One of my dear friends growing up was born with three toes on one foot. He called it his “Lucky Fin” after Finding Nemo, because it’s what made his birth parents in China give him up for adoption and how he came to America to live with his now-family. His Lucky Fin saved his life and gave him a loving family as well as so many more opportunities. Finding Nemo had a huge, positive impact on him when he was younger. It makes me sad that people use limb differences in such a hurtful way, especially when I think of my friend and other people I’ve known with limb differences.
I love how Jo corrects “Charlie wonka and the chocolate factory” to “Willy wonka and the chocolate factory” but the book is called “Charlie and the chocolate factory” 😂😂 Great video btw
As someone with a limb difference, I just really wanted to say thank you.People sometimes scream when they see my hand, or make a remark about how creepy it is. I hate that this movie is going to make people even more afraid of differences. This was definitely something that needed to be said. Thank you ❤
yeah, really cracked me up. Jo's videos are always a bit of sunshine in my life, no matter whether they're serious or light-hearted.. they're always very human
This sounds like a very similar issue that split had with making the villain have DID. It created a belief that people with DID are only evil and only scary.
Okay i have osdd 1-b and i watched that and i texted my friend the entire movie ranting i had to pause so much like WE ARENT EVIL OR SUPERHEROS WERE HUMANS gosh they really needa stop with that
It hurts so much. Whenever i tell someone i have DID/OSDD im so terrified that their gonna research it and find split as a resource and think im crazy so i am totally on board with boycotting this movie
Kids are impressionable, imaginative, and DO pick up on these things so, it's very naive for people to say "Oh, it's just a movie it's not serious". The only physical thing about me that stands out is my large nose and pointy chin. But, even something as insignificant as that got me bullied so much as a child, specifically with people calling me a witch. This movie is truly disappointing, at the very least.
Kids really do absorb this stuff. When I was a child, one of the Austin Powers films came out with a character who has a noticable mole, which all the other characters make jokes about. I have a noticable mole and I was bullied by kids referencing the film to the point that my loving, body-positive mother asked if I wanted to have it removed. I said no, because the idea of altering my face was worse than the bullying, but I was having to make that decision as a CHILD. And that was just a mole! I can't even imagine the impact this will have on children with limb differences.
I’ve had a fake eye since I was 10 and it has always been a big peeve of mine when I see one eyed characters in books and movies who are evil. Thanks for making a video about this! I highly recommend the book series The Ables by Jeremy Scott to any teenager or young adult with ANY sort of disability! Can’t wait for the day they make his books into movies.
Thor in the series Nurse Jackie has 1 eye because of diabetes. The actor in real life has it. They don't make a big deal of it but I remember an episode on it. He was a good guy
That's one of my biggest issues with Pirates Of The Caribbean. That in every single movie the dude with a fake eye is made fun of and characterized as stupid. I understand they need comedy release but at the cost of people with disabilities confidence is not ok. Also the mute man with the parrot. Also not ok. And Davie Jhones hhaving a peg leg is not good either for people with a limb difference!
I have to admit, *MY* first reaction to the controversy was "its just a film" and i can say now that I took time to look into it and especially finding this video, that I was 100% wrong and I am sorry. I say especially this video because many of the people speaking out simply *SEEMED* to say (important because these words were never actually spoken) "you dont have it so you cant understand so you cant have an opinion, you're just wrong" or "we exist and we arent scary". Which are both very valid but never really seemed to explain the emotional impact and the fear of what it is teaching other children. Your video brought that to light and brought about the "ohhhh" moment that I needed to have. Thank you. *Also*, when everything clicked my first thought was "ohhh, its just like how displaying mental illness in an evil light in a movie is so frustrating, like Split with DID and everything that depicts those with schizophrenia as murders!" Im sad that I advocate strongly about not displaying THOSE disabilities as evil simply because as a suffer of mental illness i relate, and I failed to recognize the same problem with a physical disability as this. I know it doesnt matter, that this is just a comment on youtube, but i still feel like i should say im sorry to those that this film hurt and im sorry people like me failed to recognize why it would affect you and thus we discredited you. I understand now and I am sorry.
I'm always here to see people who are willing to grow. I admittedly didn't think about it, myself, but I hope I'll notice if I see this sort of thing in the future. I'm glad to hear you were able to grow! You're an awesome person.
I posted about this on Facebook, saying how to include disabled people’s input and to hire disabled actors, and someone commented in a super condescending way saying that maybe there just aren’t good enough disabled actors out there. Right. Because that’s the issue...
They're not there if you're not looking 🤷 Maybe if the film industry actually tried (and disabled actors weren't discouraged from the start because they don't get hired) we'd see more of them
@@twilafreek25 Hollywood has pushed disabled people out for so long, a lot of people wouldn’t know that they were “allowed” or even had a chance at auditions. It’s gotta be advertised if that makes sense
@The Glittery Nurse i could MAYBE see this working if they went with the lovable villain route. disney used to be so good at this with characters like yzma, ursula, etc. but they've really rolled it back in the past 20 years (lindsay ellis has a great video on this) since they're basically frozen with fear over not being "woke" enough, but theyre either not self aware enough to realize that they could just hire good writers that make satire or too money hungry to take a chance on an interesting story. considering that they were willing to release this during quarantine, my guess is the former: the 2020 equivalent of those direct to vhs sequels they used to pump out.
I really like how you brought in other people to share their experiences. Definitely a bummer that only evil characters are the ones who look different.
Oh no, I loved the old version of this movie and I was excited to find out about the remake- it hurts my heart that something I value so highly has caused so much damage. My heart goes out to everyone affected. All hands are beautiful (and impossible to draw!) ❤️
This is buck wild. I can’t believe that ANYONE thought this was a not-terrible idea. In the UK we have a news/comedy show called The Last Leg where one of the main presenters has a hand based limb difference and he was the first person I thought of. He is an incredibly funny and kind person and I hope he and others are not negatively impacted by this. Roald Dahl’s stories should not be tarnished by this terrible terrible choice.
I mean, ET: Extra-Terrestrial was a major movie in my childhood and when I was little I saw people with limb differences and thought of ET...which isn't the best but at least ET is a friend...an Alien yes...but more so to me as a child I saw him as a friend with differences. We have somehow gone backward from ET since 1982...
@@EmmaBGames Ok. It just sounded like you may have thought that. Certainly videos like this here seem to be on the page of people who might think that.
I’m literally reading this book to some kids I work with “blue spit”, “cat like fingers”, “bald” and “square feet” are the descriptions given. The whole point of the description of witches is that they look like regular women and that you need to observe everyday occurrences as “a sign”. The movie changes seem completely unnecessary... Also the grand high witch has a scene where she takes her face off, they could have portrayed that instead of the limb difference.....
Right!?! Like, it’s a multimillion dollar blockbuster with *hundreds* of people involved in its creation. Not a single one though, “hey, wait a second...”
Yeah, how many people did the design have to go through and not one person was like hey real people have this disability maybe make it look more unrealistic.
