Disney+ has blocked children under the age of seven from watching several films with characters based on racist stereotypes, including Dumbo (1941), Peter Pan (1953), Swiss Family Robinson (1960), and The Aristocats (1970).
These movies can now only be watched with parental consent, a decision which came after Disney+ started including warnings on many films due to ‘offensive material’.
More specifically, Peter Pan was removed because of its portrayal of the Native American tribe ‘redskins,’, Dumbo includes a scene with Jim Crow, who is portrayed as an offensive African American stereotype, Swiss Family Robinson has ‘yellow’ and ‘brown’ face pirates, whilst The Aristocats features a Siamese cat with offensive stereotypical facial features and an East Asian accent.
Disclaimers on some classic titles have also remained, but they used to warn users that ‘It may contain outdated cultural depictions.’. Fantasia and Lady and the Tramp were also expected to be fall under this disclaimer.
However, after the streaming service received tremendous backlash, the new warning reads ‘This program includes negative depictions and/or mistreatment of people or cultures’.
Due to this, some films are now no longer available to stream at all, such as Song of the South.
What do you think of this decision made by Disney?
