Top 20 Things Censored On Disney Plus
#20: Accidental Adult Content “The Santa Clause” (1994)
Intentional or not, this line from "The Santa Clause" was the reason for a lot of concern from parents back in the nineties. Why, you ask? Well, a seemingly harmless joke about an adult entertainment phone line accidentally used a real number in the script, leading curious kids to call the number and…well, you get the idea. Parents were not happy, and the scene was edited on both home video and Disney+. It's still there, but the characters don't reference the number at all anymore, and the scene goes on as if the joke never existed.
#19: Isis “Hannah Montana” (2006-11)
Serving as a parody of Madonna, Isis appears in the second season “Hannah Montana” episode “Yet Another Side of Me.” She is a singer known for frequently reinventing her look, and by the end of the episode, she steals Hannah Montana’s. While this character was named Isis in the original airing, she was subsequently renamed Ice in later repeats, and this censored version of the episode is the one found on Disney+. It’s very likely that Disney wanted to disassociate from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, an organization that has been accused of various crimes against humanity.
#18: Bust Reduction “Knick Knack” (1989)
A crudely animated short film from 1989, “Knick Knack” was produced by Pixar and directed by John Lasseter, who would later direct the first two “Toy Story” films. Found within the short are various knick knacks with rather large busts. But when the short film was re-released alongside “Finding Nemo” in 2003, the animation was altered to reduce their bust size. A mermaid knick knack was also seen with starfish pasties, but this was later changed into a seashell bra. It is this altered version that can be found on Disney+. However, Lasseter was quick to place the blame on himself rather than Disney, as he personally made the changes after becoming a father.
#17: The King of Disney Easter Eggs “The Lion King” (1994)
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It has long been suggested that “The Lion King” contains a rather cheeky Easter egg. The legend goes that when Simba flops to the ground and kicks up a cloud of dust, the word “sex” forms in the individual dust motes. An animator for the film named Tom Sito acknowledged the inclusion of the Easter egg, although he claims that it spells “SFX” as a nod to the effects animators. But it doesn’t really matter now, because modern viewers can’t see it anyway. This scene was altered for the 2002 IMAX re-release, and all further home and streaming releases have retained the censored scene.
#16: The Fez Symbol “Gravity Falls” (2012-16)
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In the original run of “Gravity Falls,” the character of Grunkle Stan wears a fez adorned with a fish-shaped figure. Within the canon of the show, this is the symbol of the Royal Order of the Holy Mackerel, to which Grunkle Stan belongs. However, the symbol bears a slight resemblance to that of the Floridian Masonic society, The Shriners. As a result, the symbol was removed for the show’s streaming on Disney+, much to the frustration of series creator Alex Hirsch. He penned a rather harsh tweet after learning of the change, stating that it was removed for “no reason” and that Disney “can’t keep track of what they’re pretending to be concerned about this week.”
#15: Max Gets a Little Too Close to Roxanne “A Goofy Movie” (1995)
Those watching “A Goofy Movie” on Disney+ will quickly notice a bit of censorship, as it occurs within the first thirty seconds. The movie’s opening dream sequence sees Roxanne flying towards Max and landing in his outstretched arms. In the original version, Max’s nose is squished into Roxanne’s falling chest, but this was supposedly deemed problematic by Disney and altered for both the streaming and recent Blu-ray releases. In the Disney+ version, the distance between Max’s nose and Roxanne’s bust was increased, meaning Roxanne lands further away from Max’s face and his nose doesn’t bump into her chest.
#14: Duck You “Clock Cleaners” (1937)
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Often regarded as one of Disney’s greatest shorts, “Clock Cleaners” runs a swift eight minutes and was released in the fall of 1937, featuring Walt Disney himself as the voice of Mickey Mouse. One scene sees Donald Duck fighting with a mainspring, asking the question “says who?” and calling it a “snake in the grass.” However, Donald’s goofy voice makes the words hard to discern, and some people believed he was swearing. Both instances were altered for a 2001 DVD release, and the Disney+ release has retained the changes. The “says who” has been significantly cleaned up to be more discernible, and the “snake in the grass” line has been completely replaced by a slew of angry shouts.
