The latest film follows the origin story of the astronaut who inspired the toy in Toy Story. And while the film contains a kiss from the same gender, the UAE’s Media Regulatory Office did not give a particular reason for its decision. The agency just said the film was banned for infringing the country’s media content standards.
The Buzz Lightyear ban comes just six months after the UAE said it would quit redacting cinematic releases and declare a 21-plus age rating for films it allocates for older audiences.
The United Arab Emirates which is a Sunni Muslim-ruled country illegalizes consensual same-sex sexual activity between grownups.
Last year, Pixar’s Onward was reported to have been vetoed by a lot of Middle Eastern countries in electronic media. In April, Saudi Arabia asked for LGBTQ allusions to be removed in Disney’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, which was all together, not screened in the country.
Other films featuring gay plots that have fallen repugnant of censorship across the globe include Elton John’s documentary Rocketman. It was prohibited immediately in Samoa and sexual scenes from the blockbuster 2019 movie were removed by a Russian distributor.
The movie focuses on the persona of Buzz Lightyear from the Toy Story franchise. The United Arab Emirate’s Media Regulatory Office posted a tweet highlighting an image of Buzz, canceled with a red line. Disney has yet to comment on this.