Disney prides itself on a staunch adherence to family-friendly values, something that’s come to define the company as they continue to dominate the pop culture landscape, but it would be fair to say that some of the studio’s older animated classics don’t hold up particularly well when viewed through a modern lens.
Many entries in the Mouse House’s back catalogue are very much products of their time, and in order to avoid any offense, Disney Plus has been slapping potentially offensive titles with disclaimers. Obviously, Song of the South is not going to be added to the library at any point, but it appears as though Dumbo, The Aristocats and Peter Pan have been removed from the children’s section, meaning parents will have to approve kids under the age of seven watching the popular movies.
Clearly, Disney are making sure that anything that comes attached with a disclaimer isn’t available to younger viewers at the push of a button, because it would be safe to assume that people aged seven or under are not going to painstakingly read through a content advisory warning before reflecting on the moral and ethical dilemmas presented by the outdated racial stereotypes in question.
Naturally, this has caused a minor outrage among subscribers who believe the dreaded ‘woke culture’ has once again gone too far, but in theory and practice, any film or television project that comes burdened with a warning should be out of the youngest demographic’s reach. Besides, Disney Plus has avoided purging titles altogether unlike some of their competitors, so at least a compromise has been reached instead of the company simply making a knee-jerk reaction and pulling them outright.