I want to thank you for pointing things like this out...it's not good, and again Hollywood took things the wrong way. Disabilities and differences are just that...different, not things to be feared or villianized. People also need to know that just because they dont see a disability, or because of someone's age, doesnt make it not exist... I have a BKA and nerve damage to my other leg so I wear a plastic AFO brace. I have difficulties with walking distances because of this. So in stores I use one of the power carts. In summer I get the odd glare as I'm seen as too young to require such...but in the winter when I'm wearing pants and not shorts, the glares and snide comments are unbelievable. On friday I went to the grocery store with my roommate, it was getting so bad that she was even uncomfortable. I finally rolled up my pant legs and a few people shut up. I've also had people yell at me that I shouldn't be in handicap parking because I'm young...my answer now is, "I would gladly exchange my disabilities and my parking pass for the wonderful pleasure and ability to walk further...any time." Usually stops people in the spot. We got to stick up for one another and do all we can to promote that disabilities are just differences!!!!🙂
A really nice example of a good portrayal is Mat Fraser in His Dark Materials. He is an actor with a limb difference most people might know from American Horror Story. In His Dark Materials, his character is just a member of a group, but there's no fuss made about his disability, it's not the most important thing about his character.
This makes me so sad And this is so common, after I was diagnosed with Crohns/Ulcerative colitis and got a stoma bag I've noticed it so much more that there are so many movies and shows that harm people and ostomies and diseases of the digestive tract tend to be a HUGE butt of a joke in film.
I noticed this as well. You never hear of stoma bags unless it’s a horror story which is just very very sad. I’m happy to share though that I recently saw a tv show featuring Elise Sørensen and there was nothing but positivity in it, so it can be done!
@@benten2462 I should try and find that! It would be so nice to see. And just how the hand difference can hurt children and adult confidence it's the same with stoma bags :( I know of so many little ones that have bags and I just hope society will become more accepting. I got a bag at 15 so pretty young, had it for 5 years now, its permanent and happened through emergency surgery but I'm so happy to have it since I literally got a new chance of life.
@@blairberry6257 my mum has been given the option of an ileostomy bag, which would help her medical conditions and pain levels greatly. Doctors have been suggesting it to her years, but she absolutely refuses because of the stigma involved. It's a real shame that she can't see past that, as everyone I've encountered who has a stoma has been overwhelmingly positive about the positive effect it has had on their quality of life. It's especially disappointing because she was a nurse for many years. I'm glad that yours has had such a positive impact on your life.
When I was a child I had a server speech impediment. This was back in the looney tunes days. I remember the embarrassment when kids would laugh comparing me to Porky Pig, who also had a stutter that was meant to be funny. Yes, this movie making kids uncomfortable is wrong, they have the ability using computers to fix it. And they should.
I'm so sorry you went through that :( My son has a stutter - now much improved with speech therapy, thankfully - and I know how much being scared, anxious or upset just exacerbates the speech difficulty. People need to raise their kids with more awareness and compassion.
I had a sever stutter as a child, and still have it when I speak Spanish--Weird as it is since Spanish is my first language but I am more fluent in English as an adult. I mostly grew out of it but I was made fun of a lot, even by my siblings when I was a kid. Even as an adult if I get severely anxious and stutter I have been mocked, I think by people that are not aware I have a stutter because I don't do it as often as I use to don't realize how hurtful it is.
@@snoopygonewilder my son's own father used to mock and berate my little boy for his speech difficulties when he was only 2 and 3 years old, still learning to speak. It definitely caused his stutter to worsen dramatically. Thankfully, his "father" is no longer part of our lives, and my son's speech issues improved very quickly once he was gone. Speech therapy helped a lot too of course, but removing the negativity was crucial. The perplexing part is that my son's "father" also stuttered badly as a child, which I know affected his confidence, yet he couldn't find compassion when his son had the same struggles.
@@EmEm78 I lived with my mother, since my dad lives in another country, and my dad is honestly too sweet to be mean to people. But my mom who raised me,, she never made fun of me for it, but I think she was frustrated. I have ADHD, and as a small child I was a hurricane of energy and my stutter was soooo bad. She used to say that thing that everyone with a stutter hates to hear, and I'm sure she meant well, but it really bothered me. "Stop, and think." Or "Think before you speak." I WAS thinking, that was never the problem. I was fully aware what words I wanted to say, and I knew how to say them, so thinking was not an issue, but I just don't think she knew how to help me.
One thing I think they could've done to help balance out the decision they made (definitely not agreeing with it though,) is the good witch seen at the end of the 1990 movie (if I remember correctly,) could have had the same limb difference as the high witch, this would show that not all witches are bad, and by association, not all people with limb differences are bad either
Oh no! They also took that out? I did like that there was one witch who was also ‘ugly’ and bald but was redeemed and shown to be capable of good in the end.
I can’t understand why directors and screen writes keep linking real life disability’s to evil characters, it never ends well that’s been proven multiple time’s.
I relate to this so much as someone with epilepsy every time I see a movie that has people who are possessed and basically having seizures and that being the proof that they are possessed. Especially because that used to be what people actually thought about people who had seizures. Not to mention how poorly it is represented even in non horror films. People tend to think there's only one type of seizure and they're always really scary because that's all that's ever portrayed in media. My disability does not make me a monster and its not something to be feared.
Amazing video as always. I am not someone with a limb difference but I do have ASD, ADHD and GAD. So I am part of this community just not this section of it (idk if that makes sense). I really thought with how far the world had come with disability and acceptance this stuff wouldn’t happen. I really hope the producers and people in the future do better.
It’s really unfortunate and infuriating that the production team spawned their idea off of a disability - particularly in media for children. I think about how many people this had to go through and no one to questioned it. These teams, and media production in general, needs to diversify.
I remember a boy in my primary school had one hand with only 3 fingers and I didn’t even notice until a year after being at school with him because I just never really looked at peoples hands and he often had his jumper over it to hide it because I’m not sure wether he was ashamed of it or scared of being bullied but I’m sure if there was better representation out there about it he might not have been as afraid to show his hand
For the 3% reading this, l hope you become successful in everything you dream of and accomplish more than you had imagined. My dream is to become a successful Artlst!! ❤️
Thanks my dream is to become an actress and I wish you all the best as well I hope all your dreams come true thank you so much for spreading love and positivity 💕
This almost seems to be very lazy on the part of the producers.. The producers of the original movie did it right and did a better and very solid adaption. To change to a darker tone on this new movie and include a known genetic disability as being frightening is a odd choice. It wasn't necessary and it was lazy. It was rather like the creators saw a picture and said 'Wow, that's a scary hand. Let's do this." I agree that they likely were not trying to be offensive but OMG it's stupid and lazy.
Thank you for educating me. I am someone with no limb difference, and was unable to understand that there was an issue. Its so heartbreaking the impact that this can have. I didnt realise how nieve I was to this subject
I watched the original movie, not this new one and I would look out for "witches", so I can 100% how this movie is damaging, especially for those with limb differences :(
Representation is so important. Both for the people that need to be represented and those who need to understand those people and their experiences. I'm truly dissatisfied that in the year 2020 we haven't come far enough that no one during the process of making this film stopped and thought "hey, maybe this is a hurtful choice"
So glad to see that we are having this conversation! I’m glad that you decided to view the film and form your own opinion to share with us. Voices like yours are so important as someone actually living with a limb difference. As a disabled vlogger myself, I know I always make sure to turn to my friends, in these situations, who share that disability to get their input. I think that things need to be taken on a case by case basis, and this was WHOLLY unnecessary and done to purposely set the character apart in a very negative and scary way. Thanks for talking about this Jo! And thanks for using your platform to bring in all of these other lovely souls and raise their voices up! You guys rock! Such a darn shame, I hope this film and conversation can serve to help this community 💕
The book was called "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" after the name of the boy in the book. For some reason the movies went by the title "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory". Emphasizing the name of the eccentric factory owner instead of the name of the boy. What little I saw of the Witches movie from your video it certainly doesn't seem like a children's movie to me.
