According to a New York Times article, Disney has apparently branded a number of its iconic characters as “possibly problematic” when sifting through its collection of content for films and shows to put on its streaming service.
Tinkerbell and Captain Hook from the iconic 1953 Disney animated film “Peter Pan” are reportedly among the characters who may require a disclaimer on the Disney+ streaming service due to their potential to perpetuate negative stereotypes.
According to the New York Times, Disney’s Tinker Bell, which is based on J. M. Barrie’s 1904 play “Peter Pan” and its 1911 novelization “Peter and Wendy,” has been criticized because Tinker Bell is envious of Peter Pan’s attention to Wendy and is “body-conscious.”
Captain Hook, who has a prosthetic hook where his hand should be, was apparently flagged because of his malicious nature, which exposes Disney to claims of bigotry towards disabled people.
According to the New York Times, Disney’s “Stories Matter” team was in charge of identifying potentially problematic characters and reporting their results to senior management.
Ursula the Sea Witch, from Disney’s 1989 animated classic “The Little Mermaid,” is another reported example of a possibly problematic Disney figure.
According to the New York Times, Disney’s crew was concerned that Ursula’s flamboyant conduct might be perceived as “queer-coded,” and thus homophobic.
Also, because Ursula had a dark complexion and a darker, light-purplish skin tone, she was apparently a target for critics who saw her as a possibly racist caricature.
When potential problematic information is detected and acknowledged, Disney’s “Stories Matter” team places cautions on the company’s content and products. Before the content is played, the warning appears.
The animated films “Aristocats” and “Dumbo” are two examples of content that Disney deems necessary to obtain the advisory.
A cat with slanted eyes and buck teeth is described by the team as “a racist stereotype of East Asian peoples” in Aristocats. The team notes that a crow murder in Dumbo is a “homage to racist minstrel shows, where white artists with blackened cheeks and ragged attire portrayed and humiliated enslaved Africans on Southern plantations.”
The team also issued an advisory warning for Peter Pan, claiming that the animated film portrays Native Americans in a stereotyped manner.
After Peter Pan saves Princess Tiger Lily, the “Indians” and Peter Pan celebrate by “dancing, wearing headdresses, and other exaggerated tropes, a kind of ridicule and appropriation of Native peoples’ culture and imagery,” according to the team.
Third-party groups such as the African American Film Critics Association, GLAAD Media Institute, and the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media, among others, advise the Stories Matter Team.
This piece was written by Staff Writer on April 23, 2022. It originally appeared in DrewBerquist.com and is used by permission.
The opinions expressed by contributors and/or content partners are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of LifeZette.
Join the Discussion
COMMENTS POLICY: We have no tolerance for messages of violence, racism, vulgarity, obscenity or other such discourteous behavior. Thank you for contributing to a respectful and useful online dialogue.
I find it interesting that they seem to have an issue with Tinkerbell. After all Tinkerbell is a fairy and these days that’s all Disney is catering to.
Reddwolf – Better explain “faiary” to these youngsters who don’t understand the old school folk.
Yes, but Tinkerbell is a GIRL fairy…..and that’s not as popular with them. If only she was trans…..
Chap 7 Disney all the way, scrap park visits
boycott merchandise
Wat a waste of time. Making a big deal out of a frigging cartoon character.
Wouldn’t it be more productive to side with AOC and make a bigger deal out of the harm to the environment of cows crapping…. or even Old Joe letting loose a loud one! Or Kerry being a jet jockey and accomplishing nothing…. or old Joe doing a air hand shake… or …..just get a
Submitted for your approval: Stalinist paranoia over social disorder has grown so intense that purges of the idiologically suspect have overflowed from the real world to include cartoon characters… In the Twilight Zone.
Disney obviously has a “Death-Wish” so far as its “Normal” viewers / clientelle are concerned.
I would without hesitation recommend psychiatric assessment and treatment for its entire “Stories Matter Team” – they patently feel dangerously exposed in our Real World – exposed to what exactly can only be determined from their assessments and full diagnosis.
This is all very sad for what once was a safe Family oriented entertainment company – now just another cog in the fanatical self-destructive Wokeism brigade.
I am happy to announce that any and all shares in Disney owned by myself , family and friends have now been divested of ( before even they become worthless like the mentality of the present “management” of Disney group.
What about a bishop Frollo, a negative portrayal of catholic clergy?