Water in the gas between the Pixar animation studio (“Toy Story” or “Red Alert”) and its owner, Disney. Hollywood professionals newspaper Variety published an open letter signed by “Pixar’s LGBT+ employees and their allies” to current Disney Studios CEO Bob Chapek, accusing the firm of to censor any gay or lesbian allusion in their films.
Why is the controversy erupting now?
The controversy follows after the revelation that Bob Chapek had financially supported the holders of a law wanting to prohibit the mention of homosexuality in schools in Florida, nicknamed “Don’t Say Gay”. This bill was adopted Tuesday, March 8 by the State Senate. It is due to take effect in July after it is signed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis. A homophobic law which follows similar legislative proposals across the Atlantic, notably in Texas.
Bob Chapek tried to catch up last Monday by wanting to donate $ 5 million to the American association for the defense of LGBT rights + Human Rights Campaign. A sum refused by the association “as long as a real action against this law is not initiated by Disney” (link in English).
This donation was accompanied by a letter from Bob Chapek, where the latter stated in particular that “The biggest impact that Disney could have is to create a more inclusive world through the inspiring content that we produce. “A sentence that made Pixar jump.
What are the reproaches made to Disney?
Pixar’s open letter alleges censorship by Disney’s review board, as Premiere explains. “Almost every time we’ve openly talked about some gay affection, it’s been cut, no matter how much the crews or even the Pixar bosses protest. Even though creating LGBT+ content is the answer to fighting a discriminatory law, we are being prevented from doing so. »
Several Pixar artists thus explain that in “Luca”, a lesbian couple from the film had been transformed during production into two sisters.
An internal censorship which is added to those of several countries. Indeed, the history of Pixar has been dotted with several cases. “En avant” was thus censored in particular in Saudi Arabia and Russia by removing a lesbian character.
In general, the films produced by Disney and its subsidiaries only introduce gay and lesbian characters in the background or in ultra-short scenes: “Onward” or “Finding Dory” at Pixar or the Star Wars Episode 9 “The Rise of Skywalker” at Lucasfilms; while at Marvel studios, it was not until “The Eternals”, in 2021, to see a gay superhero, which led to censorship of the film, particularly in Kuwait or Qatar.
What does Pixar’s open letter demand?
Noting that Disney had a strong political weight (by canceling its releases in Russia following the war with Ukraine, or by threatening not to film in the American state of Georgia if it passed a discriminatory law against LGBT + – that was 2016), Pixar’s open letter asks Disney executives “to stop funding the lawmakers behind the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ law, publicly speak out against it, and apologize for investing the money in there. We need your full support, we don’t need empty words,” the letter concludes.
In general, this text marks the sign of a more general malaise at Pixar, whether in editorial freedom or in the overall strategy of Disney, the latest Pixar films (“Luca” or “Red Alert”) going out directly in streaming on Disney + and not in the cinema.