Mary Poppins fans slam “woke” age rating change

The age rating for the musical classic, Mary Poppins, has been changed – but some fans are slamming the “woke” move. 

As they say, hindsight is 20/20. And, back in 2020, Disney announced it would be adding disclaimers to a number of its old movies on its streaming platform that contain racist stereotypes and harmful representations.

While disclaimers are often the method used in this context, last week, the age rating of the 1964 musical, Mary Poppins, was changed in the UK. 

The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) made the shift due to one particular word said in the movie – but the news hasn’t gone down too well with Mary Poppins fans across the globe.

Mary Poppins fans slam “woke” age rating change

The age rating for Mary Poppins has been bumped up from a U (Universal) to a PG (Parental Guidance), leading to widespread criticism of the “woke” change. 

A BBFC spokesperson told CNN, “Mary Poppins (1964) includes two uses of the discriminatory term ‘hottentots,’” an offensive slur used by white Europeans to refer to indigenous peoples of South Africa.

“While Mary Poppins has a historical context, the use of discriminatory language is not condemned, and ultimately exceeds our guidelines for acceptable language at U,” the spokesperson added.

Speaking about the change, one person wrote on X: “Woke is a brain disorder. Mary Poppins is no longer suitable for all children…” Another said, “Cancel culture coming after Mary Poppins for crying out loud. Seems the woke keeps moving to take away beauty and fun.”

Some poked fun at the move, including this person who commented, “Too late, my kids have already watched it.” Another quipped, “And Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is now rated 18 because of its sexual innuendos.”

But others simply don’t believe the age rating shift is worth getting angry about. “Changing it from ‘U’ to ‘PG’ is not really a big deal,” said one. “Pretty meaningless if you ask me. Likely no one under the age of 80 knows or understands the context of that word anyway.”

For more on movies, here are six new films to watch in March.