We say that children are impressionable. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn The Wysses, "both father and son, were intellectuals, the former a pastor and the latter a professor of philosophy. Though other adaptations may complicate the matter somewhat Lost in Space obviously sets its action far away from a tropical island, and also features the nefarious Dr. Smith the Disney version of Swiss Family Robinson is exceedingly uncomplicated. If the Robinsons were real people, the psychological scars suffered would run deep and would take years of therapy to alleviate. Nodding towards the existence of the bad isn't quite enough. The story was a best-seller at home and abroad, attracting an English-speaking readership in particular. (Sadly, there is no Will Robinson of whom to speak.) Adapted from the 1812 novel of the same name, Swiss Family Robinson has the perfect kind of high-concept hook that's inspired everything from multiple direct adaptations to the 1960s TV series Lost in Space: a family is stranded at sea after an attack by pirates, and must fend for itself on a deserted-island paradise. Also in The Hunchback of Norte Dame 1996 depicts Quasimodo who has disabilities with a deformed body being made fun of and getting jeered and tortured by the crowd which scene made me upset. Ernst (played by 60s-era Disney stalwart Tommy Kirk) is a bookish sort, but both he and Fritz end up havinguhlet's call them teenage yearnings for Roberta (Janet Munro), a young woman they rescue from the pirates and invite into their family. The Swiss Family Robinson. I swear Disney doesnt understand their own work sometimes. I will proudly put these movies on for my grandchildren to watch and if they want to draw their own conclusions.good for them. Probably because of the cultural dominance and popularity of Lost,adults watching Swiss Family Robinsonmay be predisposed to not accepting a tropical island at face value. Sound familiar? Peter and the Lost Boys engage in dancing, wearing headdresses and other exaggerated tropes, a form of mockery and appropriation of Native peoples culture and imagery. Unbelievable. Because for all of the dazzling shipwrecks, pirate chases, tricky sailing trips, and fending off wild animals, Swiss Family Robinson is really just the story of a mostly normal, loving family trying to survive and stay intact, all while relying on each other. "The protagonists are characterised primarily by the Protestant ethics espoused by the father and pastor: the family, which venerates its homeland, is pious and believes in the virtues of hard work and religious obedience.". As we speak, Classic books , while not being burned, are being removed from public and school libraries across our beautiful USA. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. The possibilities for new stories are endless, which makes it very attractive to audiences". In truth, what Disney+ really needs is context. WebWhy did the Swiss Family Robinson not get into the boat? I should imagine there is a fair amount of cognitive science that has fed into this decision. Accompanying the 1970 film The Aristocats, for example, is the following advisory about the Siamese cat character Shun Gon, voiced by Paul Winchell: The cat is depicted as a racist caricature of East Asian peoples with exaggerated stereotypical traits such as slanted eyes and buck teeth. The ship's crew evacuates without them, so William, Elizabeth, and their four sons (Fritz, Ernest, Jack, and Franz) are left to survive alone. Send us a tip using our annonymous form. They take previously derogatory depictions and even names and use them in a positive manner. Ive been saying this about Song of the South forever heck even Whoopie G has stated publicly she wishes they would release it to start a convo. JoshuaRheyr8253. After they fill the tubs with food, ammunition, and other items of value they can safely carry, they row toward the island. There are after all mirror neurons. The last who They eat random fruit off trees, which could easily be poisonous, and no responsible parent would allow their kids to sample wild jungle plants. And it's kind of remarkable that Disney wouldn't make nearly so many expansive, epic adventures moving forward considering the vast success this title found at the box office. Those same pirates threaten the Robinsons' safety on multiple occasions. Have Disney+ removed it? And it's kind of remarkable that Disney wouldn't make nearly so many expansive, epic adventures moving forward considering the vast success this title found at the box office. Racist imagery and cultural stereotypes in six Disney animated classics including Peter Pan, The Jungle Book, Lady and the Tramp, The Aristocats, Dumbo and Swiss Family Robinson are being flagged on the Disney+ streaming site with warnings and detailed explanations of the negative depictions in each title. Are these Disney films Ive mentioned going to be removed from kids profiles and will they have warning labels about these films like Pocahontas which admits that it was wrong what was shown in these films. SHAME on Disney for trying to project a false narrative about classic movies. Here's the polar opposite of a spoiler. We dont need YOU to decide what our children watch or dont watch, based on your political views and attitudes. It was just a fun scene about cats. There aren't any surfing scenes, bonfire parties, or other tropes found in the genre that was popular around the time of Swiss Family Robinson's initial release in 1960, but it's a film that takes place almost entirely in, on, or around a tropical beach. Dumbo is racists? (2009) Animacion, Familjar | Shtetet e Bashkuara t Ameriks, Kin, Kanada. With much effort, they construct a vessel out of tubs. The French version, 'Le Robinson suisse', rapidly acquired a devoted following, which allowed it to become a core classic of Swiss literature." Again, the word for this movie, in good and bad ways, is "simple." And in much the same way that Clark Kent's glasses conceal Superman's identity, in the world of this film, that head wrap somehow makes the pirates and the boys not notice 26-year-old actress Janet Munro's adult, feminine facial features. But the title card doesn't do the work for you. On one hand, we can acknowledge that what Disney is doing by inserting a title card nodding towards the reality of the studio's earlier, more problematic films is vastly more than they ever did prior to the advent of the streaming service. Super Why. Super WHY! Perhaps children shouldnt have been watching then without their parents to begin with?? They are. Older, more seasoned viewers will notice things the kids don't, be it suggestive material, plot holes, or things that just didn't age very well. Super Why. Although they have lost almost everything in the shipwreck, they are so resourceful at constructing a life for themselves on the island that, when rescue comes, they decline to leave their refuge and their happy life. In a very formal and outdated