New Pixar film ‘Lightyear’ is banned from cinemas in 14 countries
Buzz Lightyear (left) and Alisha Hawthorne in a scene from the film “Lightyear”
Source: pa/dpa/Disney/Pixar/-
Astronaut Buzz Lightyear is one of the most popular characters from Toy Story. Now Pixar is dedicating an adventure of his own to him. But that will not be seen in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and twelve other countries – because of a scene.
Acurrently the Pride Month celebrated – everything is all about the rainbow flag. The LGBTIQ scene promotes more tolerance and celebrates social diversity. In line with this, the latest strip from Disney, Pixar’s “Lightyear” should also set an example.
In the film, which will be released in German cinemas on June 16, 2022 and will be available a day later on the Disney+ streaming platform, toy astronaut Buzz Lightyear, known from “Toy Story”, gets lost on a strange planet and has to see how to get out of there. Among other things, the space ranger Alisha helps him – and because of her, the space adventure can probably not be seen in cinemas in 14 countries, reports the news agency “Reuters”.
But before we explain all the background to you, one more question for you:
Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Lebanon, Egypt, Indonesia, Malaysia and eight other countries are removing “Lightyear” from cinemas
The reason for this is a short scene in which the aforementioned space ranger Alisha gives her partner a quick kiss. The shot was originally cut by Disney, but was eventually reinstated in the animation due to protests from the Pixar animators. In an open letter seen by the film magazine Variety, the filmmakers complained that Disney rigorously censored apparently homosexual declarations of love.
Pixar was still able to defend itself against Disney’s internal censorship – but not against the state censorship authorities in 14 religiously conservative countries. So it is that in 2022, “Lightyear” will not be available to audiences in these countries due to a single short scene in which two women kiss.
The Media Authority of the United Arab Emirates confirmed this on Twitter. The work was not licensed for cinemas there because it violated the prevailing media content standards in the country. According to a report by Variety, the film was originally approved there. However, after some complained about the film on social media because it insulted Islam and Muslims, this decision was reversed.
Some countries wanted to censor the Pixar film
But Disney wouldn’t let that happen. According to the “Variety” report, there was a request from Malaysia to cut out the questionable scene. However , Disney denied this . That’s why it can’t be shown in the cinema there, but it can be shown on the Disney+ streaming service, where strict age controls are possible.
Whether the film will start in China is questionable. A producer of “Lightyear” told the Reuters news agency that the country had also expressed some censorship requests. But Disney also rejected this, so a theatrical release is unlikely. In the past, China has repeatedly banned series and movies that contain homosexual references or scenes.
“Lightyear” isn’t the only Disney film that has an LGBTQ character – and you can rest assured that parents don’t have to worry that their children will be negatively influenced in their development as a result. On the contrary, tolerance is encouraged take a closer look here:
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