The Disney + catalog continues to expand with new titles. At the same time, it has fine-tuned its censorship filter on child profiles to block some movies that contain “content with negative and inappropriate representations of people or cultures”.
Among those films, we find classics such as Dumbo, Peter Pan, The Aristocats, The Jungle Book and The Lady and the Tramp. “We want to recognize its damaging impact, learn and invite dialogue to create a more inclusive future among all,” says Disney about such content.
In the Stories Matter space on its website, the company shared descriptions of what is wrong with the mentioned productions.
Dumbo
The Ravens and their musical number pay homage to racist minstrel shows, where white performers with blackened faces and tattered clothing imitated and ridiculed enslaved Africans on southern plantations. The leader of the group in Dumbo is Jim Crow, who shares the name of the laws that enforce racial segregation in the southern United States.
Peter Pan
The film portrays the natives in a stereotypical way that reflects neither the diversity of the native peoples nor their authentic cultural traditions. It shows them speaking in unintelligible language and repeatedly refers to them as ‘redskins’, an offensive term. Peter and the Lost Boys dance, wear headdresses and other exaggerated tropes.
The Aristocats
The Siamese cat (Shun Gon) is depicted as a racist caricature of the peoples of East Asia with exaggerated stereotypical features such as slanted eyes and rooster teeth. He sings in lightly accented English voiced by a white actor and plays the piano with chopsticks
These movies are still available on adult profiles. “Disney is committed to creating stories with inspiring and motivating themes that reflect the rich diversity of the human experience around the world,” they concluded in the statement.