Roald Dahl didn't like the screenplay of the 1970s movie, so they changed the name of the movie to Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory from the original book title, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. He'd died before the Tim Burton movie came out so we'll never know if he'd have liked the Wonka back story they added.
Thank you for discussing this topic. I'd heard something about this, but admittedly, I didn't understand the controversy or exactly what a limb difference meant without context. I truly appreciate seeing a group of creators, including one I'm already familiar with and respect, fill me in on something I'm absolutely oblivious to, all while showing compassion and giving so many honest takes. You're the best, Jo!
Thank You for making this video, when I first heard of this I was so confused on the controversy. I never read the book, & every fb post was not descriptive on why people are upset & the comments are all just arguments. This video was the only descriptive information source I've come across!
When I was younger my family took vacation in California. Wed landed at LAX and went to Denny's right after. There was a man with a hook hand and my gosh I was terrified. He was just ordering food and talking with who he was with but I was scared and I hated that I couldn't reason in my head that he wasn't dangerous. It took me a long time to feel comfortable with seeing prosthetics in person because my head couldn't wrap around someone using something other than their body to travel
The Warner Brothers apology is pathetic. They can't even detract from the issue with "fictional" character points, bc number one, we are dealing with CHILDREN- who legit believe in fairy tales, etc. And number two, witches are in history, media and current all HUMAN, not extraterrestrial and bizarre figures... like... excusing it with "fictional characters" just shows a HUGE lack of awareness, and they ought to be revisiting their statement. Asap.
@@jennagrace1534 yup, it happens in the film, but completely differently (or at least an attempt at it - and it wasn't followed up the way it was in the book) in the book it's lost in the process of putting the potion in the soup
I don’t have a limb difference, but I do have the lived experience of growing up with others calling me a witch and being disgusted with my hands for a different reason. And My heart breaks for the risk of other kids going though that. Representation matters so much.
@BoobaDoo Except it *is* a society-wide, ubiquitous issue. Ableism happens everywhere, every day, to millions of real people, and it affects people for their entire lives. Job availability, education opportunities, et cetera... It's not just bullying. It's a problem with the structure of our society and it needs fixing badly.
@BoobaDoo Wow, you really make it clear you aren't familiar with this problem. Please do some research before continuing to dismiss it as "just bullying." You're embarrassing yourself.
@BoobaDoo If you wanna defend ableism so badly, then go do it somewhere else, buddy. You really don't seem very aware of your surroundings. Nobody here is going to listen to you whine about other people needing to toughen up so you can be as shit of a person as you want.
I was born with three fingers on my left hand. Although this film didn’t offend me personally, I can definitely see how this can offend others with limb differences, especially children, and that’s so distressing to see. It’s absolutely amazing that Anne Hathaway herself mentioned The Lucky Fin Project, a non-profit organization that helps people recognize what limb differences are as well as connecting others with limb differences together. “Finding Nemo” was one of the first movies I related to as a kid due to the great representation of limb differences. Another Pixar film I’d like to mention is “Luca”. The father only has one arm and even said that he was born that way. It was only mentioned once in the film and that’s important to me because it demonstrates that he is capable of doing everything else other people can, like cooking and fishing. Like you said, the heartfelt apology from Warner Bros. and Hathaway is a great start to change on how limb differences are okay!👍
I really loved this story as a kid, and most of Roald Dahl's books, and was really excited to see such a high profile movie with actors who's work I love. I had no idea about the limb difference representation because it wasn't shown in any of the trailers, and I'm so disappointed about how this was handled and depicted.
Warner Brother's has gotten itself into a bit of a pickle recently! Between that non-apology and the stuff with Johnny Depp as well! They really aren't doing themselves any favours! :(
So all the witches had that limb difference? I though it was just Anne Hathaways witch. I feel like that’s way different, because it’s like that’s what makes them a witch as opposed to just the one character. I also thought that’s what the original character had. Definitely feel differently about this.
umm, oh my goodness...Who made this decision and why did everyone involved okay this!?! Anne Hathaway, I love you, but...wow... Why didn't they just make them actual Cat Paws and Claws and stuff? I just don't get the idea behind this decision at all.
Anne has actually apologised for her choice to be in the movie and supported the #notawitch movement. Not excusing what she did, but she seems to have come to understand its impact.
I was thinking the exact same thing watching the clip - why didn't they literally give something like non-furry paws (in place of palms) and then big claws (in place of fingers and nails). Originally when I heard about this, I was thinking that in the book they had "different hands" so it makes sense that they have different hands in the movie, but I haven't read the book in probs like 25 years (and I was legit terrified of that movie, so if I managed to finish it once, that would have been it!) but obviously after Jo pointed out that is was "cat-like" in the books, this change it genuinely terrible! It is the sort of rookie mistake you would expect from a small budget film of inexperienced crew, but not a film of this scale - they definitely had the resources to have researched this sufficiently to ensure that they weren't making a massive f**k up!
so many times in movies etc theres evil character with "weird" eyes, and someone born with a syndrome where i was relentlessly builed for it, it hurts so much to be demonized my whole life. i can empathise with people who have rare syndromed or are born looking differently, i know how it is.
I would like to give you a good example of representing limb it difference as not a bad or scary thing but as an ok and brave way to represent limb difference. In the first doctor strange, doctors strange was doing a training but his hands were all shaky and beat up and he said I can’t do it because of my hands it’s not gonna work but one of the trainers that was a really good trainer showed him that he had no arm, but was one of the best trainers there, and the other trailer beside him said see if he can do it with no arm then you can do it with both that right there is a good example of how to represent limb difference/amputation as a good positive thing rather then a negative.😊
It is easy to say it’s no big deal when you never have to deal with the look of terror in a child’s eyes when they see you. It is also easy to have unintended consequences if you don’t have to deal with particular issue.
Thank you for talking about this! I really wanted to see the movie, but now I don’t think I will. It’s horrible what they did! Children are very impressionable and if they see an evil character every detail about that character is going to be scary. Btw I love Cakes 🐱
I can see a small child seeing this movie, and being piss their pants scared of the witches, and then associate anybody they see that reminds them of that scary memory, and they might be afraid of real people with hands that look like the scary lady witch that haunts their nightmares!!! And people with limb differences don't get any representation in media hardly at all, so when the only representation is a big scary evil nightmare witch.... That's a problem. People talk about stuff like this not just because people are whiny or sensitive, but because it hurts people. It hurts people behind closed doors. And just because you don't think of that scenario because it's not something you struggle with, doesn't mean it doesn't affect people that do struggle with it.
I noticed this same thing with the family that lived in the swamp in "The Princess and the Frog"... They gave one of the characters (unfortunately named "Two Fingers") a limb difference basically just as a prop, and nobody said anything about it at the time. He wasn't a totally evil character, but he was definitely supposed to be a "bad guy" and also sort of dumb and goofy and stuff. I was pretty shocked there was no discussion of it at all that I could ever find.
I think Anne Hathaway's apology sounded genuine, but the studio... the whole thing sounded more like a defense of their decision. It was basically a narcissist's apology of "I'm sorry you feel that way," and not a healthy apology of, "I'm sorry I hurt you and I promise to do better moving forward." Like their whole statement could be paraphrased saying, "These witches aren't even human so they don't even represent you. Just look at all the positives of the movie and enjoy it because we worked hard on it, dangit!"
