20 Racist Disney Movie Moments That You Forgot About

Top 20 Insanely Racist Moments In Disney Movies That You Totally Forgot About

Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the Top 20 insanely racist moments in Disney movies that you totally forgot about.

For this list, we’ll be looking at the shocking scenes and lines that promoted harmful stereotypes or targeted a specific group of people.

Which of these scenes is the most jarring to revisit today? Let us know in the comments below!

#20: Sunflower’s Appearance

“Fantasia” (1940)
Fantasia” is a musical anthology film that features magical scenes backed by classical music. Since there is no single narrative that ties them all to speak of, each segment hadits own identity. Unfortunately, one of these shorts veered into an offensively bad direction. The Pastoral Symphony segment has a female Centaurette named Sunflower focused on serving other creatures. What makes the character offensive is the fact that the design is based on a specific and horrible caricature of Black women. After “Fantasia’s” initial run, Disney chose to remove Sunflower by the time the movie was re-released in 1969. Her character hasn’t been added back into the narrative since.

#19: Harmful Arabic Stereotypes

“Mickey in Arabia” (1932)
Released in the summer of 1932, “Mickey in Arabia” was a short film and the final Mickey Mouse movie to be released under Columbia Pictures. During the movie, Mickey and Minnie go on an adventure through the Arabian Desert. This innocent premise is full of seven minutes of problematic visuals. Practically all the locals are reduced to walking stereotypes of Arabic people. Just when you think things can’t get any worse, a violent Sultan captures Minnie and tries to have his way with her. That plot point alone is a huge step away from the family friendly material that Disney is known for. However, the fact that the short is built on horrific stereotypes makes it unsuitable for any audience.

#18: Blackfish

“The Little Mermaid” (1989)
Earning the Academy Award for Best Original Song. “Under the Sea” is one of the most popular tunes in the Disney canon. While the song itself is pretty flawless, the musical montage that accompanies it contains some seriously problematic imagery. Shortly after Sebastian names the Blackfish, a female fish with a dark color scheme and large pink lips is seen belting out a quick tune. The fact that they showed a character with a design that mirrors harmful caricatures of Black people at that exact moment was not a good look. Even though it’s a quick moment, the fish’s appearance puts a damper on a highly regarded musical sequence.

#17: The Japanese Soldiers

“Commando Duck” (1944)
Back when Disney was in serious financial trouble in the 1940s, they agreed to make actual propaganda films to keep the lights on. Released during World War II, their “Commando Duck” short sees Donald Duck parachuting into the Pacific and attacking a Japanese airfield. The people he combats are not portrayed in realistic or respectful ways, with both the dialogue and animation pushing an anti-Japanese sentiment with harmful stereotypes and caricatures. All the soldiers are also implied to be dishonorable fighters to make them look even worse. The hateful content made this piece of propaganda hard to sit through.

#16: A Cannibal Attack in Africa

“Trader Mickey” (1932)
In the summer of 1932, the “Trader Mickey” short saw Mickey and Pluto riding a boat down an African river. When the duo goes ashore, they’re harassed and taken by a tribe of cannibals. They desperately have to avoid becoming the main course. This entire short was just another case of Disney depicting people from outside America as violent and unwelcoming. Although the short tries to become a whimsical musical short, it still manages to offend. The choice to display the African people as antagonists who were unfamiliar with instruments made things worse. It’s best to skip this boat ride completely on your tour back through the Disney catalogue.

#15: How German Citizens Are Depicted

“Education for Death” (1943)
The full title of this short film is “Education for Death: The Making of the Nazi.” As you might have guessed, this wasn’t a light animated romp. This short was another piece of Disney propaganda that follows a young German soldier named Hans. The film attempts to make a sharp point about how young people are indoctrinated with harmful beliefs. But that message is lost underneath bad stereotypes of German people. Additionally, nearly all of the adults are depicted as blind followers of Hitler’s teachings who live to fight for him. The short largely dehumanizes every German citizen and paints them all in the same light. By completely ignoring the people in Germany who didn’t support Nazis, the short became a very problematic piece.