#13: Throwing An...Acorn? “The Emperor’s New Groove” (2000)
While it wasn’t a major commercial success, “The Emperor’s New Groove” has found a new generation of fans thanks primarily to the funny internet memes. However, new fans aren’t getting the movie in its full, intended glory. In the original version of the film, an irritated Kuzco throws a small rock at Pacha’s head. In future Blu-ray releases and the Disney+ streaming release, this small rock was changed into an acorn. It’s not really a big deal, and it still has the same comedic effect. But if Disney is that concerned with violence, why didn’t they just make it an acorn in the first place?
#12: A Whole New Movie “Aladdin” (1992)
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The Disney+ version of “Aladdin” opens with a content warning “acknowledg[ing] its harmful impact.” And while they claim that nothing has been altered, that doesn’t seem to be the case. The opening song has retained changes that were made for the DVD, swapping out the lyrics “Where they cut off your ear if they don’t like your face” to “Where it’s flat and immense and the heat is intense.” Those changes were made after the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee criticized Disney for cultural insensitivity. Furthermore, Aladdin’s whispered line “Good tiger. Take off and go” was removed as well because people thought he was saying something much worse.
#11: Messed up Censorship “Free Solo” (2018)
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Found on Disney+ is the Academy Award-winning documentary “Free Solo,” which details Alex Honnold’s attempt to climb Yosemite’s El Capitan without the help of ropes or harnesses. In the original version, Honnold utters the line “this is f-ed” (only, you know, the actual word). This line was completely re-dubbed for the Disney+ release, changing “f-ed up” to “messed up.” Later in the documentary, the word “goddamn” has been removed when Honnold states, “This is the goddamn warrior spirit,” changing it to just “This is the warrior spirit.” “Free Solo” was originally given a PG-13 rating for “brief strong language,” and it seems like it was just a little too strong for Disney’s liking.
#10: A Musical for the Whole Family “Hamilton” (2020)
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In the summer of 2020, the cultural phenomenon that is “Hamilton” came exclusively to Disney+. Only, fans were quick to notice that some things were a little different. Primarily, two f-words that were removed from the musical in order to avoid an R rating. The first comes in “Yorktown (The World Turned Upside Down)”, when an utterance of the f-word from Hercules Mulligan was muted. The second is in “Washington on Your Side,” when a reversing record sound has been placed over a nasty word harmonized by Jefferson, Madison, and Burr. It may come as quite a shock to “Hamilton” purists who have listened to the soundtrack 10,000 times, but hey, it’s for the kids.
#9: Horse Play “Bluey” (2018-)
We open this entry with a question: what could a program geared towards toddlers possibly have content-wise that could warrant censoring? Would you believe…poop? Yup. There's a scene in the first season’s episode "Markets" that features a horse doing his business after being pet by a group of kids. On Disney+, the scene now only shows the horse wagging his tail. Elsewhere, there was also the temporary removal of two episodes titled "Teasing" and “Flat Pack”. Parental pressure and complaints led to it being excluded in the series run on Disney+.
#8: Don’t Try This at Home “Lilo & Stitch” (2002)
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Ask any child of the eighties which episode of "Punky Brewster" they remember, and the odds are pretty good that they'll reference that one time Cherie Johnson got locked in an old refrigerator. Maybe this explains the inspiration for 2002's "Lilo and Stitch," where Lilo originally chooses a dryer for her hiding place. The version on Disney+ has since been changed in quite possibly the weirdest way. The dryer was turned into a cupboard of sorts, with the top of a pizza box acting as the dryer’s door. This was presumably changed so that kids wouldn't get the idea to try this stunt themselves. Or, you know, they could just go back and watch some "Punky" instead!
#7: No Joking Matter “That’s So Raven” (2003-07)
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Some of the edits in this list have been pretty silly or funny, but there's nothing humorous about the implications behind this joke. There's a reference to R. Kelly made during the episode "There Goes the Bride," when Raven says she’s fifteen to a crowd who believes she’s getting married to an older man. The joke was taken out when "That's So Raven" migrated to Disney+. The episode "Driving Miss Lazy" also features a loud conversation where some viewers claim to have heard Raven drop a disparaging racial remark. The episode has since been edited with the conversation mixed so that no real dialogue can be discerned.