There is quite a lot of overlap between anti-semitic tropes and features of witches. But I wouldn't personally say that makes the story anti-semitic. The way I see it is the anti-semitic tropes are trying to portray Jews evil by applying certain characteristics e.g. stealing children, hoarding money, infiltrating and controlling society). But these features, while still pervasive in society, don't actually reflect Jewish people in ANY way. So when they're applied to witches, I think they're saying "this witch has these features which make them evil", not "these features make witches like Jews so witches must be evil". I mean, it's still not great that there's so much overlap between "witch features" and anti-semitic stereotypes, but I do think there's a distinction to be made. I see it as far less harmful than the limb difference being portrayed as a feature of evil because the limb difference actually does exist, while the Jewish tropes don't have a basis in reality. Apologies for the slightly rambly comment, but hopefully I got my point across! Disclaimer: before anyone who disagrees with my opinion calls me anti-semitic, please note that I am Jewish and entitled to an opinion. But do feel free to disagree.
Please excuse my obliviousness, but how was the book anti-Semitic in the depiction of the witches. I didn't notice, but I can be pretty oblivious sometimes.
@@TessaAvonlea the witch features are antisemitic caricature features. antisemitism and portrayals of villainous characters in western fiction and folklore are often inseperable. people are still making characters that are unintentionally antisemitic because the way that europeans and westerners conceptualise evil people is shaped by millenia of antisemitic racism.
@@TessaAvonlea Just to add on to what M C posted, Roald Dahl's family just had to apologise this week for his virulent anti-Semitism, so I would hazard a guess that he was intentional with his stereotyping.
Yeah, so we should stop telling kids Snow White because there is a female character who is everything but feminist and is taken by 7 dwarfs to be an housewife
People also can pick up misinformation from movie and give them a false perception of topics covered. Because DID is only ever depicted with characters who are violent murders, people are uneasy and suspicious around traumatized systems who need support not rejection
This is a great discussion and I especially agree with the point Shannon made about the difference between representation in The Witches vs. Finding Nemo-I have an arm injury that is similar to Nemo’s lucky fin and the validation I received from that movie as a kid was so important to me and my confidence. I’m disappointed that The Witches is portraying limb differences as something scary and evil.
I can't imagine how horrible it would feel for a child with this limb difference to be aware of the way this version of the movie portrays the witches. It was bad enough in the original book that you could distinguish witches because they were bald & toeless, which is problematic for people who've lost their hair or toes, or were born without hair or toes. The blue spit characteristic was pretty good -- I'm not aware that there are real people with blue spit who get othered. Stick with the blue spit! Rereading The Witches as an adult, I have more sympathy for the witches than I did as a child. I can totally understand not wanting to be around creatures who smell like fresh dog feces. Maybe I should rewrite the book... I just remembered -- in the original book, the boy's GRANDMA (one of the story's heroes) actually HAS a limb difference -- she's missing a thumb!
I really don't understand why they chose to do this in the movie. They really should have just stuck with the Catlike hands and upped the face effects. Seems like a lot of ignorance. Anne's apology seemed honest. Warner Brother's sounded....fake.
Even if they are classics, this is pretty much my feelings towards villains like Jason Voorhes and many other horror villains as I am born with a cleft lip and palate. Rarely does the hero have any birth anomalies as in 99% when a character has a birth “defect” they are the bad guys. Might also just for fun add that the Christianity is one of very few that view witches as evil. The old norse version the völva was actually highly respected as she could help you both with seeing the tapestry of fate and also use their magic called seid to help all from deceases to everyday problems. And yes they had war magic to.
I think kids should automatically watch X-Men Evolution after watching that movie. Nightcrawler is a character with that same limb difference and he struggles not only with how he looks but also with that limb difference. Sure he’s more known for being a mutant who teleports that looks like a blue demon, but it could turn it on its head because he is one of the most lovable characters ever. Thankfully, Nightcrawler was my first exposure of any type of limb difference
Thank you. You explain this tragedy so well. I hope WB make up for this, either by altering the film or by bringing balance with a positive future representation of children with limb differences.
I am glad this is being talked about so that it can come to an end. This isn't new that a villain will have a disability or difference, and in my opinion is one of the reasons why kids are frightened whenever they see someone with a difference. Villains that come to mind are Captain Hook, or other pirate characters with wooden legs. Often scary campfire stories include a man with a hook for a hand. Freddie Krueger, Jason, and Michael Myers, all guys with face differences/ disfigurements. Darth Vader I didn't realize as a kid that he was disabled, but learned later. I am older so hopefully this is something that ended 20 years ago when I stopped watching kids movies and then suddenly made an unwelcome comeback.
This video was really well-done. I had no idea what the controversy was about (I hadn't seen the film or ready any articles about it), but I'm happy to understand it now.
This is a timely and powerful video! I think think Hollywood has been known for looking at the possible consequences of the stories they release. One example of this is the way that smoking and tobacco products were prominently featured - often in the opening scene - of both movies and television despite the known factors of the dangers. It turned out that the tobacco companies were heavy contributors to getting movies produced. Sadly, it's no surprise to me that they screwed up on this movie. I'm glad they issued apologies at least. Hopefully they will also post a warning at the opening to advise people of what it contains. Thank you again for a though-provoking video Jo!
Since this would have been done in post production with visual effects, it's really not Anne Hathaway's fault (though her sincere apology is still good). The crux of the blame should lie with the director and the visual effects crew.
See if this had been a more like, medieval witch type movie, this would have made more sense. A lot of birth defects were attributed to witchcraft or the devil/demons so in that scenario, it would be, ya know, kinda understandable. But i've read this book and they needlessly changed the character design in a way that could be extremely damaging
24 hours ago, I totally would have watched this movie if it was presented to me. I absolutely loved this book as a child and I got so excited that it was being made into a movie. But this was not what I was expecting. I am not going to give my money to a production that acts this way (especially not with that sucky apology. P.S. Love you Jo ❤️
Hi Jo, I truly love your videos and am a below the knee amputee. This is not intended to be a flame post. Simply trying to bring up a point of contention. I understand the movie is visually scary and should have had a higher rating PG-13 for example. This would have resolved a lot of the children issues. That being said, it is a movie. The world is trying to be so plain vanilla and heaven help that someone, somewhere gets offended. I grew up as a kid knowing that just because I watched Three Stooges did not mean I could poke someone in the eyes or slap them in the head. That just because Whiley Cayote used an anvil against the Road Runner did not mean I could hurt a human being. Depiction of something evil traditionally has certain characteristics. Just because art does sometime imitate life does not mean it should be automatically discarded. Sometimes in life there is no redemption. Life can be scary and disturbing. That's life. Again, if this was a PG-13 movie this would not have been an issue. Thanks for letting me rant a bit. Keep up the good work.
I watched this movie while in the mental hospital. They played it during lunch and it was very uncomfortable especially because one of the people in the group was there because they had a limb difference and were very depressed about it (not the same as shown in the movie, but still). The movie also sucked in general.
I only made it about 10 minutes into that movie, and had no idea the change they made. Thank you for speaking on this, I won’t finish the movie, I completely agree with you all and it is so sad that the filmmakers made this very destructive choice. :(
Hollywood we want characters with disabilities and be fine!!!! Please 🥺 What I mean is that if a character has a disability that that shouldn't be all the character has to offer.
@@dylan-kc5 no, it's not satire. While witchcraft is a legally recognized religion in some countries, people in other countries are still being tortured and killed. Here's just one short article trying to bring attention to this issue. www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/why-do-witch-hunts-still-happen-180957106/
@@sanurabellydancer Witches are fictional. Witchcraft is fictional. How witches are depicted in films isnt going to change how they behave. If you torture and kill someone for witchcraft, seeing nice witches in a movie isnt going to stop you.
