Disney+ Removes Peter Pan And Several Other Films From Children’s Section Over ‘Racist’ Content

Spencer Baculi |

Jan 26, 2020

Several classic Disney films have reportedly been banned from the children’s section of the Disney Plus streaming service due to their ‘racist’ content.

As reported by The Daily Mail, “bosses at Disney have blocked anyone under the age of seven from watching the 1953 animated classic [Peter Pan] on its streaming service over concerns that it portrays racial stereotypes,” ostensibly due to the film’s stereotypical depiction of Native Americans.

In fact, Disney actually describes their own movie as wrong.

A content advisory message posted alongside the classic animated film reads, “This program includes negative depictions and/or mistreatment of people or cultures. These stereotypes are wrong then and are wrong now.”

It then explains why Disney is not removing the film from their streaming service given they believe the movie is morally bad.

The message continues, “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. Disney is committed to creating stories with inspirational and aspirational themes that reflect the rich diversity of the human experience around the globe.”

Disney then instructs individuals to visit their Stories Matter section of their official website.

On the stories matter section of their website they explain why they deem Peter Pan wrong.

Their message reads, “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.”

It continues, “Peter and the Lost Boys engage in dancing, wearing headdresses and other exaggerated tropes, a form of mockery and appropriation of Native peoples’ culture and imagery.”

Alongside Peter Pan, audiences have discovered that three additional films, were also barred from Disney Plus’ child-specific portal.

These films include The Aristocats, which depicts the Siamese cat Shon Gun with a stereotypically East Asian appearance:

The content advisory alongside The Aristocrats is the same as Peter Pan.

On the Stories Matter section of their website, Disney writes, “The cat 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.”

They add, “This portrayal reinforces the “perpetual foreigner” stereotype, while the film also features lyrics that mock the Chinese language and culture such as “Shanghai, Hong Kong, Egg Foo Young. Fortune cookie always wrong.”

Swiss Family Robinson, whose pirate antagonists have been accused of both ‘black face’ and ‘yellow face’ has also been removed from children’s account and features the same content advisory.

On the Stories Matter section it explains, “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.”

It concludes, “They speak in an indecipherable language, presenting a singular and racist representation of Asian and Middle Eastern peoples.”

And Dumbo, which features a flock of Crows bearing African-American personalities and characteristics that some consider to be offensive:

The Stories Matter section explains, “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.”

It adds, ” 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. In “The Song of the Roustabouts,” faceless Black workers toil away to offensive lyrics like “When we get our pay, we throw our money all away.”

As noted above, the aforementioned films remain available for viewing on adult accounts, continuing to bear Disney’s updated sensitivity disclaimer, which informs audiences that “‘This program includes negative depictions and/or mistreatment of people or cultures.

“These stereotypes were wrong then and are wrong now,” the disclaimer adds. ‘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.”