For many years Disney films were only released in movie theatres, both in their original debut and then in rereleases (For example, Bambi was first released in 1942, and then again, in 1947, 1957, 1966, 1975, 1982, and 1988.) At the tail end of the 1980s, new VCR technology allowed Disney to release home video editions. Through the next decades and technology changes (DVD, etc.) the Disney company followed a marketing strategy of only releasing a film for a short time from their ‘vault’ for viewers to purchase for their homes. This meant that it was sometimes impossible to get a particular film for regular viewing.
Streaming services (and the internet more generally) fundamentally changed people’s expectations of how these movies could be accessed. First on other services and then on Disney Plus, many animated films are regularly and easily available for audiences. One argument that has been made about this is that it has in some ways unmoored these films (and other films and tv programs) from a clear sense of the position that they were in historically. In other words, when a film was being re-released, or let out from the vault, you knew that it was reflective of a different period in which it was created. When everything is available all the time that sense of historicity is distorted.
Several streaming companies, including Disney, have chosen to put content warnings on some of these films.
This is what that looks like on Disney Plus for Peter Pan.
On first accessing the film, the details/content warning is not what you first see.
If you click on details you get the following:
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.
Disney is committed to creating stories with inspirational and aspirational themes that reflect the rich diversity of the human experience around the globe.
To learn more about how stories have impacted society, please visit
www.disney.com/StoriesMatter
Note that the address is not a hyperlink, but you can see what the Disney Company shares here.
What do you think? Is this enough? Too much? (Optional response)
5 thoughts on “Disney Re-visited”
I don’t think this is enough, I think Disney must do more than just provide a detailed summary of the offensive content that the animation contains. Even when I had clicked the link that you had put above and read ” Disney is committed to creating stories with inspirational and aspirational themes that reflect the rich diversity of the human experience around the globe” I find it very disrespectful because they are undermining the damage and offensive content being published. Nothing changes with this site!
The warning is all the way under details, I think should be somewhere much more accessible. Most people probably will not see the warning so it should say Content Advisory by the movie title and instead of explaining in the details section, have it be right after the bio for the movie.
I also agree with Marcy and Jessica , I feel like the warning should be somewhere where it is accessible. Also the first thing that got to me is the same thing as Jessia said “Disney is committed to creating stories with inspirational and aspirational themes that reflect the rich diversity of the human experience around the globe”. I find that so disrespectful and weird at the same time. So my question is Disney is only committed got create stories that only reflect the rich ? What about the lower and middle class people? I feel like they need to make the description and warnings close to each other where it will Catch the readers or audience eyes. I got intimidated by just reading that quote but I am sure if it was written different I would not.
I don’t think it’s enough. A warning should be visible for all to see and not something someone has to search for. I also agree with Jessica and Marcy.
I agree with what Marcy said about how the warnings for the content should be displayed in a way that is accessible to everyone instead of being towards the bottom. Many of us don’t tend to scroll down or look at the details so if it’s shown at the top in bold letters then maybe people would notice it better.