US Disneyland Removes Parade Song Lyrics Involved in Racism Controversy

Use of Animated Theme Song Containing Racial Stereotypes
Rides and Streaming Services Also Discontinued

The world-renowned amusement park Disneyland in California, USA, has removed some lyrics from a song used in its outdoor parade. This decision was made due to ongoing controversies over racial discrimination.

On the 4th (local time), CNN and other media reported that Disneyland had been using some lyrics from the theme song of the animation Song of the South (1946), which has faced criticism for racial discrimination, in its parade songs, but recently these lyrics were deleted.

The part where the Song of the South lyrics were removed was replaced with a section from the Peter Pan theme song, "Think of the happiest things."

Disneyland in California, USA
[Photo by Yonhap News]

Song of the South is a film set on a farm in Georgia after the Civil War, depicting the friendship between white and Black people. However, it has been criticized for containing racial stereotypes and romanticizing the life of slaves on the farm.

Earlier in January, Disneyland decided to close the ride Splash Mountain, which was themed around Song of the South. Splash Mountain is a log-flume ride where riders travel along waterways and descend steep slopes, and it has been popular for 30 years since it was installed at Disney World in 1992.

This ride is scheduled to be replaced with a new attraction themed on The Princess and the Frog, the first Disney animation featuring a Black princess.

The streaming platform Disney Plus has also removed Song of the South from its service catalog.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.