way, all the Robinson boys call their mother "Mother" and their father "Father." I vent occasionally myself and often feel better afterward, but I dont waste my time on non-issues like this. and "Swiss Family Viewed through a sensitive, 21st-century lens, Swiss Family Robinson consists of one harrowing, dangerous, life-threatening, and thus potentially psychologically damaging event after another. (In that way, you could argue that it's a perfect template for some of the attractions of Adventureland, which even now traffics in stereotyping, as when showcasing a group of ravaging natives in the Jungle Cruise.) But if you adjust for inflation, Swiss Family Robinson grossed over $500 million domestically, which means it outgrossed films like Frozen II and Avengers: Age of Ultron. Signup for Breaking News Alerts & Newsletters. The movie opens with the Robinson family which includes two teenagers and a little kid trapped in a tiny room on a ship as it fills with water. On one hand, we can acknowledge that what Disney is doing by inserting a title card nodding towards the reality of the studio's earlier, more problematic films is vastly more than they ever did prior to the advent of the streaming service. Swiss Family Robinson (1974) E16 - Return Paradise. Placing a title card in front of this film or, more realistically, in front of a well-known family favorite like, isn't enough. The crows are an example of irony. At Walt Disney World's iteration of Adventureland, which is still open, the treehouse retains the Swiss heritage and the polka song that the family dances to in the midst of the film. Also in Bedknobs and Broomsticks and The Rocketeer features Nazis who put millions of people in concertation camps in real life. The message imparted there isn't wrong the representation of people of color in the adventure is grossly stereotypical, insulting, and unnecessary. You can still watch them under the adults profile and have the conversations with the kids about it. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. If you don't visit the Stories Matter website (and I wonder how many of you reading this are visiting that site now for the first time), you won't even know. In truth, what Disney+ really needs is context. It's not just that there's no Dr. Smith the antagonistic force in Annakin's adaptation is as much the various natural elements working against the Robinson family as they build a massive treehouse and begin exploring the island on which they live, as it is the pirates who attacked their ship and are coming back to get their just desserts. THANK YOU! Upon reaching the island, the family set up a makeshift camp. The Swiss Family Robinson, novel for children completed and edited by Johann Rudolf Wyss, published in German as Der schweizerische Robinson (181227). So sad were going down this road to appease the woke cancel culture rather than appreciating (and learning from) historical art for what it is based upon when it was produced. They have to be seen and understood in the cultural context in which they were made several decades ago. So, if these classic books are removed, our kids cant read about the adventure of Huck and his friend Tom Sawyer. We want to hear from you! As Carpenter and Prichard write in The Oxford Companion to Children's Literature (Oxford, 1995), "with all the expansions and contractions over the past two centuries (this includes a long history of abridgments, condensations, Christianizing, and Disney products), Wyss's original narrative has long since been obscured. William knows that they must prepare for a long time on the island and his thoughts are as much on provisions for the future as on their immediate wants. McclearnJoshua2716. M shum rreth seris . As such, they read 18th century natural history textbooks and encyclopaedias. WebThe Swiss Family Robinson Super Why! But another film getting this title card is our column's subject: the 1960 adventure adaptation Swiss Family Robinson. When adapting Johann David Wyss' classic novel, Disney filmmakers didn't worry about toning down any of the Swiss references and historical markers. Instead, the news focused on where Disney began: its earlier animated and live-action features. videoshttps://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQKw_soo5o7IqDZLoPFoDqTchl8UKjS- It then takes him a moment to figure out exactly what she's saying, but Mother laments how if they were to never get rescued and if they stayed on this island paradise forever, their boys would "never get married" or find themselves wives by which she means "succumb to their natural physical needs as men." He was born and died in Bern. This 18th century classic inspired by Robinson Crusoe became even more popular abroad than it is in Switzerland. ); They obviously have such a deep knowledge of plant life that they know what to eat and what to avoid, their raft-making skills are on point, the older boys can spear fish, and the family somehow manages to build the fanciest and most complicated treehouse in world history. Ken Annakin made a handful of films for Walt Disney Pictures, and they were rarely challenging. It has gone through a large number of versions and adaptations. They actually help Dumbo. If Swiss Family Robinson were real, those Alpine mountain folk would burn to a crisp and quickly. The story was first adapted in French in 1814 by the Lausanne novelist and translator Isabelle de Montolieu. Is Disney Plus going to remove Pinocchio, Pocahontas, The Hunchback of Norte Dame from Kids profiles. callback: cb Having thought about this a bit more, I have a recommendation. Though other adaptations may complicate the matter somewhat , obviously sets its action far away from a tropical island, and also features the nefarious Dr. Smith the Disney version of. The family works together to build a more permanent The larger point is one I've repeated before, both on, a host. Quite a bit of euphemism-heavy birds and bees talk permeates Swiss Family Robinson. Swiss Family Robinson looks great. Shame on Disney for bowing to a minority of lunatics that will ruin what the majority of us have loved all of our lives. Im totally watching my DVD of Song of the South in honor of this absolutely nonsense! One of the more mature struggles in the film is between the parents: William (Mills) is quick to adopt a can-do attitude about living on the unknown island, whereas his wife Elizabeth (McGuire) initially wants the family to figure out a way to head to New Guinea, their original destination.The other major struggle throughout the film with more teeth in it than the vaguely defined threat of pirates, about whom more soon is between the two older Robinson boys, Fritz and Ernst. "When The Swiss Family Robinson had the potential to gain a wider readership, that is after the Second World War and also in the 1960s, the Swiss were more interested in promoting their sense of belonging to the homeland," says Daniel Maggetti. 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