Why UAE has banned Disney's animated film 'Lightyear' from cinemas

The film was banned for its ‘violation of the country’s media content standards’ but the violation in question was not specified. According to reports, a same-sex kiss was edited out but then reinstated following complaints from staff at Disney-owned Pixar animation studio

Disney’s animated movie “”, which contains a lesbian kiss, has been banned from cinemas in the United Arab Emirates, officials said Monday without giving details.

Why was it banned?

The film was banned for its “violation of the country’s media content standards”, the UAE’s Media Regulatory Office tweeted, with a picture of the main character Buzz Lightyear covered by a ‘No’ symbol – a red circle with a diagonal stripe through it.

The violation in question was not specified. According to reports, the same-sex kiss was edited out but then reinstated following complaints from staff at the Disney-owned Pixar animation studio.

“The Media Regulatory Office announced that the animated film Lightyear, which is scheduled for release on 16 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 office tweeted.

The office did not immediately respond to requests for further comment.

Films routinely cut, edited

The “Lightyear” ban comes just six months after the UAE said it would stop censoring cinematic releases and announced a 21-plus age rating for films it classifies for mature audiences.

The UAE is considered one of the more liberal countries in the Gulf region, where films with adult content are routinely cut or edited. In neighbouring Saudi Arabia, the body that vets films declined to comment about whether “Lightyear” would be shown.

Employees at two main cinema companies, AMC and VOX, told AFP the film did not appear in their upcoming attractions.

In April, Saudi Arabia requested cuts to “LGBTQ references” in Disney’s “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness”, which was ultimately not screened in the country.

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