Dumbo (1941)

Last week, Disney+ removed the films Peter Pan, Swiss Family Robinson, Aristocats and Dumbo from their children’s profiles, only making them available to patrons 7 years and up, with a disclaimer appearing before the film starts. Racist depictions of Black, Indigenous and Asian persons is what prompted the action- the disclaimer reading:

While the warning is somewhat of a step in the right direction, removing the films from their repertoire -in any capacity- takes accountability off of Disney for the mistakes they’ve made. Though the advisory in itself claims that they want to learn from the harm they’ve caused and incite meaningful conversations about inclusion- it seems as though any forward-moving action they take fails to do so.

What I would have loved to see instead is a more direct acknowledgement of the negative impacts their racist contributions have made to the media landscape as a whole, thus exposing multiple generations to their Othering misrepresentations and mockery of other cultures. Ideally, Disney would use their influence and resources towards a proactive countermeasure. “Stories Matter” is an initiative similar to what I’m describing: the effort acknowledges, and seeks to reconcile the negative racial depictions Disney has perpetuated over the course of their cinematic history. Where it falls short is that the standalone webpage doesn’t garner too much attention towards itself, going unnoticed by those who might benefit the most from its production. Additionally, it seems to narrowly avoid actual accountability, instead masking its ugly past behind inclusive and optimistic hopes for the future.

Supposing Disney produced, for kids’ and adult profiles alike, watchable visual media that not only directly addressed the instances in question that got these feature films banned from their site, but encouraged conversations between parent and child as to how these depictions are wrong, and how adopting them into one’s worldview can negatively affect those around you. A short miniseries, for example, would be able to engage children in a way a written warning never could. Moreover, it would provide parents with a resource or jumping-off point to facilitate discussions about race for which they may feel ill-equipped to conduct on their own. It would also be an honest effort by Disney to make the same investment in reconciling the harm they created, as they did to bring these depictions to fruition in the first place. A feel-good webpage hidden among the vastness of the internet will not even scratch the surface in undoing the damage that has been done, and neither will erasing the content from their vault.