Ten (10) Cartoons Banned in other countries
26th of February 2022
1. Winnie the Pooh
Just when you thought that nothing could go wrong with a sweet character, China banned the bear on the internet for a ridiculous reason. It's been several years since the internet users started comparing the cartoon character to the Chinese President Xi Jinping. You can see here, the pictures of Winnie the Pooh and Tigger walking together being compared to the picture of Jinping and former President Barack Obama.
You can also see above, the president shaking hands with Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzo, and it's once again compared to Winnie and his friend Eeyore. These are not the only pictures as internet users keep having fun with this running gag, but it seems like it went too far as it became the most censored image in China in 2015.
2. The loud house
This cartoon is one of the most popular show on Nickelodeon, becoming a number-one children's animated series on television within its first month on the air. Unfortunately, in Kenya it will never have the chance to become popular because the cartoon has been banned.
The reason for this is that it's the first time we got a chance to see queer characters including the gay married couple on a Nickelodeon cartoon. They're not the only two men in love there are also Clyde's parents and an interracial couple.
Lincoln was right to say that it was time to make history right before opening the door. It was finally time that we saw some diversity in kids cartoons. unfortunately some countries weren't ready for that and they received many complaints from viewers.
Kenya's filming classification board suspended many children's programs accusing them of featuring disturbing content glorifying homosexual behaviour. They said that adults can choose to be homosexuals and exercise their rights on sexual orientation and relationships but not so with children.
3. Peppa pig
If you have a kid or a little sister at home, you probably have already watched Peppa Pig and don't be shy if you watched it on your own. Even if you are grown up we all love kids shows sometimes and they teach us good life lessons. Unfortunately, one of the episodes was inappropriate for Australian viewers this is why the country had to ban it.
In the 5 minute episode called spider's web, the family met a new character- a spider named Mr. Skinny legs. They took the time to get to know him and learn that they shouldn't be scared of spiders and that they should avoid disturbing his web.
If you can't still figure out what's wrong with this cartoon you probably don't know that many spiders are really dangerous in Australia. Some of the world's most venomous spiders live in the country this is why Australian children should never believe that spiders can be their friends and there are a lot of reasons why they should be scared of them.
When ABC heard about this they immediately apologized for running it and said they it has been restricted from being aired on the ABC television networks.
4. South Park
It's not a surprise to hear that South Park was banned in many countries, it's probably one of the most controversial cartoons in the world and we think that you shouldn't be watching it unless you're a grown-up who has a critical mind.
Many people think that the show went on a little too far and some of the most shocking episodes were 200 and 201. For the 200th episode of South Park, the creator's decided to push the limits by depicting the Prophet Mohammed. It set off controversy across the globe as it was obviously an offense to Muslims even those who don't have religious beliefs were shocked to hear the cartoon would dare to do that.
The show have been running in India for less than a year and it was abruptly taken off the air. Indian viewers didn't even have time to see the 200th episode and it was already too much for them. Russia also tried to ban the cartoon to replace it with program teaching children to be patriotic.
If you think that these countries are too close-minded you'll be surprised to hear that the US has a ban on part of the show too. Comedy Central censured Mohammed by placing black bars over the characters and cutting his lines. The show was then pulled out from the air and it was not possible see the episode on the website or in repeats.
5. Sailor moon
We love to see powerful female characters become heroes in one of our favorite anime however viewers around the world were not shocked by the fights but by the love between some of the characters in the original anime Sailor Neptune and Sailor Uranus or two women who fell in love with each other. Even though Japanese viewers had the chance to see the two characters dating, their relationship was banned in many countries including America as they couldn't just get rid of these two characters.
They had to rewrite a new story instead. In the United States they transformed Neptune and Uranus into cousins.
It is strange to think that family members flirting with each other was more appropriate for Americans than to women in love. They were not the only characters who had to pretend that love is only between a man and a woman.
Zozi was changed into a woman to explain why he was dating another male villain in the first season there was also a whole season that Americans did not get a chance to see because it featured characters who changed gender when they transformed.
So this time Japanese viewers were the ones who thought that America was the other country that banned homosexuality and their anime.
6. The Simpsons
It's no surprise that our favorite Homer Simpson did something shocking once again but for what reason could he be banned from a country?
