Disney+ launched just this week and, according to Screen Rant, has seen a very successful start by gaining more than 10 million subscribers since its launch. Many of these subscribers, however, have noticed something interesting about some of the movies available for streaming.
Disney has flagged several of their movies and televisions with warnings about racially insensitive subject matter. One of these messages was posted on Twitter by Jeva Lange, a writer for TheWeek. According to the Independent, these warnings are included on movies like The Ugly Dachshund, original Fantasia, and the original animated versions of Dumbo, The Jungle Book, and Lady and the Tramp, as well as a number of other films previously criticized for using offensive stereotypes. So far, there have not been any reports about Disney changing or removing any content from these movies at this time.
However, the New York Times reported that there are apparently some Disney movies so racist that Disney didn’t even bother including them on Disney+, including the infamous Oscar-winning Song of the South. There are many articles on the internet explaining in depth why the movie is so problematic, but a quick and basic summary of the movie’s issues is that it depicts slavery in a positive light.