Some Disney Movies Just Got 12 Seconds Longer

A warning was added to them on Disney Plus
By Kate Seamons,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 19, 2020 3:02 PM CDT
A Handful of Disney Movies Now Feature a Lengthy Warning
In this Nov. 13, 2019 file photo, a Disney logo forms part of a menu for the Disney Plus movie and entertainment streaming service on a computer screen in Walpole, Mass.   (AP Photo/Steven Senne, File)

Dumbo and Peter Pan just got 12 seconds longer. That is, if you watch them on Disney Plus. The New York Times reports Disney's streaming service has placed a 12-second unskippable warning ahead of the start of a number of films. It reads in part, "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." In addition to the aforementioned films, it appears ahead of The Aristocats, Aladdin, Fantasia, The Jungle Book, Lady and the Tramp, and Swiss Family Robinson.

NPR notes the disclaimer replaces one that the company rolled out last November that read, "This program is presented as originally created. It may contain outdated cultural depictions." CNN reports the warning links to the Stories Matter site by Disney, which explains why some of those films now bear the message. In the case of The Aristocats, one 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." In Dumbo, at one point "faceless Black workers toil away to offensive lyrics like 'When we get our pay, we throw our money all away.'" (More Disney stories.)

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