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Disney+ has removed several movies, including “Dumbo,” “Peter Pan,” “The Aristocats” and “Swiss Family Robinson” from children’s profiles on its service over negative depictions and stereotypes.
The Walt Disney Company had previously placed content warnings on the films for “negative depictions and/or mistreatment of people and cultures” in October. But now, it has removed access to the films by children under 7, according to KTLA sister station WTVO in Rockford, Illinois.
Adults with Disney+ accounts can still access the films with the content warnings, which appear on screen for about 10-12 seconds before the unedited content.
That advisory reads, in part: “This program includes negative depictions and/or mistreatment of people or cultures. These stereotypes were wrong then and are wrong now. Rather than remove this content, we want to acknowledge its harmful impact, learn from it and spark conversation to create a more inclusive future together.”
It directs viewers who want to learn more to the “Stories Matter” section of Disney.com.
According to the section of Disney’s website, the decisions to restrict the content for some and add the advisory for everyone else was made for the following reasons:
“Dumbo” (1941): “The crows and 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, which shares the name of laws that enforced racial segregation in the Southern United States.”
“Peter Pan” (1953): “The film portrays Native people in a stereotypical manner that reflects neither the diversity of Native peoples nor their authentic cultural traditions. It shows them speaking in an unintelligible language and repeatedly refers to them as ‘redskins,’ an offensive term. Peter and the Lost Boys engage in dancing, wearing headdresses and other exaggerated tropes.”
“Swiss Family Robinson” (1960): “The pirates who antagonize the Robinson family are portrayed as a stereotypical foreign menace. Many appear in ‘yellow face’ or ‘brown face’ and are costumed in an exaggerated and inaccurate manner with top knot hairstyles, queues, robes and overdone facial make-up and jewelry, reinforcing their barbarism and ‘otherness.’”
“The Aristocats” (1970): “The (Siamese) cat (Shun Gon) is depicted as a racist caricature of East Asian peoples with exaggerated stereotypical traits such as slanted eyes and buck teeth. He sings in poorly accented English voiced by a white actor and plays the piano with chopsticks.”
