PETER PAN and other beloved childhood classics have been branded ‘racist’ and issued with warning labels by Walt Disney.
Children and reminiscing adults will now see the following message before being able to watch movies including The Song Of The South, Dumbo, The Jungle Book, Peter Pan, Lady And The Tramp, Aladdin, and The Aristocats:
“This programme 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 across the globe.”
Bizarre targets include the siamese cats from the Aristocats, for what Disney now describes as a stereotypical representation in that the two felines play a piano using a a pair of chopsticks – despite it being less of a play on culture than a play on the fact that the cats are shown playing the famous ‘chopsticks’ tune.
Meanwhile, Peter Pan has been labelled as racist for its portrayal of Native Americans and the song ‘What makes the red man red?”
The character Jafar from the popular Aladdin animation has also been given a slap-down, with his henchmen’s ‘non-American’ accents deemed inappropriate and demonising of asian cultures – despite the storyline being set in an Arab country.
