The Disney + logo, in Los Angeles on October 12, 2020. -

Frank Micelotta / Disney + / Picture

Disney no longer wants to be suspected of conveying the slightest racist cliché.

The company has therefore just added warnings to some of its great classics, such as

Peter Pan

or

The Aristocats

, to warn viewers against racist stereotypes present in certain scenes.

"This program includes negative descriptions and / or mistreatment of certain peoples or cultures," now warns the message, which cannot be passed.

Disney + has taken the lead

Subscribers to the video-on-demand platform Disney + were already aware of "old-fashioned cultural descriptions" such as those of "Redskins" by

Peter Pan

(1953) or the Siamese cat with slanted eyes of the

Aristocats

(1970).

In addition to these films,

The Robinsons of the South Seas

and

Dumbo

, whose crows have been criticized in the past as a racist caricature of black Americans, are also among the films that will be preceded by the warning.

The new warning which will now precede the works concerned will insist on the fact that these photos "were wrong at the time and are wrong today".

"Rather than removing this content, we want to recognize its harmful impact, learn from it and stimulate dialogue to jointly create a more inclusive future", continues the message, written in consultation with several organizations, including the Critics Association of African-American films.

Modified attractions

Last June, Disney had already decided to modify “Splash Mountain” attractions in its American parks, which evoke the racist past of the United States.

The current theme for "Splash Mountain" is taken from a highly controversial Disney film,

Melody from the South

.

Upon its release in 1946, it had aroused numerous criticisms which accused it of disseminating racist clichés and of painting in an idyllic light the slave plantations of the old South of the United States.

In Disneyland (California) and Disney World (Florida), the attraction will in the future stage the story of

The Princess and the Frog

, whose heroine Tiana is Disney's first black princess.

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