Disney+ Adds Trigger Warnings To These Classics, Now Hidden From Children Under Seven-Years-Old

Conservative News DailyMarch 16, 2021

In late 2019, Disney announced that they would be adding warnings to their content regarding “racist stereotypes.”

The Daily Telegraph reported in November 2019 that “The films, mostly from the Forties and Fifties, now come with a warning about offensive tropes on the US company’s new streaming service Disney Plus, which launched on Tuesday.”

In addition to adding Disclaimers, Disney has also decided not to release “Song of the South, a movie set in Georgia after the American Civil War,” which has been “criticized for its depictions of black people.”

The disclaimer, which cannot be skipped, reads as follows:

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

The Disclaimer ends with a link to Disney’s Stories Matter initiative, aimed to help viewers “learn more about how stories have impacted society. The initiative webpage states that “As part of our ongoing commitment to diversity and inclusion, we are in the process of reviewing our library and adding advisories to content that includes negative depictions or mistreatment of people or cultures. Rather than removing this content, we see an opportunity to spark conversation and open dialogue on history that affects us all. We also want to acknowledge that some communities have been erased or forgotten altogether, and we’re committed to giving voice to their stories as well.”

In late January, Disney went one step further and censored “four of their classic films from the Disney+ accounts of children under age seven, citing what they described as the ‘negative depictions and/or mistreatment of people or cultures.’” Dumbo, Peter Pan, Swiss Family Robinson, and The Aristocats were no longer available for these users, according to The Mail on Sunday.

It now seems that further titles have been hidden from younger viewers. Here is a list of Disney movies on the streaming service, Disney+, which have been hidden from children under the age of seven and now display the “negative depictions and/or mistreatment of people or cultures” Disclaimer, some of which include the explanation provided by the Stories Matter initiative.

Fantasia (1940)

“Walt Disney’s timeless masterpiece is a celebration of sight and sound, featuring eight sequences marrying classical music with the most innovative animation of its day,” the movie page reads.

The film includes the Disclaimer for adult viewers and is not accessible by viewers under the age of seven.

Dumbo (1941)

“Experience the daring adventures of the world’s only flying elephant,” the Disney+ profile reads for the 1941 movie. “The inspirational tale of Dumbo, the courageous baby elephant who uses his sensational ears to soar to fame with the help of his clever best friend Timothy Q. House, will thrill and delight audiences of all ages.”

Unfortunately, this movie is no longer available to viewers under the age of seven on the platform.

The Stories Matter initiative explains why Dumbo is one of the movies selected as problematic.

“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. 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.’”

Peter Pan (1953)

“Fantastic adventures await Wendy and her brothers when Peter Pan, the hero of their stories, whisks them away to the magical world of Never Land,” the Disney+ page reads.

The Stories Matter initiative section on Peter Pan adds:

“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, a form of mockery and appropriation of Native peoples’ culture and imagery.”

The movie is not available to viewers under the age of seven.

Lady and the Tramp (1955)

“Fall in love with Walt Disney’s beloved classic,” the Disney+ profile states. “Experience the thrilling adventures of Lady, a lovingly pampered cocker spaniel, and Tramp, a freewheeling mutt with a heart of gold.”

Lady and the Tramp is not available for viewers under the age of seven.

Swiss Family Robinson (1960)

“This spectacular screen version of the literary classic is full of breathtaking South Seas scenery, hundreds of exotic animals, and treacherous pirates,” Disney+ states. “The heroic tale chronicles the courageous exploits of the Robinson family after they are shipwrecked on a deserted island.”

The movie is unavailable for audience members under the age of seven, with the Stories Matter initiative explaining this decision as follows:

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

The Jungle Book (1967)

Also unavailable for viewers under the age of seven, the Disney+ profile reads, “Experience the song-filled celebration of friendship, fun, and adventure that was the last film to receive Walt Disney’s personal touch. Embark on a thrilling, adventure-filled journey with the boy Mowgli as he makes his way through the jungle to the man-village with Bagheera, the wise panther.”

The Aristocats (1970)

The 1970 movie is also unavailable for audience members under the age of seven. Its profile reads, “In the heart of Paris, a kind and eccentric millionairess wills her entire estate to Duchess, her high-society cat, and her three little kittens. Laughs and adventure ensue as the greedy, bumbling butler pulls off the ultimate catnap caper in hopes of gaining the inheritance.”

Stories Matter explains its exclusion as follows:

“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. 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.’”

Ian Haworth is an Editor and Writer for The Daily Wire. Follow him on Twitter at @ighaworth.

The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

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