Once again Disney has found itself clashing with Gulf censorship, this time over the upcoming release of Lightyear. The latest Pixar film has been banned in multiple Middle Eastern countries over the inclusion of a same-sex kiss scene.
On June 13, the United Arab Emirates' Media Regulatory Office announced that Pixar's Lightyear was not licenced for public screening. According to the Media Regulatory Office, the decision was made due to Lightyear's “violation of the country’s media content standards.”
The Hollywood Reporter has revealed that sources have disclosed that the decision to ban the upcoming Pixar adventure film was due to a same-sex kissing scene that includes the female character Hawthorne (voiced by Uzo Aduba) and another female character. This scene was originally cut from Lightyear, but the studio decided to include it in the final cut following Pixar employees accusing Disney of restricting “overtly gay affection” and the controversy over Disney CEO Bob Chapek's stance on Florida's "Don’t Say Gay" bill. Due to the film's inclusion of this scene, Lightyear won’t be able to screen in Middle Eastern countries like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, since homosexuality is illegal across the region.
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Gulf censorship has been a roadblock that Disney has been running into a lot recently, with films like Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, West Side Story, and Eternals finding themselves banned in Middle Eastern countries like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates due to content. For example, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness wasn’t given a release due to the film including America Chavez (played by Xochitl Gomez), a gay character, Eternals was banned for having a same-sex couple, and West Side Story also lost theatrical privileges due to its character Anybody (played by Iris Menas) being written to be transgender in the adaptation. The inclusion of LGBTQ+ storylines is seemingly the only reason these films were given the boot from having a big-screen debut in these countries.
Although it’s not being able to hit theaters in the Middle East, Pixar's Lightyear will still have the opportunity to hit the big screen in many other countries across the globe. Lightyear is set to follow Buzz Lightyear (voiced by Chris Evans) from the Toy Story franchise in a spinoff adventure of the Space Ranger and his other intergalactic companions.
Despite missing out on being able to hit theaters in some countries, Pixar's Lightyear will definitely succeed in its theatrical run, when it allows fans to indulge in the fun animated adventure that includes some much-needed LGBTQ+ representation in Disney media.
Lightyear will be released in theaters on June 17, 2022.
Source: Hollywood Reporter