In Peter Pan (1953), Disney warns that the animated classic uses stereotypes to depict Indigenous people who "speak in an unintelligible language” and are repeatedly referred to as 'redskins,' a term that is widely deemed as offensive.
“This portrayal reinforces the ‘perpetual foreigner’ stereotype, while the film also features lyrics that mock the Chinese language,” Disney said. The character's name was changed in the 1950s to "Dandy Crow" in an attempt to avoid controversy.Īnother of the films is The Aristocats, a musical comedy which features cats of differing nationalities.ĭisney has criticised the 1970 animation for its portrayal of a Siamese cat, with “slanted eyes and bucked teeth”, which plays the piano and talks about Asian food in a stereotypical accent. The childhood classics targeted with the new trigger warning include Dumbo (1941) which follows the life of protagonist baby elephant Jumbo Junior, who is nicknamed for his big ears.ĭisney has admitted that the film includes songs with “offensive lyrics” and “pays homage to racist minstrel shows” in scenes involving the singing crows, as the lead crow "Jim Crow" shares its name with racial segregation laws. “Disney is committed to creating stories with inspirational and aspirational themes that reflect the rich diversity of the human experience around the globe". “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. "These stereotypes were wrong then and are wrong now,” the warning reads. The animation giant first introduced trigger warnings in November last year, urging viewers that the films are “presented as originally created” and may contain “outdated cultural depictions".īut on Friday Disney went that bit further, putting in place a longer warning as part of an ongoing review of its film library. The content advisory notice, introduced on the new Disney+ streaming service, is played to viewers before the start of six classics - including Lady and the Tramp, Jungle Book, The Aristocats, and Swiss Family Robinson - and cautions viewers of the "harmful impact” of racist stereotypes.
Disney has introduced an extended trigger warning before Dumbo and Peter Pan, saying the cultural “stereotypes” which appear in the classic films were “wrong then and wrong now”.
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