Disney Chooses Not To Edit Out Controversial Dumbo Scenes For Streaming Service

The Walt Disney Company's streaming service Disney+ has landed in the US, bagging an impressive 10 million subscribers in the first day.

Ever since talks that the service would be adding its back catalogue of classic family films, it's been widely reported that the House of Mouse might make some changes to movies with outdated scenes that perpetuate racist stereotypes.

One of those often raised in discussion is the divisive sequence in 1941's Dumbo, which shows a group of crows to feature African American stereotypes of the time.

Meanwhile, the leader of the group is named Jim, a reference to the Jim Crow laws that enforced racial segregation in the Southern United States.

Disney

Although many assumed this would be edited out of the version that made it to Disney+, it appears the scene remains, although with an added disclaimer warning viewers: "This program is presented as originally created. It may contain outdated cultural depictions."

Other films that come with this warning include The Jungle Book for its problematic portrayal of King Louie, Peter Pan and its offensive depiction of Native Americans, Lady and the Tramp with the Siamese Cat Song which reinforces Asian stereotypes and Fantasia for, well, a lot.

Disney

Safe to say fans are pretty divided over Disney's decision to leave the films untouched. Some subscribers were keen on their approach, praising the platform for confronting its problematic past.

One user on Twitter wrote: "Look at #DisneyPlus letting the people know early that their old films were racist and culturally insensitive. Accountability is key, and historical context is important."

However, some of those who tuned into the service were less than impressed with the warning, and felt that Disney hadn't done enough to confront and address the issue.

Disney

When one Twitter user asked why people are outraged about it, another replied: "I think it's the fact that Disney is trying to gloss over the fact that some of the s**t is flat out racist by calling them 'outdated cultural depictions' like the crows from the original dumbo movie were pretty much racist black caricatures."

Either way, one thing is for sure - Song of the South definitely won't be making it to the streamer's menu.

Topics: Disney, TV and Film, Disney+

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Daisy is a UK-based freelance journalist with too many opinions. She loves everything film and music-related and has a track record writing for Little White Lies, BWRC, and Film Daily. Contact her at [email protected]