#6: Smoking “The Muppet Christmas Carol” (1992)
The removal and censoring of tobacco imagery is something comparatively recent in the world of movies and television. It was never a big deal for protagonists to be seen smoking in the past, but today's entertainment requires a warning advisory if that sort of content is included. "The Muppet Christmas Carol," available on Disney+, no longer includes the street choir conductor smoking a cigarette, with the offending nicotine stick having since been digitally removed. Any Jim Henson fans wishing to see the unedited image as part of the film as a whole should either check the recent Blu-Ray version of the film, or dig out their old VHS!
#5: Pick a Change, Any Change “The Simpsons” (1989-)
There have actually been a bunch of changes made to "The Simpsons" on Disney+, with some episodes having gone missing altogether. Specifically, the famous episode that featured The King of Pop, Michael Jackson, as a guest star is gone, perhaps due to the controversy behind the documentary "Leaving Neverland." A joke at the Catholic Church's expense in the episode "Sunday Cruddy Sunday" now omits the word "Catholic" altogether, opting for the use of just the word ‘church.’ Also, the episode "Gorgeous Grampa" leaves out the Harlem Shake parody during the opening couch gag. We’re not too sure what that’s about, though... Maybe they figured we wouldn't remember what it was? Leave your theories in the comments!
#4: No Butts Allowed “Splash” (1984)
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Disney is a family friendly company. We all know this. We also know, however, that the company experimented with some awesome, more PG-rated fare back in the seventies and eighties, such as “The Black Hole,” “Midnight Madness” and “The Black Cauldron.” However, this doesn't mean that Disney+ is about to allow nudity on their watch, however brief. If you’re thinking of the movie “Splash”, you’d be right on. The version on the streaming service has added a mound of what we can assume is CGI hair--or “fur”, as one Twitter user puts it--to Daryl Hannah’s nude behind. Is this computer-generated coverup distracting? Why yes, yes it is. In fact, it seems to draw more attention to Hannah's body than if it’d just been left unedited.
#3: PG-13 “Adventures in Babysitting” (1987)
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The eighties were...a different time. We've already made mention of changing social norms, how they affect censorship, and what's considered acceptable with regards to film ratings. The eighties’ classic "Adventures in Babysitting" was rated PG-13, which means that it was technically allowed one F-bomb. But don't go looking for that iconic line on the Disney+ cut. Instead, Elisabeth Shue says something about not "fooling" with the babysitter, which is just lame if you ask us. Incidentally, a homophobic remark early on in the film was changed to the word "weirdo," but this edit goes way back to when the film was originally shown on television. Obviously, it's also been kept that way for the streaming platform.
#2: Casting Couch Credits “Toy Story 2” (1999)
If you were a parent who stayed for the credits of Toy Story 2 when it was first released in theatres, you may have been surprised by the crassness of a particular end-credit scene. It made an implicit reference to the endemic Hollywood practice of aspiring actors and actresses being pressured into doing favors in exchange for a role. There's nothing funny about it, which perhaps explains why this joke was cut on later versions of "Toy Story 2." During the original credits, Sneaky Pete insinuates that he can get a pair of Barbie dolls roles in "Toy Story 3," presumably for something in return. We get dark humor, but this is definitely pretty skeezy, especially for a movie aimed at kids.
#1: A History of Edits “Who Framed Roger Rabbit” (1988)
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A WHOLE lot has been edited from the original run of "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?" For starters, Baby Herman raising his middle finger has been removed. And, by this, we mean it was digitally painted over. Remember animated icon Betty Boop and her revealing dress slip over at The Ink and Paint Club? Thankfully, saved from prying eyes. Then, there's that infamous reveal when Jessica Rabbit takes a tumble out of Benny the Cab. That’s also been made more kid-friendly on Disney+. In actuality, all of these changes were from before streaming platforms, meaning that you're gonna have to treasure those old LaserDiscs, VHS tapes, or simply your memories, if you’re on the hunt for an unedited version of this classic.
