To reflect the way modern viewers might perceive some of the older films on their platform, Disney Plus began adding content warnings to classic movies. Now, however, Disney Plus has made the decision to alter the wording on these warnings.
The advisories were attached to some of Disney’s most iconic films, including the likes of Fantasia, Dumbo, Peter Pan, and Lady and the Tramp. As shared via Axios, Disney will now be “updating the language” of these advisories. Subscribers will recall that the content advisories were twelve-second warnings that played prior to certain titles on Disney Plus.
The content advisories on Disney Plus have evolved since the platform’s introduction in 2019. The original warnings merely stated that the films were being “presented as originally created” and, as a result, “may contain outdated cultural depictions.”
In 2020, the warning was updated to the following much lengthier text:
“This program includes negative depictions and/or mistreatment of people or cultures,” the advisory introduced in 2020 read. “These stereotypes were wrong then and are wrong now. Rather than remove this content, we want to acknowledge its harmful impact, learn from it and spark conversation to create a more inclusive future together.” The disclaimer added that Disney is “committed to creating stories with inspirational and aspirational themes that reflect the rich diversity of the human experience around the globe.”
Now, in 2025, the new advisory will read as follows:
“This program is presented as originally created and may contain stereotypes or negative depictions.”
It seems as though this is the result of changes in which Disney will be replacing their “Diversity & Inclusion” performance factor with “Talent Strategy” and their “Reimagine Tomorrow Initiative” with an a different internal website. As such, we’ll have to see what changes are made moving forward.
Stay tuned to ScreenGeek for any additional updates regarding Disney Plus and any other changes they might make to the streaming service as we have them. For now, it’s interesting to see any changes made to their content advisories, especially when adding such warnings to classic films is controversial to many that feel there is no need to point out the different values that were perceived in older movies.