Whether it's a kids' film obsessed with death or an X-rated cartoon for adults, animated movies aren't always squeaky-clean - sometimes they're downright controversial. The following films all feature moments that didn't color within the lines of decency. There are castration jokes, creepy sex scenes, accusations of plagiarism, and enough curse words to win a Guinness World Record.
But did any of these films go too far? Vote up the controversies you'd love to erase from these animated movies.
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It shouldn't be a surprise that a controversial graphic novel would lead to a controversial film adaptation, but the creators of the R-rated 2016 film Batman: The Killing Joke really outdid themselves.
In the original story, the Joker shoots Barbara Gordon, AKA Batgirl, paralyzing her. He then strips her naked and photographs her, all of which is merely used as a plot device to motivate Batman (author Alan Moore has since called the book “a regrettable misstep on my part”).
In an attempt to flesh out Gordon's character for the adaptation, the filmmakers decided to add an extended prologue - which included a scene in which Batman and Batgirl have Batsex. This creeped out many comic fans, considering the two crime-fighters seemed to have a father-daughter kind of relationship.
Executive producer Bruce Timm later tried to defend the scene, saying, “[Batman's] ‘parental skills’ aren’t that great.”
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Sausage Party
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Sausage Party, released in 2016, is an R-rated animated comedy that ends with a massive talking-food orgy - and yet its biggest controversy came from behind the scenes.
Some of the film's animators anonymously claimed they were refused overtime pay, and that their names didn't even appear in the end credits.
The British Columbia Employment Standards Branch later fined the production company $500 and ruled that the money owed to the animators must be paid.
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Watership Down, released in 1978, traumatized a generation of kids with its graphic imagery of animal death - and it was rated U upon release, the UK equivalent of a G rating.
The film caused controversy again in 2016 when Channel 5 aired it on Easter. An angry tweet read:
Who the hell thought it a good idea to put Watership Down on Easter Sunday? “Hey kids, let’s watch dead Easter bunnies!”
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Fritz the Cat
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Fritz the Cat was the first animated movie to receive an X rating. The film is filled to the brim with scenes featuring sex, violence, police brutality, racism, drug use, and cursing. In 1972, audiences who were accustomed to Disney's family-friendly films were in for a shock.
Based on a comic strip by R. Crumb, Fritz the Cat went on to gross $90 million at the box office. The film's impact on animation for adults today is immeasurable.
Fritz director Ralph Bakshi commented on how society's views on animation have changed over the years:
What’s extraordinary is what they’re saying on The Simpsons, on television, is almost more than I did on Fritz the Cat, which I got yelled at and beat up about. And South Park! What is going on here? I got shot for less than this.
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The foul-mouthed, R-rated 1999 animated musical South Park: Bigger, Longer, & Uncut begins with a group of 3rd graders sneaking into a movie called A**es of Fire. There, they learn new curse words to repeat from the song “Uncle F*cka,” which includes lyrics like, “Shut your f*cking face, uncle f*cka,” and, “You're a b*ner-biting b*stard, uncle f*cka.”
Unsurprisingly, it took six screenings before the MPAA gave the movie an R rating instead of a dreaded NC-17.
Because of this, series co-creator Matt Stone said:
We aren’t trying to make a film that offends anybody - except we’re trying to offend the MPAA… We’re spending tons of Paramount’s money to do a big middle finger to the MPAA.
The film went on to win a Guinness World Record in 2001 for “Most Swearing in an Animated Movie" for its 399 curse words. The song “Blame Canada” was even nominated for an Academy Award but lost to “You'll Be in My Heart” by Phil Collins.
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Bee Movie, released in 2007, is supposedly a kids' movie in which a bee falls in love with a human florist. And - get this - the human florist breaks up with her long-term, human boyfriend for the bee (which really must have stung).
Jerry Seinfeld, who voices Barry B. Benson, later apologized for the film's “uncomfortable subtle sexual aspect… which really was not intentional.” He said:
[A]fter it came out, I realized, “This is really not appropriate for children.” Because the bee seems to have a thing for the girl. We don’t really want to pursue that as an idea in children’s entertainment.
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During the end credits of 1999's Toy Story 2, a fake blooper reel is shown featuring various clips of the characters farting, burping, and pulling pranks on Buzz Lightyear. Originally, one of these quick scenes showed Stinky Pete making implied sexual comments to two Barbie dolls.
“You know, I'm sure I can get you a part in Toy Story 3,” he says. He then grabs one of their hands before realizing he's on camera and quickly shooing them away.
Sometime after the Me Too movement, Disney wisely cut the scene from the film.
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With its crude humor and not-so-subtle innuendos, the Shrek universe was bound to ruffle a few feathers in foreign countries. But what might be shocking to some is that the joke that caused quite a bit of controversy in Israel was one that English-speaking audiences likely never heard.
In the original version of 2004's Shrek 2, Donkey suggests to Shrek that they give Puss in Boots “the Bob Barker treatment” (referring to the Price is Right host asking his audience to spay and neuter their pets). In the Hebrew-dubbed version, however, Donkey says, ”Let's do a David D'or on him."
D'Or, an Israeli singer known for his falsetto voice, claimed the film portrayed him as “a eunuch, a man with no testicles,” and that it tried to “turn [him] into a laughing stock.”
The film was removed from theaters, and the joke was edited out.
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Believe it or not, there are actually two historical period pieces featuring Jewish mice: the 1986 animated film An American Tail, which portrays a Russian-Jewish family immigrating to the United States in 1885, and the graphic novel, Maus, which metaphorically depicts the Holocaust with Jewish mice and Nazi cats.
Maus author Art Spiegelman believes director Steven Spielberg stole Spiegelman's idea while developing An American Tail. Spiegelman didn't sue Spielberg, however, because it would be nearly impossible to prove.
Spiegelman later called An American Tail and its sequel “cynical, nasty pieces of sh*t."
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Incredibles 2
The 2018 film Incredibles 2 was rated PG for “action sequences and some brief mild language,” but some parents claimed the “brief mild language” wasn't all that brief or mild.
The language in question? “Hell," "damn,” and, in one scene, Frozone says, “What the f…?” before being cut off. Gabriella Geisinger of The Express said of the unfinished phrase:
[F]or parents who have concerns about swear words around their children, they may want to cover their kids' ears.
The sequel also contained a scene with strobe lights that some worried could trigger epilepsy. Disney later asked theaters to warn customers about the potential risk.
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The Prince of Egypt is a beautifully animated adaptation of the Book of Exodus from 1998, which features quite possibly the whitest cast ever assembled, including Val Kilmer, Sandra Bullock, Patrick Stewart, Steve Martin, and Martin Short; however, the film's main controversy came not from the voice actors, but from the character Kilmer portrayed: Moses.
Several countries, including Malaysia, banned the film, likely for its depiction of the prophet Moses, which they considered offensive to Islam.
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