The new Pixar movie “Lightyear,” Disney’s spinoff of the critically-acclaimed “Toy Story” series, is currently banned in 14 Middle Eastern and Asian countries due to the inclusion of a kiss between two lesbian characters.
As reported by Just The News, the ban may extend to China, home to the largest box office market in the world, and a nation that also does not approve of homosexuality. A producer for the new film told Reuters that Chinese officials asked for edits to be made to remove the scene in question, but Disney refused to do so. As such, the producer said that it was her personal opinion that the movie would eventually be banned in China as well.
The film is currently banned in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Indonesia, Malaysia, Lebanon, Pakistan, Bahrain, Qatar, and Turkey, among others; all of these are Muslim-majority nations where homosexuality is either outlawed or strongly disapproved of.
But producer Galyn Susman said that while it is “frustrating,” she was determined to not make edits to the movie.
“We’re not going to cut out anything, especially something as important as the loving and inspirational relationship that shows Buzz what he’s missing by the choices that he’s making, so that’s not getting cut,” she said at the film’s premiere in London.
The film follows the journey of the titular Buzz Lightyear, the fictional space ranger whose story inspires the line of toys featured in the original “Toy Story” series; the original voice actor for Lightyear, Tim Allen, does not reprise his role in the new film. The scene in question involves a female friend of Lightyear’s who eventually marries another woman.