MovieChat Forums > Fantasia (1941) Discussion > Forget Sunflower, people

Forget Sunflower, people

posted 14 years ago by kenny5637
26 replies | jump to latest

This post regards a long-censored stereotypically portrayed black centaur in Fantasia, who's name is Sunshine.

I am the most anti-censorship person in the world, but I've always drawn the line on this one. It's a Disney movie. In terms of target market, children take precedent over cinema/animation/music buffs.

I know I would like to someday show all my favorite childhood movies to my own children, and a 5-year-old will not understand that what they're seeing is a reflection of the time and culture in which the film was made. It doesn't matter how you explain it, because the concept is just too unusual for a child. And it would be hard to include both versions on one set, because then there's the marketing headache of labeling one "Racist Version."

[–] Falconeer 11 years ago

"Fantasia" is the only Disney film not really made for children; it is an experimental film, and it IS art. And when it comes to art, there is NO room for censorship. Anyway, no child is gonna be "scarred" at the sight of the black centaur. It is not only a reflection of the time it was made in, but also a 'document' of that time. Just like a history book. They had no business censoring THIS film. As I mentioned in another post, the practice of censoring art should be illegal. I found the omission of the black Centaur FAR more offensive than the character itself.

"IMdB; where 14 year olds can act like jaded 40 year old critics...'

[–] zakima2 10 years ago

What I find odd is, I ripped a copy of the segment from online. I cleaned it up to the best of my ability and even had a friend work on it. We spliced the deleted scenes back into the original and played it for our kids in our screening room. Mind you our kids just got done watching Fantasia in school so they were aware of what was in the film.. however when the pastoral symphony came about and they started seeing the new character sunflower for the first time they watched and even laughed .. my son who was only 12 at the time and my daughter who is 10 and a few other children noticed that this character was not in the version of Fantasia they saw in school. There was also roughly 16 kids watching this movie in my home. So when the film ended I asked the kids what they thought and they said its just as boring as it was in school.. I asked if they noticed any difference in the films and my son and a few others said they didnt see the black centaur in the film at school and that he or she was really funny and added something better to the film but it was still boring.. they said she made them laugh because she was different and she was cool. They also said that other than not ever wanting to see the film again they think she was the best character in the film other than the drunk guy, and Mickey.... I also showed this film to a group of adults of various ages and races... and guess what NOT 1 SINGLE NEGATIVE COMMENT... most were offended that Disney took out a cool looking black girl / horse. They said what makes it racist... So I ask all of you who have watched the scene. What is so wrong with this character to delete her from history... btw I showed this film recently again to another group of friends over the summer time it was a church group.. I go to a baptist church where my family is the minority compared to is African church goers . When the church watched it they loved and adored it, hell even a few of the senior citizens of the group said they remember seeing the character back in the day and wondered if they only imagined it when they purchased the VHS, DVD and BluRay... So again as I asked... Does this character really need to be erased out of history

life ask death why do people love me and not you death says you are a beautiful lie I am a sad truth

[–] Blueghost 10 years ago

by kenny5637 » Mon Dec 20 2010 20:45:39 Flag ▼ | Reply |
IMDb member since January 2005
This post regards a long-censored stereotypically portrayed black centaur in Fantasia, who's name is Sunshine.

I am the most anti-censorship person in the world, but I've always drawn the line on this one. It's a Disney movie. In terms of target market, children take precedent over cinema/animation/music buffs.

I know I would like to someday show all my favorite childhood movies to my own children, and a 5-year-old will not understand that what they're seeing is a reflection of the time and culture in which the film was made. It doesn't matter how you explain it, because the concept is just too unusual for a child. And it would be hard to include both versions on one set, because then there's the marketing headache of labeling one "Racist Version."

I really don't get this. There is nothing in this film that suggests racism of any kind.

Here's an exercise. Go watch the end credits of a 1970's show called "Good Times".

Look at the painting. It was painted by Ernie Barnes, a black artist.

Now. Imagine a white painter painting the same image. What would your reaction be?

In short, get a life.

*EDIT*
Having said that, I'm glad Sunflower was edited out. It truly did placate to a bad stereotype.

[–] ZeoRangerFive 10 years ago

I know I'm late to the party but one thing that you said really stuck out to me and that is this "a 5-year-old will not understand that what they're seeing is a reflection of the time and culture in which the film was made". A 5-year-old wouldn't even know what racism is. They wouldn't look at it and say "well that's racist towards black people" or whatever, they would watch it and enjoy it and think nothing more of it. It wouldn't be until much later as teens or adults that they would recognize it as racist.

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