James Cameron’s 1989 Sci-Fi film The Abyss was available for Disney+ users in the United Kingdom until a few days ago. The film was removed from the streaming platform due to a controversial scene that has always been banned in the UK, and was also cut from all versions since the 80s.

The Sci-Fi classic was added to the Disney+ lineup last April, but when someone noticed the cut scene was in the film, and after some campaigning, the movie was removed from the library.

The campaign was led by the RSPCA (the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals). They fought against Cameron’s original cut because of a scene that depicts a rat in visible distress. In the uncut version, a rat is placed inside a container and forced to “drown” in a pink liquid.  The film explains that the rat breathes a fluorocarbon liquid, which provides oxygen, and while the creature seems to panic, it does survive. The liquid is featured again in the final act, when Bud (Ed Harris’ character) is forced to fill his helmet with the experimental liquid so that he can explore the marine abyss.

The production notes state that the rat was not killed. However, the scene still alarmed the British Board of Film Classification, so the scene was cut from all versions of the film.  An RSPCA spokesperson talked about their campaign to have the film removed from the streamer:

This isn’t about cancel culture – we’d welcome Disney Plus reinstating the film to their platform, just with this troubling scene removed – as is already the case in cinemas, on TV, and on DVD.

“This was instead about highlighting a loophole that currently exists allowing animal abuse scenes deemed unacceptable elsewhere to be streamed freely and legally into our homes and protecting the public from having to see this animal abuse content.”

While the film is unavailable on Disney+ for UK members, it is still available in other regions. The Abyss Special Edition, aka the director’s cut, is available to purchase on digital platforms.