Yes I know, it isn’t big news that Disney has been pretty problematic in the past. But at least they’re improving!
And at the end of the day, isn’t that enough?
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1. Japanese Soldiers
Yes, they used to use Disney cartoons as War propaganda.
And yes, often animators had to dehumanize the enemy so they would be easier to, you know, kill en masse.
Japanese Soldiers (CONT)
However, the Japanese soldiers represented in Commando Duck were bad caricatures of the Japanese people. They have slanted eyes, buck teeth and speak in overblown Asian accents.
For shame, Donald Duck.
2. Mammy Doll
Alright, so there’s a good chance you haven’t seen this one, but there’s this old Christmas cartoon by Disney where we explore some of Santa’s Workshop (hence the name Santa’s Workshop ).
Mammy Doll (CONT)
At one point in the cartoon, Santa is checking out dolls and one slides down (once again a bad caricature of black people) screams “Mammy!” (instead of “Mommy”) and runs off.
Yeesh.
3. King Louie
This one is for the viewer to decide. Sure, the original director of this movie wanted Louie Armstrong himself to voice this, but on the other hand, they’re a bunch of apes who speak in jive.
Racist or not, that is the question.
4. Arabian Nights
There were two lines that irked the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee in the opening song of Aladdin , one being “it’s barbaric, but hey, it’s home”.
Disney kept that one in.
Arabian Nights (CONT)
However, they did comply with the AAADC with one line, being: “Where they cut off your ear if they don’t like your face”.
That one was removed in future home releases.
5. The Siamese Cats
Oh yeah, if you grew up with Lady And The Tramp , you definitely know this one.
Yet another Asian stereotype by Disney, these cats had slanted eyes and bad accents. They even sang a song!
6. “What Made The Red Man Red”
Alright, so who would have thought that a movie about a guy who kidnaps little boys and brings them to a place they would never grow up would be problematic?
Certainly not me!
“What Made The Red Man Red” (CONT)
Well, I was wrong, considering there are some pretty racist depictions of Native American people in this movie.
They even sing a song referring to themselves as “red men” which as Washington’s football team will tell you, is a bad word for Native.
7. Shun Gon & The Alley Cats From ‘The Aristocats’
Wow, never could I have thought one company could have so many racist depictions, let alone three of them be racist Asian cats.
Two different racist Asian cats from two different movies!
8. Uncle Remus
Oh yeah, remember Song Of The South ? Well, if you don’t, there was ol’ Uncle Remus.
He could have been a slave or just some guy, but either way, they didn’t portray him very well.
9. Sunflower
This centaur from Fantasia is subservient, cleans up after all the brilliant and beautiful white centaurs and, of course, is black.
A very harmful caricature of black people, I might add.
10. The Crows
Ahhh, as Family Guy once said about these feathered racist icons: “That’s some good old fashioned racism”.
Get it? The crows are black people because of Jim Crow? Yeesh, I need a shower.
11. ‘Cannibal Capers’
Sure, it was from the 1930s, but the way they show African natives is pretty inexcusable.
They have skinny limbs, round stomachs, big lips, and sing by clicking their mouths.
12. ‘Mickey in Arabia’
So Mickey and Minnie are walking through Arabia, when out of nowhere this Sultan comes and takes Minnie.
What’s worse, is this horribly stereotyped version of an Arabian also tries to force himself on her!
13. ‘Trader Mickey’
Once again, Disney is being problematic about African natives. Why couldn’t they just leave these people alone?
All the same complaints about Cannibal Capers also apply during this one.
14. ‘Mickey’s Mellerdrammer’
Well, this is probably the worst of the bunch.
Mickey and the gang decide they want to put on a production of ‘Uncle Tom’s Cabin’, which is bad enough as it is…
‘Mickey’s Mellerdrammer’ (CONT)
But you wanna know the worst part of it all? Mickey is in blackface throughout the whole episode. Blackface!
Honestly, I didn’t even know that Mickey needed blackface! I didn’t even know he was white!
15. ‘The Night Before Christmas’
There’s one scene in this other problematic Disney short where Santa goes to a house so poor the kids all have to sleep in one bed.
Then, after chasing Santa up the chimney, one kid dances around in blackface.
16. ‘The Three Little Pigs’
What? How could this possibly be offensive? It’s the three little pigs, for flippin’ sakes!
Well, you’re looking at why. During one scene, the Big Bad Wolf dresses up as a Jewish peddler.
17. ‘Mickey’s Man Friday’
So in this one, not only does Mickey ‘adopt’ and African native like a pet, he even gives him a name!
He calls him Friday, which is a cool name admittedly, but he must’ve had one before!
18. ‘Mother Goose Goes Hollywood’
Alright, this is an odd one, because it makes fun of Hollywood for the most part.
But the jokes about old actors are not what we’re here to chastise the Disney corporation about.
‘Mother Goose Goes Hollywood’ (CONT)
What we are here to talk about is one scene where they say the line “20 blackbirds baking a pie” and a bunch of black jazz musicians pop their heads out of the pie.
19. ‘Chip n’ Dale’s Rescue Rangers’ has the Siamese Cats Again
Boom! The racist Siamese cats are back at it again!
In Chip n’ Dale’s Rescue Rangers , the pair run a laundromat and also an illegal gambling operation. They’ve been busy!
20. ‘Under the Sea’
Yes, it may be a fun song to sing. Yes, it may liven up your day.
But how lively would your day be if you knew you were singing something racist?
‘Under the Sea’ (PART 1)
The first problematic part of the song comes when Sebastian is introducing all the fish in his band. At one point, he sings the line:
“The fluke is the duke of soul”
And we get this picture, a racist caricature of Gene Chandler.
‘Under the Sea’ (PART 2)
The next part is when Sebastian sings:
“The blackfish she sings”
Where we get a blackfish belting out her lyrics and wearing a sequin dress, just as some black singers used to do.
21. Pedro From ‘Lady And The Tramp’
On one hand, he may be a cute little chihuahua.
But on the other, he’s an offensive stereotype to Latinos everywhere. He has exaggerated attributes for one and speaks in an offensive accent.
22. ‘One of Our Dinosaurs Is Missing’
This whole movie is just one big racist joke.
All you really have to know about this garbage is that it’s a bunch of white actors playing Asians.
23. Dumbo’s Workers
There’s even more black racism in Dumbo ! A bunch of black men working on the tents in the opening scene sing these lyrics:
“We slave until we’re almost dead / We’re happy-hearted roustabouts” and “Keep on working / Stop that shirking / Pull that rope, you hairy ape.”
24. Is Sebastian Racist?
And finally, we leave you with this question to ponder: is Sebastian the crab racist?
He has a Jamaican accent and talks about how nice it is to do nothing all day. Maybe?