Thank you and all of your friends for this. I will make sure to talk to my granddaughter about limb difference. She watched the movie and was ok with everything except the mouth. Which they made especially creepy.
Hi! Not sure if anyone has mentioned this yet. In the original book, the witches had feet with no toes. Unfortunately even in the original book limb differences were a way to distinguish between 'good' guys and 'bad' guys. (also worth mentioning that the original author was incredibly antisemitic yikes)
I was going to say this too. About them not having toes in the original film. I think their feet were only shown in one shot though so it was less in your face, so maybe people forgot. I see them being bald as an identifier is an issue too. Not having hair doesn't make someone evil. Think people with alopecia or someone who going through chemo or hormonal issues etc.
I'll be honest, when I saw what the video was about, I said 🙄 what is the problem now? and i thought it would be an exaggeration but you are absolutely right, It was a serious mistake, I want to believe that they did not think about it and that they did not do it to create controversy, I hope so!
A few day ago I saw some pictures of people who wrote not a witch on there hand and I don't understand it. Was referring to a movie because I don't watch these types of movies. It really brakes my heart that people think that this is ok.
As bad as it sounds in the original story THEY HAVE a limb difference, it's just how they were, only it wasn't the hands but the missing feet if I remember correctly... It should be the family making clear the difference between a creature of a story tale and a person in real life
I only hope that this movie's poor choice in portrayal of limb differences brings more awareness to those with limb differences. Parents should really monitor what they're allowing their kids to watch, but also take this opportunity to educate themselves & their kids about physical differences people have. I didn't know that the original "witches" had cat claws instead of 3 fingers. I'm upset knowing now that they purposely used an actual medical condition to portray evil.
There are no superheroes, no main charecters who have a disability or a neurological condition (e.g Tourettes or Autism) like yeah there's a few but not enough, not enough for someone who has a disability to see and notice and look up to.
One of my dear friends growing up was born with three toes on one foot. He called it his “Lucky Fin” after Finding Nemo, because it’s what made his birth parents in China give him up for adoption and how he came to America to live with his now-family. His Lucky Fin saved his life and gave him a loving family as well as so many more opportunities. Finding Nemo had a huge, positive impact on him when he was younger. It makes me sad that people use limb differences in such a hurtful way, especially when I think of my friend and other people I’ve known with limb differences.
That's awesome! Happy story ❤
I love how Jo corrects “Charlie wonka and the chocolate factory” to “Willy wonka and the chocolate factory” but the book is called “Charlie and the chocolate factory” 😂😂
Great video btw
As someone with a limb difference, I just really wanted to say thank you.People sometimes scream when they see my hand, or make a remark about how creepy it is. I hate that this movie is going to make people even more afraid of differences. This was definitely something that needed to be said. Thank you ❤
"I am still missing a foot. I haven't found it anywhere." I love your humor.
Yh that made me giggle
~~lol~~
Lolll thats an amazing intro
yeah, really cracked me up. Jo's videos are always a bit of sunshine in my life, no matter whether they're serious or light-hearted.. they're always very human
This sounds like a very similar issue that split had with making the villain have DID. It created a belief that people with DID are only evil and only scary.
I hated the concept of Split. Really bothered me for the same reason of villanizing mental illness.
Okay i have osdd 1-b and i watched that and i texted my friend the entire movie ranting i had to pause so much like WE ARENT EVIL OR SUPERHEROS WERE HUMANS gosh they really needa stop with that
And who actually believes that?
It hurts so much. Whenever i tell someone i have DID/OSDD im so terrified that their gonna research it and find split as a resource and think im crazy so i am totally on board with boycotting this movie
@@Roxanaa-vq3tp I wish people understood DID more.
Kids are impressionable, imaginative, and DO pick up on these things so, it's very naive for people to say "Oh, it's just a movie it's not serious". The only physical thing about me that stands out is my large nose and pointy chin. But, even something as insignificant as that got me bullied so much as a child, specifically with people calling me a witch. This movie is truly disappointing, at the very least.
Kids really do absorb this stuff. When I was a child, one of the Austin Powers films came out with a character who has a noticable mole, which all the other characters make jokes about. I have a noticable mole and I was bullied by kids referencing the film to the point that my loving, body-positive mother asked if I wanted to have it removed. I said no, because the idea of altering my face was worse than the bullying, but I was having to make that decision as a CHILD. And that was just a mole! I can't even imagine the impact this will have on children with limb differences.
I’ve had a fake eye since I was 10 and it has always been a big peeve of mine when I see one eyed characters in books and movies who are evil. Thanks for making a video about this! I highly recommend the book series The Ables by Jeremy Scott to any teenager or young adult with ANY sort of disability! Can’t wait for the day they make his books into movies.
Wait, it's a series? I always thought it was a stand alone book.
Thor in the series Nurse Jackie has 1 eye because of diabetes. The actor in real life has it. They don't make a big deal of it but I remember an episode on it. He was a good guy
That's one of my biggest issues with Pirates Of The Caribbean. That in every single movie the dude with a fake eye is made fun of and characterized as stupid. I understand they need comedy release but at the cost of people with disabilities confidence is not ok. Also the mute man with the parrot. Also not ok. And Davie Jhones hhaving a peg leg is not good either for people with a limb difference!
Nick Fury
Solid Snake
Mad Eye Moody
Snake Pliskin
Rooster Cogburn
Cable
Shall I name more protagonists?
@@alienfire223 I can't believe I forgot Mad Eye Moody
Great video Jo, thanks for letting me be a part of it! An honour to share a platform with you all.
Carol, you are awesome. Just like Jo. Keep speaking out ladies. Y’all rock.
I have to admit, *MY* first reaction to the controversy was "its just a film" and i can say now that I took time to look into it and especially finding this video, that I was 100% wrong and I am sorry. I say especially this video because many of the people speaking out simply *SEEMED* to say (important because these words were never actually spoken) "you dont have it so you cant understand so you cant have an opinion, you're just wrong" or "we exist and we arent scary". Which are both very valid but never really seemed to explain the emotional impact and the fear of what it is teaching other children. Your video brought that to light and brought about the "ohhhh" moment that I needed to have. Thank you.
*Also*, when everything clicked my first thought was "ohhh, its just like how displaying mental illness in an evil light in a movie is so frustrating, like Split with DID and everything that depicts those with schizophrenia as murders!" Im sad that I advocate strongly about not displaying THOSE disabilities as evil simply because as a suffer of mental illness i relate, and I failed to recognize the same problem with a physical disability as this.
I know it doesnt matter, that this is just a comment on youtube, but i still feel like i should say im sorry to those that this film hurt and im sorry people like me failed to recognize why it would affect you and thus we discredited you. I understand now and I am sorry.
I'm always here to see people who are willing to grow. I admittedly didn't think about it, myself, but I hope I'll notice if I see this sort of thing in the future. I'm glad to hear you were able to grow! You're an awesome person.
I posted about this on Facebook, saying how to include disabled people’s input and to hire disabled actors, and someone commented in a super condescending way saying that maybe there just aren’t good enough disabled actors out there. Right. Because that’s the issue...
They're not there if you're not looking 🤷 Maybe if the film industry actually tried (and disabled actors weren't discouraged from the start because they don't get hired) we'd see more of them
also something tells me an actor with this condition probably wouldn't WANT to take this role in the first place.
