Disney Plus is “editing” your favorite movies without telling you
DisneyDisney Plus subscribers have been urged to buy physical media “before it’s gone”, coming after a viral clip of Lilo and Stitch revealed a strange change on the streaming platform.
In the original version of the movie, Lilo’s sister finds her hiding inside a clothes dryer, so she climbs out.
However, if you stream it on Disney Plus, it’s not a dryer, nor is it an oven (despite the pizza box): it’s just a cabinet.
“Someone has clearly been editing Lilo and Stitch,” a viral video (shared on X/Twitter by luckykidtay) claims.
Did Disney edit Lilo and Stitch?
Yes, Disney changed Lilo and Stitch… but this edit was made long before Disney Plus.
If you remember the dryer scene from watching the film in cinemas or on DVD, you’re not mistaken: it was intact in theaters and its first-ever physical media release.
However, for future releases (special editions, collector’s bundles, Blu-rays, etc), Disney changed the dryer to a cabinet. It’s never been formally acknowledged, but the reason is obvious: execs didn’t want kids to climb into their tumble dryers and injure themselves.
“The scene was even cut from broadcast showings when it aired on Disney Channel. It wasn’t the pizza box though, rather it would fade to black when Nani leans on the wall and fade back in with Lilo trapped in the bedsheets, avoid it he scene entirely,” one Redditor claims.
Also, if you watched Lilo and Stitch in UK cinemas, it would have been the pizza box version.
“TIL in the UK version of Lilo and Stitch, the scene of Lilo hiding in a clothes dryer was redrawn so that Lilo’s hiding in a cupboard with a pizza box for a door to prevent little kids from imitating the act of hiding in a dryer,” another comment reads.
Disney Plus does censor movies
Lilo and Stitch may have been changed before Disney Plus launched, but the platform has a reputation for making slight alterations to its films and TV shows.
For example, Daryl Hannah’s bare buttocks have been digitally covered with hair in Splash if you watch it on the streaming service.
A post-credits blooper was also removed from Toy Story 2, showing Stinky Pete flirting with two Barbie dolls as part of a “casting couch” gag. Free Solo has also been censored, with one moment of Alex Honnold saying “f**ked up” changed to “messed up”, as per Newsweek.
Notably, Disney Plus removed one episode of The Simpsons altogether from its library: Season 3’s ‘Stark Raving Dad’, which guest-stars Michael Jackson. You can check out a larger list of everything seemingly censored, edited, or removed from the platform here.
Some titles (like 1992’s Aladdin) come with a disclaimer, warning viewers of “negative depictions and/or mistreatment of people or cultures.”
“Rather than remove this content, we want to acknowledge its harmful impact, learn from it, and spark conversation to create a more inclusive future together,” it reads.
In the meantime, check out what TV shows are streaming this month, and find out what new movies you should add to your watch list.