Bob Dylan said it best when he proudly proclaimed “The times they are a-changin.'” No truer words were ever spoken when it comes to the medium of film — especially Disney movies .
Since Snow White first premiered more than 80 years ago, public perception has changed drastically. See what I mean and check out these 10+ animated Disney scenes that really haven’t aged well.
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Disney might be one of the most powerful companies in the world, but that doesn’t mean they are perfect.
There are a ton of moments in the films that haven’t aged well.
In fact, some of them have aged so terribly that Disney has put disclaimers on some of their movies on Disney+.
The disclaimer that plays is as follows: “This program is presented as originally created. It may contain outdated cultural depictions.”
This is definitely the right thing to do.
So now, let’s take a look at the scenes that are very outdated!
1. When *Dumbo* gets drunk and starts hallucinating a wild scene involving terrifying pink elephants.
It’s bad enough that Dumbo is underage, but to subject audiences to the sheer terror of his alcohol-induced hallucinations is just cruel as far as I’m concerned.
2. Underage smoking and blatant racism in *Peter Pan*.
This happens when Peter sits down with Tiger Lily and her father.
Not only does he take a massive haul of smoke into his 13-year-old lungs, but the ” What Makes The Red Man Red ?” song that follows is one of the most racist Disney songs ever.
3. Ariel signing her life away for a man she didn’t even know in *The Little Mermaid*.
This is not what you would call empowering. The film does such a great job at the beginning of presenting Ariel as this headstrong, independent woman.
Only to reduce her to a floundering damsel in distress the first chance they get.
4. The incredibly racist “Song Of The Roustabouts” in *Dumbo*.
Not only are the lyrics to the song beyond offensive, but if you look closely you’ll notice that every single one of these “Happy Roustabouts” is Black.
If it reminds you of a chain gang, that’s because it’s supposed to.
5. *Snow White* being reduced to an indentured servant to seven messy men.
Can we talk about reinforcing negative gender stereotypes for a moment? It certainly doesn’t get much worse than Snow White .
She’s proof that the patriarchy was in full swing during the 13th century and beyond.
6. The entire “Savages” song in *Pocahontas*.
I really shouldn’t have to explain why this scene makes the list — a simple review of its lyrics will more than suffice.
This entire scene is one long hate speech which should be expunged.
7. The entire “We Are Siamese” scene in *Lady And The Tramp*.
This is a terribly veiled and incredibly insulting caricature of Asian people. As we’ve seen thus far, Disney wasn’t exactly subtle with its racist remarks.
What’s worse is that they so often try to hide them within a song.
8. The incredible amount of underage smoking and drinking in *Pinocchio*.
Pleasure Island is an ode to Dyonesian excess! It depicts young boys gambling, drinking alcohol, and smoking big fat cigars!
Can you imagine any of that being allowed to take place today?
9. The Jim Crows in *Dumbo*.
Naming a character after a systemically racist segregation law is a bold move, but Disney truly had no shame.
The crows are a testament to the ignorance that was running rampant through the studio at the time.
10. The introduction of King Louie in *The Jungle Book*.
This was one movie that I used to just adore as a kid. Now that I’m an adult, I have a hard time stomaching it. This is mainly because of one character: King Louie.
He is the living embodiment of a racial slur.
11. Cruella De Vil’s evil idea in *101 Dalmations*.
Do you know why no one talks about 101 Dalmations anymore?
It’s because just the thought of skinning innocent puppies alive for fashion purposes is enough to make people want to riot.
12. *Cinderella*’s stepmother locking her in her bedroom.
So I’m pretty sure that nowadays somebody would definitely call child services if this idea was even hinted at.
This kind of abuse just isn’t tolerated today the way it was in generations past.
13. When Mushu sexually harassed *Mulan*.
I’m paraphrasing here but basically he says something along the lines of “I can see right through your armor.”
So how does Mulan respond? By bashfully brushing off the comment as if she didn’t even hear him in the first place.
14. Literally every single moment of *Song of the South* is offensive.
Part of the movie is animated, so it still counts. While some of the new generations of Disney lovers may not have seen the movie, they still know of the Disney ride Splash Mountain.
Unfortunately, as fun as the ride may be, it comes from a terribly racist Disney film.
*Song of the South* is set on a southern plantation and follows a former black slave, Uncle Remus, who is living happily on his white master’s land.
It depicts slavery in a truly awful way.
It sends the message that slaves were happy to be servants to their white masters.
15. Child trafficking in *Pinocchio*.
Once our hero is brought to life, strangers sell him to a puppet master named Stromboli, who threatens Pinocchio into being his servant.
One Pinocchio manages to escape and reaches Pleasure Island, the threat of being sold to work in salt mines is constantly hanging over his head.
16. The Siamese cat in *The Aristocats* is also the victim of Asian stereotypes.
The cat, named Shun Gon, plays the piano with chopsticks and speaks in an offensive, stereotypical Asian accent.
And what does he sing about? Fortune cookies. This was definitely not one of Disney’s finer moments.
14. *Aladdin*’s opening song, “Arabian Nights,” included harmful anti-Arab lyrics.
In one of the lines from “Arabian Nights,” the narrator sings, “Where they cut off your ear, if they don’t like your face / It’s barbaric, but hey, it’s home.”
Disney ended up replacing the first half of those lyrics when other versions of the movie came out, but still hadn’t cut “It’s barbaric, but hey, it’s home.”
However, they fixed this with the 2019 live-action remake, where the lyrics were changed to “Where you wander among every culture and tongue / It’s chaotic, but hey, it’s home.”
15. People have noticed that a lot of Disney’s lead characters of color are transformed into animals.
Monique Jones wrote about this issue for Shadow and Act.
“It feels like the characters seemingly have to be transfigured in some form for the writers and animators, mostly white men, to be able to truly care about them.”
She continued by saying:
“Is this because the animation field, a field that still has work to do in terms of having racial parity in the workplace, doesn’t know how to successfully write about non-stereotypical characters of color?”
16. Cinderella believes that a man can save her.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad she made it out of her abusive home.
Unfortunately, she was unable to escape by herself, and the movie revolves around her needing a prince to come to her aid.
17. Aurora falls in love with a complete stranger on first meeting in *Sleeping Beauty*.
And this all happens in the woods. If you ask me, this screams stranger danger.
The only explanation I can think of is that they needed to tell the story in an hour and a half, so we had no choice but to watch them fall in love quickly.
Can you think of any other Disney moments that haven’t aged well, specifically in their animated films?
If you can, let us know what they are below in the comments!
We would love to hear from you!