@@twilafreek25 Hollywood has pushed disabled people out for so long, a lot of people wouldn’t know that they were “allowed” or even had a chance at auditions. It’s gotta be advertised if that makes sense
@The Glittery Nurse i could MAYBE see this working if they went with the lovable villain route. disney used to be so good at this with characters like yzma, ursula, etc. but they've really rolled it back in the past 20 years (lindsay ellis has a great video on this) since they're basically frozen with fear over not being "woke" enough, but theyre either not self aware enough to realize that they could just hire good writers that make satire or too money hungry to take a chance on an interesting story. considering that they were willing to release this during quarantine, my guess is the former: the 2020 equivalent of those direct to vhs sequels they used to pump out.
Ugh jeez. I'm sorry you had to deal with that.
When Alex did the little "Ninja Turtle" line I could tell the camp counsellor really jumped out haha.
I really like how you brought in other people to share their experiences. Definitely a bummer that only evil characters are the ones who look different.
Okay buddy... www.phactual.com/13-superheroes-with-disabilities/
Thanks so much, Tom! 😊 I appreciate that!!
Oh no, I loved the old version of this movie and I was excited to find out about the remake- it hurts my heart that something I value so highly has caused so much damage. My heart goes out to everyone affected. All hands are beautiful (and impossible to draw!) ❤️
This is buck wild. I can’t believe that ANYONE thought this was a not-terrible idea.
In the UK we have a news/comedy show called The Last Leg where one of the main presenters has a hand based limb difference and he was the first person I thought of. He is an incredibly funny and kind person and I hope he and others are not negatively impacted by this.
Roald Dahl’s stories should not be tarnished by this terrible terrible choice.
The host Adam Hills was also born with no right foot and uses a prosthetic.
I mean, ET: Extra-Terrestrial was a major movie in my childhood and when I was little I saw people with limb differences and thought of ET...which isn't the best but at least ET is a friend...an Alien yes...but more so to me as a child I saw him as a friend with differences.
We have somehow gone backward from ET since 1982...
you saw people like that and thought they were aliens?
@@inotaishu1 no, as a kid I saw people like that and thought they were friends.
@@EmmaBGames Ok. It just sounded like you may have thought that. Certainly videos like this here seem to be on the page of people who might think that.
I’m literally reading this book to some kids I work with “blue spit”, “cat like fingers”, “bald” and “square feet” are the descriptions given. The whole point of the description of witches is that they look like regular women and that you need to observe everyday occurrences as “a sign”. The movie changes seem completely unnecessary... Also the grand high witch has a scene where she takes her face off, they could have portrayed that instead of the limb difference.....
Wow, Warner Bros statement is so gaslight-y.
I'm shocked that not one person on the production team wasn't like "wait a sec... maybe we shouldn't do this"
Right!?! Like, it’s a multimillion dollar blockbuster with *hundreds* of people involved in its creation. Not a single one though, “hey, wait a second...”
I’m sure someone point it out, but it's not the opinion of an assistant which gonna change that
Yeah, how many people did the design have to go through and not one person was like hey real people have this disability maybe make it look more unrealistic.
Same!
RIGHT?
I want to thank you for pointing things like this out...it's not good, and again Hollywood took things the wrong way. Disabilities and differences are just that...different, not things to be feared or villianized. People also need to know that just because they dont see a disability, or because of someone's age, doesnt make it not exist...
I have a BKA and nerve damage to my other leg so I wear a plastic AFO brace. I have difficulties with walking distances because of this. So in stores I use one of the power carts. In summer I get the odd glare as I'm seen as too young to require such...but in the winter when I'm wearing pants and not shorts, the glares and snide comments are unbelievable. On friday I went to the grocery store with my roommate, it was getting so bad that she was even uncomfortable. I finally rolled up my pant legs and a few people shut up. I've also had people yell at me that I shouldn't be in handicap parking because I'm young...my answer now is, "I would gladly exchange my disabilities and my parking pass for the wonderful pleasure and ability to walk further...any time." Usually stops people in the spot.
We got to stick up for one another and do all we can to promote that disabilities are just differences!!!!🙂
A really nice example of a good portrayal is Mat Fraser in His Dark Materials. He is an actor with a limb difference most people might know from American Horror Story. In His Dark Materials, his character is just a member of a group, but there's no fuss made about his disability, it's not the most important thing about his character.
I love the fact that Alex called himself a ninja turtle!
Same!
Yes! It's such a great way of breaking the ice and you can tell that he's so confident and comfortable with his limb difference.
This makes me so sad
And this is so common, after I was diagnosed with Crohns/Ulcerative colitis and got a stoma bag I've noticed it so much more that there are so many movies and shows that harm people and ostomies and diseases of the digestive tract tend to be a HUGE butt of a joke in film.
I noticed this as well. You never hear of stoma bags unless it’s a horror story which is just very very sad. I’m happy to share though that I recently saw a tv show featuring Elise Sørensen and there was nothing but positivity in it, so it can be done!
@@benten2462 I should try and find that! It would be so nice to see.
And just how the hand difference can hurt children and adult confidence it's the same with stoma bags :( I know of so many little ones that have bags and I just hope society will become more accepting. I got a bag at 15 so pretty young, had it for 5 years now, its permanent and happened through emergency surgery but I'm so happy to have it since I literally got a new chance of life.
@@blairberry6257 my mum has been given the option of an ileostomy bag, which would help her medical conditions and pain levels greatly. Doctors have been suggesting it to her years, but she absolutely refuses because of the stigma involved. It's a real shame that she can't see past that, as everyone I've encountered who has a stoma has been overwhelmingly positive about the positive effect it has had on their quality of life. It's especially disappointing because she was a nurse for many years.
I'm glad that yours has had such a positive impact on your life.
When I was a child I had a server speech impediment. This was back in the looney tunes days. I remember the embarrassment when kids would laugh comparing me to Porky Pig, who also had a stutter that was meant to be funny.
Yes, this movie making kids uncomfortable is wrong, they have the ability using computers to fix it. And they should.
I'm so sorry you went through that :(
My son has a stutter - now much improved with speech therapy, thankfully - and I know how much being scared, anxious or upset just exacerbates the speech difficulty. People need to raise their kids with more awareness and compassion.
I had a sever stutter as a child, and still have it when I speak Spanish--Weird as it is since Spanish is my first language but I am more fluent in English as an adult. I mostly grew out of it but I was made fun of a lot, even by my siblings when I was a kid. Even as an adult if I get severely anxious and stutter I have been mocked, I think by people that are not aware I have a stutter because I don't do it as often as I use to don't realize how hurtful it is.
@@snoopygonewilder my son's own father used to mock and berate my little boy for his speech difficulties when he was only 2 and 3 years old, still learning to speak. It definitely caused his stutter to worsen dramatically. Thankfully, his "father" is no longer part of our lives, and my son's speech issues improved very quickly once he was gone. Speech therapy helped a lot too of course, but removing the negativity was crucial. The perplexing part is that my son's "father" also stuttered badly as a child, which I know affected his confidence, yet he couldn't find compassion when his son had the same struggles.
@@EmEm78 I lived with my mother, since my dad lives in another country, and my dad is honestly too sweet to be mean to people. But my mom who raised me,, she never made fun of me for it, but I think she was frustrated. I have ADHD, and as a small child I was a hurricane of energy and my stutter was soooo bad. She used to say that thing that everyone with a stutter hates to hear, and I'm sure she meant well, but it really bothered me. "Stop, and think." Or "Think before you speak." I WAS thinking, that was never the problem. I was fully aware what words I wanted to say, and I knew how to say them, so thinking was not an issue, but I just don't think she knew how to help me.
