The history of cinemas is riddled with racist stereotypes. (Call it the long tail of minstrel shows.) As cultural preferences have evolved – that is, it’s not cool to be racist now – our movies have gone that way too. What this means in practice is that some things just do not hold up, especially not when you show them to children. According to Disney, it includes classics like Peter Pan and Dumbo. Disney Plus will not show the two films now, nor will others for profiles indicating the viewer is seven years or younger. Other blocked movies include Aristocrat, Lady and the Tramp, The Swiss Robinson family, en The jungle book.
This is a big step, although adult accounts will still have access to the blocked movies. If you decide to stream those movies, there is a warning:
This program contains negative portrayals and / or abuses of people or cultures. These stereotypes were then wrong and are now wrong. Instead of removing this content, we want to acknowledge its damaging impact, learn from it, and spark conversations to create a more inclusive future together.
Disney is committed to creating stories with inspiring and aspiring themes that reflect the rich diversity of human experience around the world.
This is not unprecedented. In fact, as early as 2019, Disney added warning labels for various movies on Disney Plus (though they were not so strongly worded).
Times change, as they say, change. And if you’re curious, you can read more about Disney’s diversity efforts here, which are part of the Stories Matter initiative.