Ever since I was a kid, I always watched Walt Disney movies from Cinderella to Pocahontas and The Little Mermaid. My parents even named me after a Disney Princess. As a kid, you are innocent and unaware of the REAL message that the movie is trying to tell you. Ever since I watched the film, Mickey Mouse Monopoly, a documentary about the history of the Disney empire and the reality of Disney Movies, and how they pointed out the unnoticed racist scenes. I did more research and I can honestly say that my childhood has been ruined.
What I noticed was that most of the gorillas, crows, bears, and other animals in Disney movies were portrayed as stereotypical black people. Each of the animals were portrayed to be silly or lazy. They even spoke in jive. In Lady and the Tramp, the Siamese cats had slanted eyes and were perceived as mischievous. Most Asians in Disney movies were always shown as sneaky and causing trouble. Even in Peter Pan, Native Americans were mocked to show an image of how they act and their stereotypes. The list goes on and on. Here are 9 of some of the most unnoticed racist moments in Walt Disney Movies:
1. Dumbo (1941)
Remember when Dumbo met those three black crows? One of them was named “Jim Crow.” Get it? Yeah, that’s going to be a no from me. Also, to make things worse, the crows spoke in jive and were portrayed as lazy and unintelligent.
2. Song of the South (1946)
I mean, of course this is going on the list. It’s not like the movie is about black men singing slave songs on a plantation who appear to be happy…right? How is that okay? It doesn’t matter about the time period, it’s still not okay.
3. Peter Pan (1953)
The song “What Makes the Red Man Red” is already offensive enough. But the movie is basically mocking the way Native Americans speak, which is a false stereotype. Peter, Wendy, and other white children are making loud noises while cupping their hands and yelling. Also, they’re all wearing feathered head dresses and running around with tomahawks. Cultural appropriation much? How is this NOT offensive?
4. Lady and the Tramp (1955)
Remember those Siamese cats? They are shown with slanted eyes and have a stereotypical Asian accent. Also, like I said earlier, Asians in Disney movies are portrayed as sneaky and mischievous. Not cool, Disney.
5. The Jungle Book (1967)
Have you noticed that the monkeys speak in jive and how the apes are portrayed as lazy and unintelligent? And the bear is portrayed as dumb as well. If you don’t understand what I’m talking about, pay attention to the way everyone else speaks in the movie and then focus on the monkeys.
6. Aristocrats (1970)
Yeah, no need to get your glasses. That is definitely a Siamese Cat playing the piano with chop sticks.
7. The Little Mermaid (1989)
Sebastian the Lobster was given a fake Jamaican accent. Watching the movie again, I can’t help but cringe every time he talks. Is that what Jamaicans are supposed to sound like?
8. Aladdin (1992)
Remember the opening song “Arabian Nights”? Remember the original lyrics, “Where they cut off your ear, if they don’t like your face, it’s barbaric, but hey, it’s home.” Yeah, this made the Middle East look very bad and was misrepresented. Eventually, the lyrics were changed and released on DVD. This portrayed Middle Easterners as violent and that they will kill you if you do something wrong, which sends the wrong message.
9. Pocahontas (1995)
This movie basically whitewashes the history between Native Americans and white settlers, and shows them coming together and being friends again because of Pocahontas and John. I mean, they’re completely pretending like white settlers didn’t just come into the country and brutally kill and enslave these people. Watch when the parties sing the song “Savages”.