@@snoopygonewilder as a mum, it is really difficult to know what to do in a lot of situations, so I can understand that.
Sigh. I'm so sick of disabilities and deformations being used on villains SO frequently, and rarely if ever on heroes.
I can think of Finding Nemo and How to train your Dragon as positive examples in kids' movies. But that's about all.
One thing I think they could've done to help balance out the decision they made (definitely not agreeing with it though,) is the good witch seen at the end of the 1990 movie (if I remember correctly,) could have had the same limb difference as the high witch, this would show that not all witches are bad, and by association, not all people with limb differences are bad either
Oh no! They also took that out? I did like that there was one witch who was also ‘ugly’ and bald but was redeemed and shown to be capable of good in the end.
I can’t understand why directors and screen writes keep linking real life disability’s to evil characters, it never ends well that’s been proven multiple time’s.
I relate to this so much as someone with epilepsy every time I see a movie that has people who are possessed and basically having seizures and that being the proof that they are possessed. Especially because that used to be what people actually thought about people who had seizures.
Not to mention how poorly it is represented even in non horror films. People tend to think there's only one type of seizure and they're always really scary because that's all that's ever portrayed in media.
My disability does not make me a monster and its not something to be feared.
I'd never let my kid see this movie. Why would I want her to be scared of anyone she might see with limb differences? Thanks for the heads up.
Amazing video as always. I am not someone with a limb difference but I do have ASD, ADHD and GAD. So I am part of this community just not this section of it (idk if that makes sense). I really thought with how far the world had come with disability and acceptance this stuff wouldn’t happen. I really hope the producers and people in the future do better.
It’s really unfortunate and infuriating that the production team spawned their idea off of a disability - particularly in media for children. I think about how many people this had to go through and no one to questioned it. These teams, and media production in general, needs to diversify.
I remember a boy in my primary school had one hand with only 3 fingers and I didn’t even notice until a year after being at school with him because I just never really looked at peoples hands and he often had his jumper over it to hide it because I’m not sure wether he was ashamed of it or scared of being bullied but I’m sure if there was better representation out there about it he might not have been as afraid to show his hand
For the 3% reading this, l hope you become successful in everything you dream of and accomplish more than you had imagined. My dream is to become a successful Artlst!! ❤️
Thanks
U tOO!! THANK U SO MUCH 💗💗💗
Thank you :)
Mine is to become a successful writer and I support you
Thanks my dream is to become an actress and I wish you all the best as well I hope all your dreams come true thank you so much for spreading love and positivity 💕
This almost seems to be very lazy on the part of the producers.. The producers of the original movie did it right and did a better and very solid adaption. To change to a darker tone on this new movie and include a known genetic disability as being frightening is a odd choice. It wasn't necessary and it was lazy. It was rather like the creators saw a picture and said 'Wow, that's a scary hand. Let's do this." I agree that they likely were not trying to be offensive but OMG it's stupid and lazy.
Thank you for educating me. I am someone with no limb difference, and was unable to understand that there was an issue. Its so heartbreaking the impact that this can have. I didnt realise how nieve I was to this subject
I watched the original movie, not this new one and I would look out for "witches", so I can 100% how this movie is damaging, especially for those with limb differences :(
Representation is so important. Both for the people that need to be represented and those who need to understand those people and their experiences.
I'm truly dissatisfied that in the year 2020 we haven't come far enough that no one during the process of making this film stopped and thought "hey, maybe this is a hurtful choice"
So glad to see that we are having this conversation! I’m glad that you decided to view the film and form your own opinion to share with us. Voices like yours are so important as someone actually living with a limb difference. As a disabled vlogger myself, I know I always make sure to turn to my friends, in these situations, who share that disability to get their input. I think that things need to be taken on a case by case basis, and this was WHOLLY unnecessary and done to purposely set the character apart in a very negative and scary way. Thanks for talking about this Jo! And thanks for using your platform to bring in all of these other lovely souls and raise their voices up! You guys rock! Such a darn shame, I hope this film and conversation can serve to help this community 💕
The book was called "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" after the name of the boy in the book. For some reason the movies went by the title "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory". Emphasizing the name of the eccentric factory owner instead of the name of the boy.
What little I saw of the Witches movie from your video it certainly doesn't seem like a children's movie to me.
Actually one of the film's was willy wonka and the other one was charlie. 😘
Roald Dahl didn't like the screenplay of the 1970s movie, so they changed the name of the movie to Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory from the original book title, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. He'd died before the Tim Burton movie came out so we'll never know if he'd have liked the Wonka back story they added.
Thank you for discussing this topic. I'd heard something about this, but admittedly, I didn't understand the controversy or exactly what a limb difference meant without context.
I truly appreciate seeing a group of creators, including one I'm already familiar with and respect, fill me in on something I'm absolutely oblivious to, all while showing compassion and giving so many honest takes.
You're the best, Jo!
I love that you use your platform for important topics like this! It was really touching hearing what everyone had to say about this ❤️ we need you.
Thank You for making this video, when I first heard of this I was so confused on the controversy. I never read the book, & every fb post was not descriptive on why people are upset & the comments are all just arguments. This video was the only descriptive information source I've come across!
When I was younger my family took vacation in California. Wed landed at LAX and went to Denny's right after. There was a man with a hook hand and my gosh I was terrified. He was just ordering food and talking with who he was with but I was scared and I hated that I couldn't reason in my head that he wasn't dangerous. It took me a long time to feel comfortable with seeing prosthetics in person because my head couldn't wrap around someone using something other than their body to travel
The Warner Brothers apology is pathetic. They can't even detract from the issue with "fictional" character points, bc number one, we are dealing with CHILDREN- who legit believe in fairy tales, etc. And number two, witches are in history, media and current all HUMAN, not extraterrestrial and bizarre figures... like... excusing it with "fictional characters" just shows a HUGE lack of awareness, and they ought to be revisiting their statement. Asap.
Interestingly in the original book the grandma also had a hand difference, she had lost a thumb due to a childhood encounter with a witch.
And I think one of the mice loses his tail too. I’m not sure if I’m recalling correctly, but I think that happened in the book.
@@jennagrace1534 yup, it happens in the film, but completely differently (or at least an attempt at it - and it wasn't followed up the way it was in the book) in the book it's lost in the process of putting the potion in the soup
This is super eye-opening thank you for sharing!! I learned a lot from this!!
I don’t have a limb difference, but I do have the lived experience of growing up with others calling me a witch and being disgusted with my hands for a different reason. And My heart breaks for the risk of other kids going though that. Representation matters so much.
The "stop being so sensitive" response *pisses* *me* *off* . No. Just no. You don't get to disagree or play it off when someone says you hurt them.
How absurd. Your comment hurt me so you don't get to disagree. I hope you are being sarcastic.
@BoobaDoo Except it *is* a society-wide, ubiquitous issue. Ableism happens everywhere, every day, to millions of real people, and it affects people for their entire lives. Job availability, education opportunities, et cetera... It's not just bullying. It's a problem with the structure of our society and it needs fixing badly.
@BoobaDoo Wow, you really make it clear you aren't familiar with this problem. Please do some research before continuing to dismiss it as "just bullying." You're embarrassing yourself.
@BoobaDoo If you wanna defend ableism so badly, then go do it somewhere else, buddy. You really don't seem very aware of your surroundings. Nobody here is going to listen to you whine about other people needing to toughen up so you can be as shit of a person as you want.
I was never planning on watching this movie because of the antisemitism but wow, I never realized it was deeply problematic in so many other ways.