Well, most of the characters in the Simpsons cartoon are yellow as Matt Groening the creator of The Simpsons simply love the idea that whenever someone was flipping their channels they would automatically know that they're watching their favorite cartoon as many of them saw the yellow bodies. This is probably one of the reasons it's the longest running American sitcom after more than 600 episodes.
The cartoon is still really popular but not in Myanmar. The movie was banned because of political reasons but this was not for the reasons that you might think as the story or the topics had nothing to do with politics.
The juxtaposition was that the colors red and yellow were not allowed in the film at the time because these color were used in support of rebel groups within the nation.
As Lisa and Bart could have yellow skin and wear clothes that could look orange or red, Myanmar saw the movie as a threat. We know that it was not the intention of the American creators but the country was a little more superstitious at that time.
7. Steven universe
Steven universe is another victim of the van of Kenya after the country claimed that some cartoons were glorifying homosexual behavior. Matua the chief executive office of the television regulation said that his institution received complaints about the shows. He even thought that those who did not complain were just aware of the progressive and bizarre messages intended to promote gay agenda.
Steven universe has been known for being one of the greatest career shows on TV unfortunately some countries including the United States and the UK thought it was not appropriate for young children this is why the show has been marked with a PG rating and some scenes were edited.
People were so shocked to see Ruby kissing sapphire that they started a petition online- they asked Cartoon Network to censor previous episodes and exclude LGBT themes in future episodes but then fans started to get another petition as encouraging cartoon network to stop censoring queer content in Steven universe.
8. Family Guy
We know that this family is really controversial but we do want to know what they did to deserve to be banned from a country. It's not surprising that some people thought the Family Guy was inappropriate but it is shocking to know that it was banned in Russia, Malaysia India, Venezuela, South Korea, South Africa, The Philippines, Taiwan, Egypt, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Iran.
Let's not forget at least a dozen episodes that have been banned all around the world including the United States. Not a lot of the cartoons say that they are one of the most controversial animated series in the world and if you think that these countries are close-minded don't forget that the United States didn't always appreciate the show either.
Fox decided not to air an episode of Family Guy because it included too many sensitive topics. This is when creator of the show Seth MacFarlane decided to speak out about censorship in that the people in America are becoming less intelligent, they're getting less and less able to analyze and think critically and pick apart the underlying elements, and more and more ready to make a snap judgment regarding something at face value which is too bad.
9. Pokemon
This anime wanted to be the very best like no other animated series ever, but unfortunately failed in the worst way.
In December 1997 when Japanese kids sat down to watch episode "Dennō Senshi Porygon" of their favorite anime, almost 700 never saw the end as more than 600 children had to go to the hospital and more than 100 of them were still hospitalized the day after.
Many of them experienced seizures when Pikachu used his lightning power to blow up some missiles. Some of them also passed out, experience blurred vision or felt nauseous.
About 1 in 4,000 people can suffer from photosensitive seizures. With 4 million people watching the show in Japan, we understand why they would be affected.
To create a special effect in the virtual world the animators used a rapidly strobing technique that flashed red and blue lights on the screen. Unfortunately, it was too late. When they realized their mistake, the episode was banned from airing again even in edited form all around the world. But Japan went further than that, the show was taken off the air for four months and Nintendo was negatively affected.
10. Spongebob Squarepants
Our favorite cartoon character might live in a pineapple under the sea but he doesn't live anywhere near Ukraine or China.
China had a good reason to ban the animated series in 2006- the country decided to prevent foreign cartoons from being screened during the golden hours from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. This is because they wanted kids to get the chance to watch animated series created by Chinese artists and encouraged their own cartoon industry.
The reason why the Ukrainian group wanted to ban the cartoon was much more ridiculous. Once again they thought that SpongeBob SquarePants promoted homosexuality, they thought that this show is part of a master plan, a large scale experiment on Ukrainian children to create criminals. If you don't know what they're talking about you're not the only one. Some think that it has something to do with the fact that Sponge Bob is popular with the gay Community. However, the creator said that the character was asexual so people clearly loved his personality.
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I never knew all this cartoon where ban in some countries, and I was surprise of spongebob the most, well I understand chine reason tho, but the other one... I don't get