Racist Disney

Song of the South

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 16:18:46 GMT

Uncle Remus

Sit down children and listen to the tales of old Br'er Rabbit, ala Unckey Remus, Uncle Remus oozes stereotype, a black man happily working on a plantation in the post-Civil War deep south.

Fantasia

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 16:16:57 GMT

Sunflower the Centaur

Here we see how, even in Fantasia, the black centaurs are servants to the white centaurs.

Disney removed all reference to Sunflower in their 1960 re-release of Fantasia, and she won't be making her way back any time soon.

The Jungle Book

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 16:15:30 GMT

The Monkeys/ King Louie

All of the Jungle's dignified characters spoke in perfect, British accents...of course the jive-talking, manic, lawless monkeys adopted african-american accents.

Dumbo

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 16:15:23 GMT

The Crows

Lawyers all over the world draw breath when they watch this famous scene from dumbo. Ill-educated and poor, the crows spend their days being outlandish stereotypes.

However the crows are one of the first examples of a black hero in mainstream cinema. In a continent that had not entirely outlawed lynching yet, some have argued the crows were in fact more progressive than detremental.

Aladdin

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 16:15:15 GMT

The Merchant

Arab-American protests against this film, led Disney to rewrite the 1992 original opening title sequence lyrics, which were acused of being offensive and reliant on outdated and damaging stereotypes of Arab life.

The original lyrics:

I come from a land from a far away place,
where the caravan camels roam.
Where they cut off your ear if they don't like your face,
it's barbaric but, hey, it's home!

Peter Pan

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 16:17:14 GMT

The Indians

Well actually native americans, portrayed here as savage and stupid. Disney have been acused of using the movie 'Pocahontas' to white wash this faux pas (Pardon the pun).

The Indian's song explains that they only turned red because their ancestor blushed when he was kissed by a beautiful lady...they were really white all along lads! Huzzah!

Lady and the Tramp

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 16:16:37 GMT

The Siamese Cats

This just proved to Americans that you cannot trust a commie! Slit eyes, sneaky and devestating, Lady and the Tramp has been critised for taking asian/american relationships back 10 years.

The Little Mermaid

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 16:16:03 GMT

Sebastian

I think this is clutching at straws here, but disney has been criticised for using Sebastian to portray Jamaicans as lazy (under the sea, you dont need to get a job)...drawing attention to the line:

"Up on the shore they work all day
Out in the sun they slave away
While we devotin'
Full time to floatin'
Under the sea! "

Mulan

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 17:42:21 GMT

Mulan

Although Disney hailed this as an anti-racist/feminist film, critics note that Mulan is still overly westernised, in terms of features, behaviour and accent.

Further more the film ends with a triumphant Mulan in the Forbidden Palace, with thousands of Chinese bowing to her. This act of cultural defiance marks more of a victory of Western ideals over traditional Chinese ideals.