The Disney version of Snow White is being called out, again.
The Disney version of Snow White is being called out, again.
It's a children's classic, beloved by generations, but Disney's telling of the Snow White story has now fallen foul of a new breed of critic.
The re-opening of the Disneyland theme park has given fresh impetus to those who believe one of Disney's most famous films reinforces rape culture.
Criticismcame in a review of the revamped Snow White ride, Snow White's Enchanted Wish, for the SF Gate website.
"The new grand finale of Snow White's Enchanted Wish is the moment when the Prince finds Snow White asleep under the Evil Queen's spell and gives her 'true love's kiss' to release her from the enchantment," the review states.
"A kiss he gives to her without her consent, while she's asleep, which cannot possibly be true love if only one person knows it's happening.
"Haven't we already agreed that consent in early Disney movies is a major issue?"
The review questioned why Disneyland had included a scene with "such old fashioned ideas of what a man is allowed to do to a woman" and asked why the scene could not be "re-imagined".
The scene has been criticised.
The criticism isn't the first to be directed at the story, with Japanese academic Professor Kazue Muta taking aim at the scene in 2017.
"When you think rationally about Snow White and Sleeping Beauty, that tale of a 'princess being woken up by the kiss of a prince', they are describing sexual assault on an unconscious person," Muta wrote on Twitter.
"You might think I'm ruining the fantasy of it all, but these stories are promoting sexual violence and I would like everyone to be aware of it."