I was born with three fingers on my left hand. Although this film didn’t offend me personally, I can definitely see how this can offend others with limb differences, especially children, and that’s so distressing to see. It’s absolutely amazing that Anne Hathaway herself mentioned The Lucky Fin Project, a non-profit organization that helps people recognize what limb differences are as well as connecting others with limb differences together.
“Finding Nemo” was one of the first movies I related to as a kid due to the great representation of limb differences.
Another Pixar film I’d like to mention is “Luca”. The father only has one arm and even said that he was born that way. It was only mentioned once in the film and that’s important to me because it demonstrates that he is capable of doing everything else other people can, like cooking and fishing.
Like you said, the heartfelt apology from Warner Bros. and Hathaway is a great start to change on how limb differences are okay!👍
The Warner Brothers comment sounded very sarcastic and belittling especially how they kept emphasizing the witches were "fantastical" features.
I really loved this story as a kid, and most of Roald Dahl's books, and was really excited to see such a high profile movie with actors who's work I love. I had no idea about the limb difference representation because it wasn't shown in any of the trailers, and I'm so disappointed about how this was handled and depicted.
Thanks for seeking out and sharing the perspectives of super cool people with limb differences! This means so much.
Warner Brother's has gotten itself into a bit of a pickle recently! Between that non-apology and the stuff with Johnny Depp as well! They really aren't doing themselves any favours! :(
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is the original title of the book. You’re good, you got it.
So all the witches had that limb difference? I though it was just Anne Hathaways witch. I feel like that’s way different, because it’s like that’s what makes them a witch as opposed to just the one character. I also thought that’s what the original character had. Definitely feel differently about this.
Yes, it was all of the Witches who have this limb difference
umm, oh my goodness...Who made this decision and why did everyone involved okay this!?!
Anne Hathaway, I love you, but...wow...
Why didn't they just make them actual Cat Paws and Claws and stuff? I just don't get the idea behind this decision at all.
Yes, it's really quite stupid and lazy.
I feel like they're supposed to look like bird talons? But if they were going for that they failed hard
Anne has actually apologised for her choice to be in the movie and supported the #notawitch movement. Not excusing what she did, but she seems to have come to understand its impact.
I was thinking the exact same thing watching the clip - why didn't they literally give something like non-furry paws (in place of palms) and then big claws (in place of fingers and nails).
Originally when I heard about this, I was thinking that in the book they had "different hands" so it makes sense that they have different hands in the movie, but I haven't read the book in probs like 25 years (and I was legit terrified of that movie, so if I managed to finish it once, that would have been it!) but obviously after Jo pointed out that is was "cat-like" in the books, this change it genuinely terrible! It is the sort of rookie mistake you would expect from a small budget film of inexperienced crew, but not a film of this scale - they definitely had the resources to have researched this sufficiently to ensure that they weren't making a massive f**k up!
"There are good guys, and there are bad guys, and there is a very clear black and white difference between the two." Ah, I hate it already.
so many times in movies etc theres evil character with "weird" eyes, and someone born with a syndrome where i was relentlessly builed for it, it hurts so much to be demonized my whole life. i can empathise with people who have rare syndromed or are born looking differently, i know how it is.
I would like to give you a good example of representing limb it difference as not a bad or scary thing but as an ok and brave way to represent limb difference. In the first doctor strange, doctors strange was doing a training but his hands were all shaky and beat up and he said I can’t do it because of my hands it’s not gonna work but one of the trainers that was a really good trainer showed him that he had no arm, but was one of the best trainers there, and the other trailer beside him said see if he can do it with no arm then you can do it with both that right there is a good example of how to represent limb difference/amputation as a good positive thing rather then a negative.😊
This can also result in violence toward those with limb differences as well.
It is easy to say it’s no big deal when you never have to deal with the look of terror in a child’s eyes when they see you.
It is also easy to have unintended consequences if you don’t have to deal with particular issue.
Thank you for talking about this! I really wanted to see the movie, but now I don’t think I will. It’s horrible what they did! Children are very impressionable and if they see an evil character every detail about that character is going to be scary.
Btw I love Cakes 🐱
I can see a small child seeing this movie, and being piss their pants scared of the witches, and then associate anybody they see that reminds them of that scary memory, and they might be afraid of real people with hands that look like the scary lady witch that haunts their nightmares!!! And people with limb differences don't get any representation in media hardly at all, so when the only representation is a big scary evil nightmare witch.... That's a problem. People talk about stuff like this not just because people are whiny or sensitive, but because it hurts people. It hurts people behind closed doors. And just because you don't think of that scenario because it's not something you struggle with, doesn't mean it doesn't affect people that do struggle with it.
It's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. :) Though the 2 adaptations are Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Lol!!! I didn't even get it right in my voiceover correction!? 😆 I need more coffee...
@@FootlessJo Coffee solves everything... Mostly everything.
I noticed this same thing with the family that lived in the swamp in "The Princess and the Frog"... They gave one of the characters (unfortunately named "Two Fingers") a limb difference basically just as a prop, and nobody said anything about it at the time. He wasn't a totally evil character, but he was definitely supposed to be a "bad guy" and also sort of dumb and goofy and stuff. I was pretty shocked there was no discussion of it at all that I could ever find.
I think Anne Hathaway's apology sounded genuine, but the studio... the whole thing sounded more like a defense of their decision. It was basically a narcissist's apology of "I'm sorry you feel that way," and not a healthy apology of, "I'm sorry I hurt you and I promise to do better moving forward." Like their whole statement could be paraphrased saying, "These witches aren't even human so they don't even represent you. Just look at all the positives of the movie and enjoy it because we worked hard on it, dangit!"
Also the witches in the original story are depicted in an anti-semitic way and I think it's time we stop remaking those kinds of stories
There is quite a lot of overlap between anti-semitic tropes and features of witches. But I wouldn't personally say that makes the story anti-semitic. The way I see it is the anti-semitic tropes are trying to portray Jews evil by applying certain characteristics e.g. stealing children, hoarding money, infiltrating and controlling society). But these features, while still pervasive in society, don't actually reflect Jewish people in ANY way. So when they're applied to witches, I think they're saying "this witch has these features which make them evil", not "these features make witches like Jews so witches must be evil".
I mean, it's still not great that there's so much overlap between "witch features" and anti-semitic stereotypes, but I do think there's a distinction to be made. I see it as far less harmful than the limb difference being portrayed as a feature of evil because the limb difference actually does exist, while the Jewish tropes don't have a basis in reality.
Apologies for the slightly rambly comment, but hopefully I got my point across!
Disclaimer: before anyone who disagrees with my opinion calls me anti-semitic, please note that I am Jewish and entitled to an opinion. But do feel free to disagree.
Please excuse my obliviousness, but how was the book anti-Semitic in the depiction of the witches. I didn't notice, but I can be pretty oblivious sometimes.
@@TessaAvonlea the witch features are antisemitic caricature features. antisemitism and portrayals of villainous characters in western fiction and folklore are often inseperable. people are still making characters that are unintentionally antisemitic because the way that europeans and westerners conceptualise evil people is shaped by millenia of antisemitic racism.
@@TessaAvonlea Just to add on to what M C posted, Roald Dahl's family just had to apologise this week for his virulent anti-Semitism, so I would hazard a guess that he was intentional with his stereotyping.
Yeah, so we should stop telling kids Snow White because there is a female character who is everything but feminist and is taken by 7 dwarfs to be an housewife
People also can pick up misinformation from movie and give them a false perception of topics covered. