Is the selection of erotic and vulgar scenes in Disney cartoons true?

For decades now, Disney cartoons have been accused of seducing children, and articles with collections of vulgar and erotic scenes from cult animated films have been spreading across the Internet. We checked some of the statements from the collections for accuracy.

Rumors that Disney cartoons contain “subliminal sexual messages” to children have been circulating since at least the 1990s. Thus, in 1995, the conservative Christian organization American Life League invited its followers to boycott the studio. This was replicated by the media, and as a result, a resident of Arkansas even filed lawsuit against The Walt Disney Company and Buena Vista Home Video. She argued that the cartoons have a clear sexual message. Only a couple of months later she dropped the claim.

And now on the Internet you can find many articles with titles like this: "Spicy moments from Disney cartoons where children need to close their eyes", "The Unknown Walt Disney", "13 Indecent Scenes from Disney Cartoons You Never Noticed Before". Typically, these collections include both old facts (for example, the hidden word in the sky from The Lion King or the hidden messages from Aladdin) and relatively modern ones. We tried to select only those that seemed to us not ambiguous, but quite concrete.

1. Is it true that in the cartoon “The Little Mermaid” (1989) they showed a priest’s erection?

The cartoon features a wedding scene in which the disguised Ursula marries the enchanted Prince Eric. As the bride and groom approach the priest in bishop's robes, a bulge can be seen in the side shots, which some people mistook for an erection. However, if you watch the scene further, you will notice another shot that explains everything: in fact, the bulge is the knees sticking out from under the long tunic.

The “bulge” and knees can be seen in the video below (corresponding moments at 0:20 and 0:46).

Former Disney animator Tom Seeto, who created the character and drew that scene, also confirmedthat it was the knees. He added: “The joke was that he was short and standing on a ladder, and the clergyman's robe hung down, completely hiding his body. And people just see what they want to see.”

As a result, the scene was edited to make the priest's knees flat, so that in the new version nothing sticks out anywhere.

Not true

2. Is it true that in the cartoon “Peter Pan” (1953) they showed a shadow in the shape of a penis?

In the story, Peter lost his shadow, so he had to chase it. In the end, he caught her and in one of the scenes he checked whether she was “sitting” on him correctly. A frame from that moment is circulating on the Internet, showing something sticking out between his legs. In one article even wondered question: “I wonder if the animators knew that the shadow from the hem of Peter Pan’s shirt would look so cheesy?”

Well, we answer: “The animators didn’t know that the shadow would look cheesy because it’s not a real frame.” In fact, in the original there was nothing sticking out between the legs, and the articles use an edited image from a 2013 humorous collection from the site Cracked.com entitled "17 R-Rated Easter Eggs You've Never Noticed in Disney Movies."

Below is a scene from the cartoon (the right moment is at the 3:50 mark).

Satirical news

3. Is it true that the word SEX was shown in the cartoon “The Lion King” (1994)?

One of the most common rumors about sexual innuendo at Disney is the presence of the word SEX in The Lion King. There is a scene when adult Simba fell to the ground and dust, leaves and flowers rose into the air, forming letters in the sky. Some viewers saw it as SEX.

But according to animator Tom Sito, there was no sexual message in the scene. According to him words, they simply paid tribute to the special effects department: “It doesn’t say SEX. It says “special effects” (editor’s note) - this is SFX.” In subsequent editions of the cartoon, the scene was edited so that the dust swirls did not form any letters.

You can see the different options in the video below.

Most likely not true

4. Is it true that in the cartoon “Alice in Wonderland” (1951) they showed a hole in the shape of a vagina?

The cartoon is based on the works of Lewis Carroll about a girl who falls down a rabbit hole. Author of one of the collections asserts: “Many people think that the hole in a rabbit hole resembles something else. Perhaps people simply have an unhealthy imagination, but look carefully at the image. Surely women will quickly understand what we are talking about!”

Only this is again a fake shot - it’s from the same humorous collection from the site Cracked.com. The original had a regular hole.

Below are comparison shots and a video (at the 0:38 mark).

Satirical news

5. Is it true that in the cartoon “Aladdin” (1992) teenagers were asked to take off their clothes?

This myth is not the most relevant for the Russian audience, since here the cartoon is most often broadcast in dubbing, but sometimes it ends up in collections. There is a scene in the film when Aladdin unsuccessfully tries to drive away the tiger Raja. And at the moment of Jasmine’s arrival, according to some viewers, something like this strange phrase sounds: “Good teenagers take off your clothes.” It translates roughly to: “Nice teenagers, take off your clothes.”

By script Aladdin only had to say this: “Good kitty, take off.” But, according to the director's comments, the phrase was lengthened ad lib to add a couple of seconds of background sound. In the end it turned out like this: “Good tiger. Leave me alone. Shoot. Go away! (“Good tiger.” Take off. Scat. Go!”).

And Tom Sito spoke out about the myth: “The two animators who did this episode are both very religious guys... That kind of humor is not their style.”

Most likely not true

6. Is it true that in the cartoon “The Lion King” (1994) they showed dunes in the form of breasts?

On one site write: “This scene shows us some very unusual dunes. Having examined them, you can perceive the phrase that their entire kingdom is what the sun’s rays fall on a little differently.” This refers to Mufasa's story to Simba about the size of their kingdom. Indeed, in the image you can see that there appear to be nipples on the tops.

But before us again is a fake frame from the site Cracked.com. In the original, Zazu flew past the usual hills in the scene of the song "I wish I could be king."

In the attached video, the moment can be seen at the 0:50 mark.

Satirical news

7. Is it true that in the cartoon “Fantasia” (1940) they showed a constellation in the form of a breast?

In the episode "The Sorcerer's Apprentice", based on Goethe's poem and Paul Dukas' symphonic poem of the same name, the main character was Mickey Mouse. If you believe the authors of the collections, then there are shots with a constellation resembling a woman’s breasts. But the problem is that there is no such frame at all.

In fact, this is another edited image from the site Cracked.com. Only this time the original was not a frame from the cartoon, but a poster.

Satirical news

8. Is it true that in the cartoon “The Rescuers” (1977) they showed a naked woman?

It is believed that in one scene the main characters Bianca and Bernard can be seen rushing past a naked woman. And this is true: in the background, in the window at about the 38th minute, a photo of a girl without a bra appears for a moment.

As a result, in 1999, the Disney studio announced on the withdrawal of the new home video version of "The Rescuers" because it contained "inappropriate background images" in two frames. Disney's statement also said that the footage was added during post-production and cannot be seen in normal viewing. The entire batch contained about 3.4 million copies of the tapes. At the same time, how reported company, the first version of the cassettes did not have this photo, because a different negative was used to create it.

Animator Tom Sito too didn't deny the existence of such a photo. According to him, by the time the cartoon was re-released, many of the executives who produced the first videotape had left. But the new management did not know about that photo and used the original negative from 1977 in the re-release. Seeto said that all the artists on the animation team knew about the Playboy spread, but simply no one asked them.

Is it true

What do our verdicts mean?

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