#14: The Hyenas

“The Lion King” (1994)
While it’s often regarded as one of Disney’s best and unquestionably one of its most popular movies, “The Lion King” isn’t without its controversies. Some viewers have taken umbrage at the film’s depictions of the hyenas. Critics have pointed out that the trio is depicted as lower class, their primary role is to enact violence, and they come from the “dangerous” part of town. Since two of the most prominent hyenas are voiced by a Hispanic and Black actor, people felt as if their roles were written to fit harmful stereotypes around people of color. Their actions in the story were no laughing matter to the movie’s critics.

#13: The Black Birds

“Mother Goose Goes Hollywood” (1938)
Released in 1938, this short film mixes nursery rhymes with comically exaggerated depictions of famous ‘30s film stars. Unfortunately, this cute concept was ruined by several horrible animation choices. A scene focused on the “Sing a Song of Sixpence'' rhyme mentions “4 and 20 black birds baked into a pie.” On cue, a number of bad caricatures of black celebrities like singer Cab Calloway, comedian Stepin Fetchit, and jazz pianist Fats Waller pop out of a large pastry as crows. These characters also show up in other shorts and are introduced right after a tasteless gag about racist makeup. The end result is a cartoon short that’s outdated for a number of reasons.

#12: The Big Bad Wolf’s Jewish Disguise

“Three Little Pigs” (1933)
A Disney short about the “Three Little Pigs” was widely acclaimed, won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short and got selected for preservation in the National Film Registry in 2007. However, all the praise the film earned can’t erase the fact that it’s been censored since the ‘40s. The offending scene sees the Big Bad Wolf disguise himself as a Jewish peddler. This disguise includes the likes of a giant nose and bushy black beard. The wolf also begins speaking in a Yiddish accent to really hammer in the offensive stereotype the short was going for. Fifteen years later, Disney changed the Wolf’s disguise and the accompanying lines to be much less offensive.

#11: Racist Caricatures

“Cannibal Capers” (1930)
As its name suggests, this short Disney film shares a lot in common with “Trader Mickey.” The movie focuses on a group of cannibals who engage in a tribal dance with their victim’s remains. Eventually, they’re attacked and chased away by a hungry lion. While it’s never explicitly stated where the short takes place, the villagers resemble startling caricatures of Black people. The humans here are also shown to be obsessed with little more than eating and dancing. It’s not hard to see why this short doesn’t play on the Disney Channel on a regular basis. While this story propped on stereotypes received praise in the 30s, it quietly faded into obscurity in modern times.

#10: “Savages”

“Pocahontas” (1995)
While most of the soundtrack to this film has been positively received, it’s hard to revisit the troubling tune that is “Savages.” The song is clearly meant to portray the settlers as villains by having them sing ignorant lyrics about Native Americans. But that plot point can’t get around the fact that the song’s lyrics are still racist. Throughout the track, we hear plenty of offensive lines. The constant repetition of the word “savages” in particular is insulting and derogatory. Even knowing the context doesn’t make the song any easier to listen to. Despite being part of a good film, this grossly disrespectful track marked a low point in Disney’s golden age.

#9: Friday

“Mickey's Man Friday” (1935)
For some unknown reason, Disney really had a thing with cannibals back in the day. Released in 1935, “Mickey's Man Friday” follows Mickey Mouse as he becomes shipwrecked on a remote island. While there, he comes across some cannibals. After Mickey saves one of them from being eaten, he renames his new ally Friday. The two proceed to escape the island together. As with the other shorts, both Friday and the antagonists are all brought to life with awful designs. Additionally, seeing Mickey give a resident of another country a new name just because is a grossly unnecessary plot point.

#8: The Mammy Doll

“Santa's Workshop” (1932)
At first glance, it seems like you can’t go wrong with a story about Santa and his elves preparing for Christmas. And yet this particular short squeezed in an incredibly racist moment that has long garnered controversy. One scene has Santa working on some dolls. At first, a white doll with blonde hair comes down the chute and says “mama” in a cute, childish tone. Shortly after, a Black doll with an offensive design comes down the chute and yells out an awful phrase in a raspy voice. Seeing this cheap contrast between dolls that represent different races in a short for kids is just painful. The company wisely decided to remove the tasteless Black doll scene when the short was added to Disney+ in 2019.

#7: King Louie’s Portrayal

“The Jungle Book” (1967)
While “The Jungle Book” is one of Disney’s most famous creations, King Louie is arguably one of their most controversial villains. The antagonistic Orangutan is often regarded as an offensive stereotype against African Americans due to him using a lot of “Jive” slang. This also led people to believe “The Jungle Book” was making a racist comparison of African Americans to apes. It certainly doesn’t help that King Louie expresses his desire to be “like [Mowgli]” that is, human. While Disney hasn’t commented on every controversy, the company made sure to acknowledge the cultural stereotypes on its streaming services. It seems like they recognized that King Louie went too far.

#6: “Arabian Nights”

“Aladdin” (1992)
It didn’t take long for the original edition of Aladdin to raise a lot of eyebrows. As we’re introduced to the fictional Arabic nation of Agrabah, a narrator gives us insights about the country. A couple of his lines imply that people can be harmed just for their appearance. Following that disturbing statement, he tries to brush it off by saying it’s just a common practice. The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee criticized the lyric for being wildly racist and inappropriate. Before long, the line was quickly edited and re-recorded, and the censored version has appeared on every home video and streaming release. The accompanying soundtrack was also changed following the initial print.

#5: The Native Americans & A Certain Song

“Peter Pan” (1953)
In this movie’s most infamous sequence, Peter Pan and the Darling children visit Tiger Lily and her tribe. Said tribe has long been regarded as racist owing to its harmful depiction of Native Americans. Their language is not authentic - instead, they speak in an offensive gibberish while smoking a lot of tobacco. At a later point, the Darling children try to imitate the Native Americans by wearing headdresses and making objectionable noises with their mouths. Finally, the characters sing a song called “What Made the Red Man Red?” with a stereotypical dance. When “Peter Pan” was released on Disney+, it was limited to children seven and older owing to this controversy.

#4: Si & Am

“Lady and the Tramp” (1955)
As soon as you hear a gong in the original “Lady and the Tramp”, you should be prepared to see a tremendously offensive scene. The film features a pair of Siamese cats named Si and Am. Every aspect of their design, from their eyes to their teeth, were meant to play into hurtful stereotypes about Asian people. The cats also speak in grossly offensive accents. Additionally, the fact that they were voiced by a white woman putting on an accent was horrifying. On top of all that, they are portrayed as villains. Their presence led to Disney creating another disclaimer for their streaming service. The stereotypes also led to the characters being radically changed for the live-action remake.

#3: Shun Gon

“The Aristocats” (1970)
Unfortunately, “The Aristocats” is another movie that has a horribly offensive Siamese cat character named Shun Gon. He appears in the song “Ev'rybody Wants to Be a Cat” and plays the piano with a pair of chopsticks. Like Si and Am, Shun Gon’s character design is horrifically offensive. He also speaks in a stereotypical accent and says things in broken English. And it’s extremely rough to hear that he’s voiced by a white American putting on an Asian accent. We hope that Disney also builds this character from scratch if he’s ever portrayed in live action. Over 50 years after his debut, this cat is still extremely cringeworthy.

#2: The Crows

“Dumbo” (1941)
When it comes to racist Disney characters, few are as notorious as the “Dumbo” crows. Many have argued that the birds embodied harmful stereotypes about Black people. Their way of speaking was meant to mirror popular African-American slang at the time. And not only was The lead bird voiced by a white actor named Cliff Edwards, but the character’s full name is Jim Crow. That moniker refer to laws that promoted racial segregation against Black people living in the Southern U.S. Although he was later renamed Dandy Crow, the damage was done. The crows have been regarded as racist caricatures for decades.

#1: Uncle Remus

“Song of the South” (1946)
Where to even begin with “Song of the South”? The movie centers on a Black character named Uncle Remus. In the 1800s, he was created by a white man named Joel Chandler Harris to narrate Black folktales. When Disney brought this character to live-action, they had Uncle Remus help a young White boy who ran away from his grandmother’s plantation. The best way for the storyteller to help was apparently by telling folktales with messages. Unsurprisingly, the film’s setting, story, and stereotypical Black lead weren’t widely praised by U.S. audiences. While the movie is available in some countries, Disney made it essentially impossible to view at home in America. We don’t think it will come out of the vault any time soon.