Disney bans under-7s from watching ‘harmful’ Dumbo

DISNEY has blocked children under seven from watching Peter Pan and Dumbo after acknowledging “harmful stereotypes” in its classic cartoons, according to reports.

The company’s streaming platform offers Kids Profile accounts with age restrictions in place which were updated in October to address issues with racial stereotypes.

Children’s accounts on Disney+ now block animated classics like Peter Pan, Dumbo and The Aristocats for breaching content advisories, it has been reported.

Swiss Family Robinson has also been made unavailable after Disney brought in new restrictions for its subscription service on the advice of experts, according to reports. In October the company added content advisories which warned viewers that some programmes included “negative depictions and/or mistreatment of people or cultures”.

The warning added: “These stereotypes were wrong then and are wrong now.”

The Mail on Sunday reported that children’s films have been removed from Kids Profiles, although they are still available for viewing on adult accounts. Concerns were raised about the term “redskins” being used in reference to Native Americans in the 1953 release Peter Pan.

The Aristocats, from 1970, features a Siamese cat, which some viewers have seen as a stereotyped portrayal of East Asian people. The 1941 cartoon Dumbo has been accused of caricaturing African Americans with several of its characters, including black workers who claim they “throw our pay away” while toiling to build a circus.

Disney has not commented on the changes, but a statement on the company’s website states that it is “committed to creating stories with inspirational and aspirational themes that reflect the rich diversity of the human experience around the globe ... We can’t change the past, but we can acknowledge it”.