The Biggest Scandals in Cartoons
The cartoon world is not without many major scandals. Let's know the most famouse ones.
The problem arose after the reopening of the Disneyland Resort, which led to thinking about canceling the end of the classic story of Snow White. Photo: YT-DisneyFilo, YT-Pucca Official
LatiAmerican Post | Ariel Cipolla
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Leer en español: Los escándalos más importantes de los dibujos animados
Sometimes cartoons can cause a lot of controversy. Currently, one has emerged regarding one of the most famous Disney princesses: Snow White . According to what BolaVip indicates, a movement is emerging in the United States that asks to cancel the final kiss of the prince, which occurs in the film.
The problem arose after the reopening of the Disneyland Resort, which led to thinking about canceling the end of this classic story. Precisely, many organizations wonder if it is okay to show a non-consensual kiss , because that would teach children that “they are enabled to do it”, even if the protagonist has not given her approval.
Faced with this situation, we decided to review other scandals and controversies in the world of animation.
Speddy Gonzalez
We start with one of the best known, but also criticized. Although we all like the famous little mouse, the truth is that it seems to represent a negative stereotype of Mexicans . Basically, this cartoon is accused of being “completely racist”.
Estoy un tanto impresionado que en México el personaje de Speedy gonzales de looney tunes es considerado un estereotipo racista de los mexicanos… según en algunos canales de ese país tienen prohibido colocar la caricatura. pic.twitter.com/ICozT99Uyg
— より(Yori Akito). (@AkitoYori) May 5, 2019
This Looney Tunes rodent has always been the subject of numerous criticisms from communities who argue that it serves as a negative archetype of Mexicans, by portraying them as drunk and lazy. However, there are also Latinos who defend him and perceive him as a "heroic" character , since the little mouse is also the fastest in his town and achieves everything he sets out to do.
Also read: Luca: the Pixar and Disney Movie That Celebrates Diversity
Pepe Le Pew
One of the most recent scandals. It happened this year, when they announced the trailer for the next Space Jam movie and confirmed that this skunk would not be part of the payroll of the Looney Tunes characters who would have to put themselves in the role of basketball players. The reason? Their presence would favorably represent sexual harassment .
Qué pasa con Pepe Le Pew:
Hace días The New York Times acusó al personaje de promover la "cultura de la violación". Warner, meses atrás, lo sacó de Space Jam 2. Greice Santo, víctima de acoso en la vida real y actriz con la que compartía una escena, se opuso a sacar al personaje. pic.twitter.com/sWKbFF573w— Pablo Planovsky (@PabloPlanovsky) March 9, 2021
For example, a column in The New York Times demanded the cancellation of this character for normalizing the culture of harassment and even rape. Let us remember that this character, who appeared for the first time on the screen in 1945, seeks love excessively and never accepts rejection, to the point of forcing the skunks (or cats) to be with him.
Lola Bunny
Along the same lines, the sequel to Space Jam was involved in several scandals due to the redesign of this character, which had been all the rage in the first installment . From Warner Bros they decided that they would seek to change the stereotype of Bugs Bunny's partner to reduce her "sexual burden".
Lola Bunny deja de ser un personaje sexualizado en Space Jam 2 y el furry fandom se enfada
Lola Bunny se convierte en objeto de debate en redes sociales tras su rediseño en la secuela de la mítica cinta de los años noventa, que ayer mostraba sus primeras imágenes.#SpaceJam2 pic.twitter.com/uIauRXPh8D
— GAMER_CUBA (@Gamers_Cuba) March 6, 2021
On the one hand, there were those who argued that a cartoon could not have a sexual appeal. On the other side, those who indicated that the new version would have to be focused on a sports personality and not simply be a femme fatale.
Sailor Moon
Here we talk about one of the most important anime series of recent times. Recently, Netflix released the trailer for Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Eternal: The Movie, available from June 3 on the platform . However, the truth is that the original story was also involved in various criticisms.
Y bueno, ya casi para concluir, puedo decir que Sailor Moon es una pionera en la animación al mostrar heroínas que eran abiertamente lesbianas, a pesar de las críticas por parte de la Iglesia. pic.twitter.com/VQsl55TDK1
— a. (@augustxandre) June 19, 2020
From many sectors they criticized the "excessive feminine power" that they gave to the protagonist, in addition to the supposed "winks and incitements to homosexuality and other indications of transsexuality", which the conservative culture of the 90s could not bear when the story was on air.
Pucca
Finally, we have an animation that, like many others, represents sexual harassment … although inverted. This Korean series, which was very successful in Latin America and had its first season in 2006, tells the story of an 11-year-old girl who is in love (and obsessed with) a 12-year-old ninja named Garu .
Pucca representa perfecto un acoso constante, sin temor a nada y sin ninguna gota de respeto hacia la otra persona. A esta niña le importa poco que Garu no quiera estar con ella y que incluso intente escapar cada vez que se le acerca.
Lo persigue y lo besa aunque él no quiera. pic.twitter.com/bFUxTi0ZTl— Chivita Le Fay???? (@Chivita_Siab) March 10, 2021
The series became an unprecedented phenomenon, but the criticism was always there: the truth is that the girl came to implement extreme and even violent methods to have the "love" of the ninja . Although he seeks to escape with every attempt, Pucca almost always achieves her goal, despite Garu's refusal. There are even chase scenes that might have seemed funny before, but today they are a bit terrifying.