• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Disney censors Swedish Donald Duck Christmas show; cuts black doll, Jewish stereotype

Status
Not open for further replies.
R

Rösti

Unconfirmed Member
The following comes from the webpage of SVT (the Swedish public service television company). I don't know if this change currently applies only to Sweden, but I haven't been able to find any news about this being changed in other countries concurrently.

Anyway, in the Donald Duck on Christmas Eve/From All of Us to All of You show (in Swedish called Kalle Anka och hans vänner önskar God Jul), Disney has cut off two short sequences that arguably reflects the stereotypical images of blacks and Jews. The cut off is partly a black doll that comes down to Santa Claus in his workshop and get an OK quality stamp in the butt, partly an elderly man in a beard in green dress that makes a Cossack dance. Even the blonde doll that says "mom" in the same sequence as the black doll is cut off.

- Before this year's Donald Duck we learned that Disney cut out these sequences, says Stephen Mowbray, director of content acquisition at SVT. Disney delivers Donald Duck each year to 40 different countries and on request they said they wanted to adapt Donald Duck's Christmas from the 1930s to 2000s and other parts of the world.

- I accept it and think it's okay, says Stephen Mowbray. We have discussed it in the program management as well.
Click to expand...

PR Manager of The Walt Disney Company Nordic, Linda M. Anderson, notes that they aren't awre of any protests against the black doll in Sweden or USA. She had the following to say:

- It is more of an introspection thing for Disney. Disney feels that the doll may be seen as stereotypical and prejudiced. The blonde doll also felt like a stereotypical picture in that context, and both dummies were therefore removed. The same applies to the Jewish man. This is about three dolls, but two sequences.
Click to expand...
Linda also mentions she doesn't know if any other country's version of Donald Duck features the black doll, but tells that in Norway the doll has been absent for a long time.

On a question regarding why Disney also hasn't changed other stereotypical characters (such as the black man driving a donkey cart, and the stereotypical Chinese men) she said this:

- I think they wanted to make as little impact on the program as possible. That which was were removed were those Disney felt went too far.
Click to expand...

Abstract and translation by me. So, what do you think of this? I think it's nonsense really as I heavily dislike censorship. I find it just as silly as when people wanted to censor (even ban) Tintin au Congo because of the stereotypical views of Africans. Some material I can agree on being maybe a bit too much, but what's the point of trying to wash away history?

Source (in Swedish): http://www.svt.se/kultur/film/disney-censurerar-i-kalle-ankas-jul

d3smjd2.png
Click to expand...
d2kbj3y.png
Click to expand...
d17ij78.png
Click to expand...
It angries up the blood.
 
K

-KRS-

Member
Huh, but that's like my favorite part of the christmas special. That and the chip 'n dale segment where they decorate a christmas tree and have an all-out war against Pluto. I think they cut that one too some years ago right? :( Edit: Oh wait I'm mixing two different clips together now.

I haven't actually watched this special in years now though. I got tired of it becoming less and less about christmas spirit and more about plugging the newest Disney movies, even if they have nothing to do with christmas. Those clips of the newer films stick out really badly from the overall special.
 
S

SquiddyCracker

Banned
Eh, this really isn't a big deal.
That black doll and "jew" toy were a bit out there.
Sure, most people have grown up used to this, and are hating on these changes because they are a change from what they are used to; but there are kids growing up that would probably not miss out on these rather racist elements being cut out.
 
M

Majine

Banned
As if that show wasn't horribly edited already.

Aku-Audi said:
I would rather they fix the fact that the Swedish dubbing is just put ontop of the English one, instead of replacing it. And man does the Swedish narrator butcher When you wish upon a star.

Norway is again superior, we subtitle it.
Click to expand...

That's much better. Last christmas, I was in Japan and we showed this program for a couple of japanese people, and they didn't know what the fuck was going on :lol.
 
A

Aku-Audi

Member
I would rather they fix the fact that the Swedish dubbing is just put ontop of the English one, instead of replacing it. And man does the Swedish narrator butcher When you wish upon a star.

Norway is again superior, we subtitle it.
 
M

Midas

Member
Reactions in Sweden are hilarious. Seems like a very very low percentage of the country's population knows anything about blackface and such.
 
K

-KRS-

Member
quadriplegicjon said:
Wait. People are angry that they cut out the racist part from a recent broadcast? Am I getting that right?
Click to expand...

Nah not really. It's just that it's a very iconic cartoon in Sweden around Christmas and it will be kind of weird now. I don't know if they cut the whole cartoon or just that part, but either way it will feel like something is missing. And yes I doubt people looked at that and saw a racial stereotype here in Sweden. It was just a fun looking doll.
 
S

SquiddyCracker

Banned
quadriplegicjon said:
Wait. People are angry that they cut out the racist part from a recent broadcast? Am I getting that right?
Click to expand...
Yes.
Some people are considering it whitewashing. Frankly, I couldn't care less as this is a show meant to be viewed by the whole family - including little children. It makes sense then to try to remove the racist stereotypes. To people who are used to it, yes, it'll be a change, but it's imho worth it.
 
M

Midas

Member
quadriplegicjon said:
Wait. People are angry that they cut out the racist part from a recent broadcast? Am I getting that right?
Click to expand...

It's been aired on Xmas eve, basically forever. The most ignorant people now wants to vote for the largest racist party in the country because of this. Too funny, but at the same time very sad and concerning.
 
K

-KRS-

Member
Midas said:
It's been aired on Xmas eve, basically forever. The most ignorant people now wants to vote for the largest racist party in the country because of this. Too funny, but at the same time very sad and concerning.
Click to expand...

Wait, what? That's insane. They cut out a racial stereotype from a cartoon and now people will vote for SD because of that? Oh Swedish racists never change.
 
A

Aurongel

Member
Unfortunately, I think they made the right call. Better to do this than to have modern families get up in arms over a cartoon that was made during a different time. Knowing how overly sensitive people are today, Disney probably made a wise choice.
 
S

Stet

Banned
Logically, I don't really know what there is to get upset about when they censor their own cartoon.
 
K

King Endymion

Member
From my understanding, Disney has cut these snippets on the DVD's released in the US as well, except for on the "Treasures"-collection. Dunno if it's true though, can someone confirm?

Disney has wanted to replace and upgrade this show in Sweden for years and years but has always gotten a no. There are apparently a full Swedish dubbing on the show which Disney ordered way back but SVT refuse to air it.
I just hope they don't exchange the old dub of Bella Notte for the new one. :/
 
V

victreeb3l

Member
Silly thing to get mad over. Disney did a good thing.

Speaking of racist disney i finally saw aristocats the other day. I died laughing at that "everybody wants to be a cat" segment with the stereotypical chinese and mexican cats. Jesus christ that was bad, especially the chinese one.
 
S

Slayven

Member
Haha Disney won't even release Song of the South from the vault. They are just saving themselves from possible headaches.
 
Z

Zabka

Member
It's crazy that it took this long. It's always interesting to see these little pockets of golliwog imagery get eliminated.
 
E

Enkidu

Member
Considering how edited the show is already, I can't really be upset about this. It's not like it was pure before and the part with the black doll has always seemed a bit odd to me. I must say though, the Jewish caricature caught me completely off guard, I've probably watched this show every Christmas for as long as I can remember and I've never considered that it was supposed to be a Jewish doll.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

  • Locked
Who watches "From All of Us to All of You" every Christmas?
14
668
protomouse replied
Top Bottom