United Arab Emirates Bans Pixar’s new Buzz Lightyear Movie for This Reason

While many kids are exciting for the new Pixar movie about Buzz Lightyear, children in the United Arab Emirates won’t be thrilled about it being banned in the country.

The United Arab Emirates’ Media Regulatory Office announced this week that it would ban Disney Pixar’s “Lightyear” based on what it said was “violation of the country’s media content standards.”

The ban comes despite an announcement last year that the country would no longer censor films.

The movie “Lightyear” hits theaters this week and is expected to draw enthusiastic “Toy Story” fans from a number of countries around the world.
The UAE’s Media Regulatory Office announced Monday it would ban the movie’s release, based on what it said was “violation of the country’s media content standards,” the office wrote in a tweet.

The feature film was scheduled for release in UAE theaters on Thursday.

The government body didn’t specify in its tweet which part of “Lightyear” violated its content standards, but Executive Director Rashid Khalfan Al Nuaimi told Reuters it was based on the the inclusion of homosexual characters.

The movie features a same-sex relationship and a brief kiss.

The decision received mixed reactions online, with some Twitter users praising the move.

“Thank you so much for saving our children,” one user, whose bio contained UAE flags, said in response to the tweet.

Others criticized the ban, with one user writing, “A country still living in the 1300s.”

The film also won’t be playing in Malaysia, according to a tweet by the country’s major movie theater chain GSC, which posted a photo of Pixar’s Buzz Lightyear character and the words, “No beyond” — a reference to the character’s catchphrase, “to infinity and beyond.”

Disclaimer: We have no position in any of the companies mentioned and have not been compensated for this article.