The United Arab Emirates on Monday banned the theatrical release of Pixar’s upcoming animated film “Lightyear” after the inclusion of a kiss between two lesbian characters.
The UAE’s ruling comes as Malaysia would also ban the film, raising the option of other Muslim-majority countries sticking to one of Disney’s biggest animated films of the year as the film industry emerges from the depths of the coronavirus pandemic.
The Emirates, which are home to Abu Dhabi and Dubai, announced through its media regulator at the country’s Ministry of Youth and Culture that the film will not be released in the country on Thursday.
The film “cannot be publicly screened in all UAE cinemas, due to its violation of the country’s media content standards,” he said in a tweet. “He confirms that all films screened in theaters throughout the country are monitored and evaluated prior to the date of release to the public, to ensure the protection of the content broadcast according to the appropriate age rating. “
The office did not comment on the tweet and did not respond to questions from The Associated Press. The tweet included a symbol from the film’s poster, with the profile picture of its main character, Buzz Lightyear, with a “no” symbol on it. red.
Cinemas in the United Arab Emirates, a federation of seven emirates on the Arabian Peninsula, had already announced the film’s schedules. But over the weekend, a crusade on social media with the Arabic hashtag “Ban on showing Lightyear in the Emirates” caught the attention of Emirati Conservatives. They described appearing a lesbian couple on screen as contrary to their culture and religion.
The film, with actor Chris Evans expressing his inspiration for action figure Buzz Lightyear from the “Toy Story” films, features a female character expressed through actress Uzo Aduba kissing her female partner.
The United Arab Emirates, like many other countries in the Middle East, is a Muslim-majority country that criminalizes same-sex conduct. The U. S. Department of State’s same-sex relations, while Dubai can impose a 10-year criminal sentence and Abu Dhabi allows up to 14 years.
However, such lawsuits are rarely reported and other LGBTQ people live in the skyscraper-studded city-state of Dubai, home to long-haul airline Emirates.
The $200 million “Lightyear” is expected to be a major draw for Disney, and analysts estimate it could raise more than $100 million in its opening weekend.
In the past, studios have allowed censors to distribute films for distribution globally and add to the Middle Eastern market. Recently, Disney faced protests from activists and its own over what they described as CEO Bob Chapek’s slow reaction to publicly criticizing Florida. law that the warring parties have dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill.
In late March, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the bill banning sexual orientation and gender identity training from kindergarten through third grade.
The moment was removed before the film but bounced back after Pixar workers protested Disney’s reaction to the Florida bill.
It is possible that the film is also banned in Malaysia. The Star, the country’s leading English-language newspaper, quoted an anonymous non-government source as saying Lightyear will not be screened in Malaysian cinemas. It is not explained why. A newspaper in Bahrain’s Persian Gulf island kingdom also speculated that the film would not be shown there.
Officials from malaysia’s Film Censorship Board and the Ministry of the Interior, as well as The Walt Disney Co. , may not be reached for comment.
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Associated Press editors Malak Harb in Dubai, United Arab Emirates and Eileen Ng in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, contributed to this report.
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Follow Jon Gambrell on Twitter at www. twitter. com/jongambrellAP.
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