Did you notice something missing from the most recent home release of Toy Story 2? One of the film’s blooper segments containing overtones of misconduct was edited out as first reported by Rerelease News.
What’s happening:
- VICE news reports that Disney and Pixar recently removed a #MeToo moment from Toy Story 2’s latest home release.
- During the film’s credits, there are a series of silly outtakes that were a signature of the early Pixar movies.
- Characters pull pranks on each other, mess up lines, get meta regarding “future projects,” and behave as if they’d been hired as actors for these roles.
- While this silliness is amusing and mostly harmless, in the wake of #MeToo, Time’s Up, and dozens of Hollywood misconduct allegations on the rise, one little blooper doesn’t sit too well. And Disney seems to be fully aware.
- The company pulled the 20 second segment—yes, that’s all the time it takes to do damage—from their new Toy Story 2 4K Blu-ray and digital releases.
The scene in question:
- Woody asks a question of Stinky Pete who’s in his boxed packaging with his back to the camera. When Woody turns the box around it’s revealed that the Prospector is talking to two Barbie dolls who are inside the box with him. The conversation is one sided and goes as follows:
"And so you two are absolutely identical? You know I'm sure I can get you a part in Toy Story 3." - While he’s speaking these words, he’s unaware that he’s being recorded and reaches for the dolls’ hands.
- It’s then he realizes that he’s on camera and ushers the dolls out, but not before inviting them back should they require “more acting tips.”
- Those interested in seeing the full series of outtakes can click here. The deleted scene starts at 3:25
VICE says:
- It’s important to know that VICE reached out to both Disney and Pixar multiple times, and neither has responded to requests for comments and/or the reason why the scene was removed.
- VICE writes that, “these requests noted that the blooper in question was still included in the official Disney UK YouTube clip of all Toy Story 2 bloopers.”
- Amongst further attempts to reach Disney and Pixar for comment, VICE noticed the segment had been removed from the Disney UK YouTube video, however, “it is still viewable via the Internet archive.”
- VICE says they, “also reached out to digital rental services Amazon and Apple for comment on when or how this edit was made on their platforms.”
- At the time of publication, they had yet to receive any response.
This isn’t the first time:
- VICE points to an article from four years ago that was posted on IFC that calls out several times Disney films have quietly been edited for sexual and racial undertones.
- Also, after allegations of misconduct surrounding Pixar’s Chief Creative Officer—and Toy Story 2 director— John Lasseter, surfaced in late 2017, the executive took a six month leave of absence in light of his “missteps.”
- Eventually, Lasseter returned to The Walt Disney Company and Pixar, but only to serve in a consulting role before leaving the company at the end of December 2018.