but with a deeply controversial PR disaster and a box office bomb that reportedly lost Disney more than $115 million.

The Day the Dwarfs Got Drunk on the Marquee

When Pinocchio premiered at the Center Theatre in New York on February 7, 1940, Disney and RKO were chasing the same spectacular press that surrounded Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in 1937. Inspired by the original dwarfs’ popularity, they hired eleven little people, dressed them in Pinocchio costumes, and staged them dancing and “cavorting” atop the theater’s marquee.

But what started as a whimsical publicity gimmick soon became front-page-worthy chaos. Around lunch, food—and, curiously, alcohol—was sent up to the performers. Fueled by “spirituous refreshments,” the group quickly lost their inhibitions, removed their costumes, and began gambling in the nude on the marquee above bustling New York streets.

By 3 p.m., theatergoers arriving for the family-friendly film were met with the shocking sight of eleven naked “Pinocchios” loudly belching and throwing dice while ignoring all demands to come down. The NYPD was eventually called. Officers scaled ladders, wrapped the inebriated actors in pillowcases, and escorted them down before a stunned crowd.

Disney’s Latest “Snow White” Debacle: A Flop Fit for the History Books

While the 1940 Pinocchio fiasco was accidental absurdity, the 2025 Snow White remake was a slow-motion PR trainwreck years in the making. With West Side Story breakout Rachel Zegler cast in the lead role and the film modernized with major changes, the buzz should have been electric. Instead, it became one of Disney’s worst-performing live-action releases in a decade.

Opening March 21, 2025, the film barely scraped together $205.5 million globally, falling dramatically short of its estimated $410 million cost—including marketing. Industry trackers and IMDb labeled the remake an official flop, with losses estimated north of $115 million.

Years of Controversy Fueled the Fallout

The trouble began long before the movie premiered. In 2022, Game of Thrones actor Peter Dinklage criticized Disney for even thinking about retelling a story involving seven magical dwarfs in the modern age, calling it “backwards” and publicly blasting the studio on Marc Maron’s podcast.

Disney responded by promising a “different approach,” which included scaling back how the dwarfs would be depicted—a move that earned both praise and confusion.

Rachel Zegler added fuel to the fire at Disney’s D23 Expo that year. Criticizing the 1937 classic, she stated:

“There’s a big focus on her love story with a guy who literally stalks her. Weird! Weird. So we didn’t do that this time.”

Fans of the original weren’t pleased, and Zegler became a lightning rod for backlash online. Later, she made political headlines for multiple statements, including an August 2024 tweet advocating for Palestine:

“And always remember, free Palestine.”

She also caused an uproar after writing on Instagram:

“May Trump supporters and Trump voters and Trump himself never know peace… F— Donald Trump.”

Zegler did eventually apologize, stating that “hatred and anger have caused us to move further and further away from peace and understanding.”

But the damage had been done. The controversy surrounding the dwarfs, her remarks, and the general vibe of the remake led Disney to delay the film’s release by an entire year—originally planned for March 2024, the studio quietly moved it to 2025 amid growing unrest.

The premiere itself was unusually muted for a Disney tentpole. Variety reported that the studio scaled back its typical red carpet festivities and invited only internal press, skipping the glitz and glamour that typically accompanies Disney’s biggest releases.

From Naked Chaos to Red Carpet Silence

Both the Pinocchio and Snow White debacles—nearly a century apart—highlight how even Disney, the master of illusion and fantasy, isn’t immune to public spectacle gone wrong. Whether it’s a literal crap game on a rooftop in 1940 or a PR disaster born from political discourse in 2025, the House of Mouse occasionally fumbles its most iconic properties in spectacular fashion.

Maybe it’s time for Disney to remember: some fairy tales don’t need a reboot… or a rooftop party with booze.