Disney and Smoking

[Loomis]

As most of you know, Disney have edited several of their animated classics by removing scenes involving smoking.
I just received a copy of The Sword in the Stone today, and one of the bonus features was the 'Brave Little Tailor' short with Mickey Mouse.
It featured a giant who spotted a bale of hay, said "mmmm....smoke!" and proceeded to 'roll his own' and start smoking...
Does it strike anybody else as odd that Disney would edit out scenes of smoking from their classic movies YET out of all the classic shorts they could have chosen to put on a DVD for bonus features, one is chosen that has smoking...
I think maybe the Powers That Be might be smoking something when they make these decisions to edit stuff randomly.
Just plain strange....

[Luke]

Odd, indeed. I've seen that short but don't remember it.

Maybe Lou from "Mrs. Doubtfire" chose which one to include on the DVD.

[Papa Bear]

It seems to me like they are more concerned with the good guys or the ones that our children may look up to for role models. So I guess they figure none of us want to grow up to be like the giant that picks on Mickey! I personally think they shoukd leave them all the way they were.

[Loomis]

PapaBear - I take your point, and I tend to agree with you.

I just don't like the idea that they censor films in these ways

Yes, kids do listen to what is on TV, but they aren't the morons that this type of policy seems to suggest they are. This sort of attitude (i.e. ban it), assumes kids (and everybody else who might buy the DVD) are all empty vessels waiting to be filled by whatever random thought comes across our screens.
Perhaps an active anti-smoking campaign is what they are after? But that would be too political on Disney's part. Can't risk offending smokers

In all seriousness, it has never been made clear - to me at least - what the point of the censorship was, so the bits they have cut out do seem random to me. The fact that smoking pops up (albeit by a 'bad' person') elsewhere, shows me that cigarettes were not the source of the problem.
Maybe it was rednecks and hillbillies?
I think if Disney is going to edit stuff - and I am strongly against that - we should actually have a clear indication of what criteria they are basing these cuts on rather that a broad 'may be offensive to some people'.

[2099net]

It seems to me like they are more concerned with the good guys or the ones that our children may look up to for role models.

Yeah - thank God they kept Pete smoking - even in new stuff like "Mickey's Once Upon A Christmas", "The Goofy Movies" and "House of Mouse". At least they realise that's an integral part of his character.

Of course, I always saw Pete as a role model and somebody to be looked upto... A Mickey Mouse short isn't a Mickey Mouse short without Pete, the greatest of the Disney villains!

[Loomis]

Yeah - thank God they kept Pete smoking - even in new stuff like "Mickey's Once Upon A Christmas", "The Goofy Movies" and "House of Mouse". At least they realise that's an integral part of his character.
Of course, I always saw Pete as a role model and somebody to be looked upto... A Mickey Mouse short isn't a Mickey Mouse short without Pete, the greatest of the Disney villains!

Yeah, that's kinda my point though. Smoking ovbiously isn't the problem. So what is? I firstly don't get what makes the smoking any more integral to his character than it would to any other character (OK, Donald wanted a smoke....so he had a smoke. Sounds like a character trait to me ). Ok, sure - Pete smokes a LOT, but hopefully y'all see my point. The fact that this thing was animated at some point makes it an integral part of the character IMO.

Secondly, as 2099 says, you saw Pete as a role model, and he might have been kinda joking (but maybe not....) But the fact is, different people look at different characters in different ways. Disney shouldn't change the action of any character in any given situation to suit todays 'standards'.

Loomis has left the soapbox.

[2099net]

I firstly don't get what makes the smoking any more integral to his character than it would to any other character

Well, perhaps the smoking is not that integral to the character as such. The fact that he smokes does not define the character - but how he smokes certainly does.

Arrogant (he often smokes in non-smoking areas), proud and boastful (he only smokes the best cigars remember?), inconsiderate (I love the scenes which show him distastfully blowing smoke into another character's face), careless and disrespectful (he has been known to start his own fires with his smoking)... the list goes on.

Perhaps the smoking is not integral to the character, but it's a helpful shortcut and prop to showing his character. How Disney would quickly establish or remind us of his character traits without smoking would be a challenge.

Secondly, as 2099 says, you saw Pete as a role model, and he might have been kinda joking

Let's face it, I bet everybody on this forum identifys with Pete more than with Mickey? Deep down, weren't we rooting for Pete to win all the time?

It's strange, because I would never want - for example - the Wicked Queen, Cruella, Judge Frollo or even the Prospector from Toy Story 2 to win. You must admit, there's something about Pete.

To be honest Pete reminds me alot of my late grandfather in a lot of the shorts. Sometimes it's quite uncanny. Same sort of old fashioned, keep everybody in their place attitude.

Actually - thinking about it, I'm not sure Pete does smoke in the Goofy movies? Any takers?

[MickeyMouseboy]

it seems in away how irak people watched forced censored stuff. that's how it feels when they do this. they should leave it alone. is not like parents now a days care if they let their kids watch jackass the movie and other stupid movies smoking is not even close to what is portrayed in movies today.

[2099net]

Here's an interesting article on the BBC News site:

Film smoking 'influences' children
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainmen ... 977472.stm

I don't agree, especially when it comes to animated characters.

[Loomis]

Thanks for posting that article, 2099.

I hate studies such as that - anything that tries to find connections between violence, smoking, sex etc in the movies and a connection to "real life".

They seem to be based on the mistaken assumption - as I said above - that we are all empty vessels waiting to be filled.
What needs to be examined, as the article points out, is the other factors that lead kids/people to smoke/enact violence.
In the case of smoking, it would seem all the advertising in EVERY magazine would be one such influence.

Ah, I feel a rant coming on, so I'll sign off

[Brink!]

It seems to me like they are more concerned with the good guys or the ones that our children may look up to for role models. So I guess they figure none of us want to grow up to be like the giant that picks on Mickey! I personally think they shoukd leave them all the way they were.

that old lady from Atlantis smokes like a chimney
but i agree no one would look up to her as a role model