Disney+ dumps ‘Peter Pan’, ‘Dumbo’, and 'Aristocats’ because of ‘racist’ and ‘stereotypical’ scenes

Global streaming giant Disney+ announced in a statement that it would be removing classic films like ‘Peter Pan’, ‘Dumbo’, ‘Swiss Family Robinson’, and ‘Aristocats’ from its children’s profiles because they feature scenes that include racist and stereotypical representations.

The company confirmed the news by releasing a statement on their website.

"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," Disney wrote. "We can't change the past, but we can acknowledge it, learn from it, and move forward together to create a tomorrow that today can only dream of."

The brand knows that parents of children have grown up watching these classics and provided examples of the racist scenes in each of the films to give viewers more clarity on their decision.

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Disney explains that in ‘Dumbo’, a musical number performed by crows paid "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'."

In fan-favourite ‘Peter Pan', Disney says that 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."

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In ‘Swiss Family Robinson’, “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 jewellery, reinforcing their barbarism and 'otherness'. They speak in an indecipherable language, presenting a singular and racist representation of Asian and Middle Eastern peoples.”

Finally, in ‘Aristocats', Disney explained that there is a scene where a "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'."

Disney explains that the films have not been removed from the streaming platform and that the movies will still be available under regular Disney+ profiles, but they will include a content warning.

Image courtesy: Disney+