Pixar’s animated flick Lightyear was slated for cinematic release on June 15 in Indonesia, but there is a conspicuous dearth of promotion for the movie as it faces bans in other countries over LGBTQ+ representation.
An exclusive by Reuters reported that Disney, which owns Pixar, failed to obtain permission to screen Lightyear in 14 Middle Eastern and Asian countries. The UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Malaysia have already moved to ban the film, which depicts a same-sex couple sharing a brief kiss, due to violations to their respective media content standards.
Among those 14 countries, according to a Lightyear producer, is Indonesia. Reuters said it has yet to obtain comments from Indonesian officials to explain the ban.
Cinema XXI and CGV Cinemas, Indonesia’s two largest cinema chains, have not included Lightyear in their official website’s upcoming movies listings. Coconuts can confirm that physical promotional posters for the movie were previously put up in XXI’s cinemas.
Google had marked the movie for a June 15 release in Indonesia, which has remained unchanged as of this article’s publication.
Coconuts has reached out to XXI and CGV for confirmation.
Lightyear, a prequel to the timeless animated classic Toy Story, stars Chris Evans as the legendary space ranger Buzz Lightyear. In the movie, Buzz’s close friend is a female space ranger who marries another woman, and they reportedly kiss in one scene.
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