United Arab Emirates bans Pixar’s ‘Lightyear’

DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES »

The United Arab Emirates on Monday banned the upcoming Pixar animated feature “Lightyear” from showing in movie theaters after its inclusion of a kiss between two lesbian characters.

The decision by the UAE comes as Malaysia also reportedly will ban the film, raising the possibility other Muslim-majority nations could follow suit on one of Disney’s biggest animated films of the year as the film industry comes out of the depths of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Emirates, home to Abu Dhabi and Dubai, announced through its Media Regulatory Office of the country’s Ministry of Youth and Culture that the film would not be opening in the country this Thursday.

The film “is not licensed for public screening in all cinemas in the UAE, due to its violation of the country’s media content standards,” the office said in a tweet. “The office confirms that all films screened in cinemas across the country are subject to followup and evaluation before the date of screening to the public, to ensure the safety of the circulated content according to the appropriate age classification.”

The tweet included an image of the film’s poster, with the image of Buzz Lightyear with a “no” symbol over it in red.

Movie theaters in the UAE, a federation of seven sheikhdoms on the Arabian Peninsula, had already advertised showtimes for the film. But over the weekend, a social media campaign with the Arabic hashtag “Ban Showing Lightyear in the Emirates,” caught the attention of conservative Emiratis.

They described showing a lesbian couple on screen as being against their culture and religion.

The movie, with actor Chris Evans voicing the inspiration for the Buzz Lightyear action figure from the “Toy Story” films, includes a female character voiced by actress Uzo Aduba kissing her female partner.

The UAE, like many other countries in the wider Mideast, is a Muslim-led nation that criminalizes same- sex relationships. The U. S. State Department warns that Islamic, or Shariah, law in the UAE can include the death penalty for same-sex conduct, while Dubai can levy a 10-year prison sentence and Abu Dhabi allows for up to 14 years.

However, such prosecutions are rarely reported and LGBTQ individuals do live in the skyscraper-studded city-state of Dubai.

DISNEY/ PIXAR VIA AP FILE Buzz Lightyear, voiced by Chris Evans, left, and Alisha Hawthorne, voiced by Uzo Aduba, are seen in a scene from the animated film ‘Lightyear,’ which is being released on Friday.