After 60 Years, ‘Mary Poppins’ Gets New Rating Over ‘Discriminatory Language’

For 60 years, Mary Poppins (1964) starring Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke has been a beloved Disney classic. When it was released in 1964, it was a huge economic and technological success for Walt Disney Studios and has only become more popular in the decades since.

It was a groundbreaking film. It was the culmination of Walt Disney’s work to combine live-action actors with cartoon scenes. It all came together with the classic scene with Dick Van Dyke dancing with penguins.

So, for the last 60 years, Mary Poppins has been beloved by generations of young people without any problems. It even sparked a sequel, Mary Poppins Returns (2018), starring Emily Blunt and Lin Manuel Miranda.

But now, people are going back to re-examine Mary Poppins along with many other early Disney classics and finding that its use of ‘derogatory language’ requires an age rating change for the film.

The British Board of Film Classification has given the film a new age rating from U for Universal, which is the American equivalent of G, to PG because of its use of ‘discriminatory language.’

Related: As Disney Finds Itself In the Middle of the Culture Wars, It Receives A Fresh Round of Criticism For Trigger Warnings on Classic Films

According to the BBC, there was a term used to refer to Van Dyke and the other soot-covered chimney sweeps. The ‘degogatory term’ was originally used by Europeans to refer to nomadic peoples in South Africa.

This isn’t the first time a Disney Studio film requires a change in rating or warning. Disney Plus has issued trigger warnings before Disney Animation Studios’ classics Peter Pan (1953), Dumbo (1941), The Aristocats (1970), and The Jungle Book (1967). 

Disney has also tried to erase its complicated history with Song of the South (1946). Disney World and Disneyland have removed the Song of the South-themed Splash Mountain from their parks and replaced it with Tiana’s Bayou Adventure.

Related: Disney Would Very Much Like You To Forget That ‘Song of the South’ Ever Existed

However, Mary Poppins has never had a trigger warning or a change in ratings in America. It is still available on Disney Plus and carries a G rating. Most American audiences wouldn’t understand the discriminatory language the British claim the film used.

Mary Poppins is one of Walt Disney Studios’ most decorated films. It was nominated for 13 Academy Awards, the most ever for a Disney Studios film. It won five Oscars, including Best Actress for Julie Andrews, Best Visual Effects, and Best Original Song for “Chim, Chim, Cheree.”

When it was released, Mary Poppins made $44 million, making it the highest-grossing film of 1964; the year also saw the release of My Fair Lady and the Beatles’ A Hard Day’s Night.

What do you think of the rating changes for Mary Poppins? Let us know in the comments.