In the original scene fromSaludos Amigos,Goofytakes a long puff on a cigarette and blows a few rings. However, in the Disney+ version of the movie, the cigarette is removed and the character just sits their blinking as the narrator speaks. This isn’t the first time that the scene has been edited. The original DVD release also took the scene out, but Disney put it back in for the Blu-ray release. But, here’s where things get a little weirder.
Later on in theDisney+version ofSaludos Amigos, Jose Carioca, the Brazilian parrot, can be seen taking a rather large puff from a cigar, which was ignited by Donald Duck’s mysterious spicy drink. Why is it okay to have the parrot smoke, but not the dog? It just seems like a weird decision, or maybe even a mistake, though they could be arguing that smoking cigars isn’t as bad for consumption as cigarettes.Pinocchiostill has the cigarette scenes in place because it depicts smoking as something bad. Goofy clearly makes it look like he was magically whisked away to flavor country.
While the smoking has been kind of taken out of Disney+, there are other “outdated cultural depictions” in their movies which are left in. For instance, 1941’sDumbocontains a scene of a group of cigar-smoking crows, with their leader named Jim Crow, which is a direct reference to the segregation laws of the South. 1953’sPeter Panhas the song “What Made The Red Man Red” and has been criticized of it portrayal of Native Americans. 1955’sLady and the Trampfeatures two Siamese cats singing “The Siamese Cat Song” in stereotypical Asian voices.
While the “outdated cultural depictions” are often racist, they are left in. Smoking is obviously not good for anyone and leads to death. Walt Disney was a hard smoker and the studio has since gone back to even editcigarettesout of his hand in certain images. When it comes down to it, editing out the cigarette really isn’t that big of a deal, butSaludos Amigosshould not be touted as uncut byDisney+. Maybe the studio can come up with a function that lets the viewer decide what they would like to see or have their children see. You can check out the edited scene below, thanks toGizmodo.
