Starting with the decision not to release Lightyear in the region, Disney+ Middle East content will align with local regulatory requirements, and the platform will apparently tailor its content to avoid regional sensitivities, based on a statement made to Esquire Middle East.
As a result, kid-focused content such as Lightyear and Baymax will not be released on the Middle East platform, content aimed at older audiences such as Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness will see release.
It can be deduced from these moves that Disney+ Middle East content strategy will align with UAE cinema content standards, which do not permit culturally sensitive content for children’s release, but release culturally sensitive content for older audiences with a clear age rating.
Parents or those who wish to limit adult-focused content from the platform can do so using parental filters that are easily available on Disney+ Middle East, while also knowing that kid-focused content requires no such filters as it has already been filtered to fit local content standards.
“Content offerings differ across our many Disney+ markets, based upon a number of factors. Content available should align with local regulatory requirements,” Disney told Esquire Middle East in a statement.
Over the past year, a number of Disney titles have been met with some controversy in the Middle East, with a number of titles, including Marvel’s Eternals, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, West Side Story, Lightyear and Thor: Love and Thunder banned from release or did not release after an agreement was not reached between Disney and the regulatory bodies in a number of countries in the region, including Saudi Arabia.
In the countries where the films have not seen released, each film has been deemed unsuitable for local audiences by respective local authorities due to not meeting certain standards regarding cultural sensitivities, with Disney choosing to not release in those markets rather than edit culturally sensitive content from the already finished films, no matter how briefly they appear on screen.
The last film to be edited for content by Disney was The Eternals, in which all acts of public displays of affection were cut from the film. Since then, Disney has chosen not to edit its content.
Disney+ Middle East’s content strategy thus appears to follow the standard set by the United Arab Emirates’ regulatory body, which has approved the release of adult-focused films such as Doctor Strange 2 and Thor: Love and Thunder despite cultural sensitivities, adding an age rating that limits their attendance from younger audiences, while banning films such as Lightyear as they are focused on child-audiences to begin with.
Disney+ non-release of Lightyear follows regional ban
“The Media Regulatory Office announced that the animated film Lightyear, which is scheduled for release on 16th June, is not licensed for public screening in all cinemas in the UAE, due to its violation of the country’s media content standards,” the UAE’s body was announced on Twitter in June when originally banning the release of Thor.
The move came after the hashtag ‘منععرضلايتييرفيالامارات#’ which translates to ‘BanLightyearinUAE‘ was garnering attention on Twitter the previous day.
The film, which follows the man that the toy in Toy Story was based on, is an original feature film sci-fi action-adventure that “presents the definitive origin story of Buzz Lightyear—the hero who inspired the toy—introducing the legendary Space Ranger who would win generations of fans. Chris Evans lends his voice to Buzz,” according to Disney.
“The phrase ‘a dream come true’ gets thrown around a lot, but I’ve never meant it more in my life,” says Evans. “Anyone who knows me knows that my love for animated films runs deep. I can’t believe that I get to be a part of the Pixar family and work with these truly brilliant artists who tell stories unlike anyone else. Watching them work is nothing short of magic. I pinch myself every day.”
Annie Award-winning director and veteran Pixar animator Angus MacLane, who co-directed 2016’s “Finding Dory,” helms “Lightyear.” Galyn Susman (“Toy Story That Time Forgot” short) produces.
The Toy Story franchise is one of the most popular in animated film history.
Find more from Disney+ Middle East here.