9/11 called for big changes in Disney's Lilo & Stitch

Originally published at: http://boingboing.net/2016/09/14/911-called-for-big-changes-in.html

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FFS, maybe we should re-shoot King Kong also.

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these cut scenes from this cartoon are heroes

I’m willing to bet that if King Kong was scheduled to come out a few months after terrorists stormed the Empire State Building and took hostages at its apex before leaping off to their deaths, the film wouldn’t have ended the same way.

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This shot might have been just a TAD too on-the-nose for families seeking some lighthearted escapism in the months after terrorists flew hijacked planes into some skyscrapers.

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Isn’t it a success if art resonates with real life? Retooling work so that it is less symbolically relevant seems counter-productive to me. I know that some see doing this as being sensitive, but to me it seems quite the opposite, like presenting Guernica as an idyllic scene.

I know that people do not always intend for life to imitate art as they create it, but I think this happens because they share a common origin in the real. And denying that reality does the art and its viewers a disservice.

I guess that’s the thinking behind this. Perhaps my personality is too confrontational to readily relate to lighthearted escapism.

its a movie for babbies

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Dorkly covered this and other changes in quite a bit of depth a little while ago.

They’ve done some other decent pieces on The Emperor’s New Groove and The Lion King, even if the news isn’t necessarily fresh.

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Comedic action doesn’t tend to work as well if it reminds you of a recent tragedy. If your family had been killed by falling anvils then old Looney Tunes cartoons probably wouldn’t seem as funny either.

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#tooSoon

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We’re talking about a Disney cartoon, something meant to be lighthearted escapist entertainment enjoyed by kids and families. In no possible way would it be productive for it to be “symbolically relevant” by coincidentally referencing a national tragedy comedically. As you say, it would be confrontational and would have been far too sensitive a time for this to be included.

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specifically, it’s meant to sell toys and you dont do that good by reminding people about steal beams and shit unless youre alex jones and they toys is dumb rations and gold bars

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I remember how pissed I was when one of my favorite Simpson’s episodes was banned from syndication or otherwise altered.

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I’m happy about this, some greedy developer might have seen the high-rises in the cut version and thought it would be a good idea to have buildings like that in Honolulu.

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Just to hijack the thread,

I blame the pilot of The Lone Gunmen for the lack of popularity. I don’t know how many people remember it, but the plot of the pilot was some hijackers ramming WTC with a jet plane.

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I remember watching it. And like everyone else who had seen it remembered it when they were claiming the bullshit that no one had thought of that so how could anyone predict someone would try it.

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Seems to me there was an episode of The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy" that had a similar issue:

The episode “Smell of Vengeance” was to have a scene where Hector Con Carne’s Stinker Ray attacks the World Trade Center Towers and the people would jump from the buildings, but the scene was hurriedly removed after the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001.

I feel obligated to point out that the pilot aired way before 9/11 occurred; it’s an extremely odd coincidence and nothing more. I can’t say if that’s why the series wasn’t more popular. I’ll admit, it wasn’t the most cheerful of episodes. Their funny eps were so much better! I adored that show and I wish it had gotten the love it deserved… YMMV.

On one hand, I’d love to see the Lone Gunmen get a new series. If they can revive the X-Files after all this time, why not? On the other hand, considering how… um, underwhelmed I was at the quality of the revival, maybe it’s best to leave Byers, Langley and Frohike as they undoubtedly are, tilting at windmills and helping people. ('Cuz that episode where they supposedly died? It never happened. It’s all false memories implanted by the Men In Black. I never trusted that one who looked like Alex Trebek. He’s probably the one to blame.)
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:stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

ETA: I geeked out again, didn’t I. Sorry, all. I’ll see myself out.

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Besides, it wasn’t original. Bugs Bunny did the same thing in 1943.

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There’s also this famous album cover, created in mid 2001, depicting a rap group blowing up the World Trade Center. Luckily, it wasn’t scheduled to come out until late 2001. It didn’t.

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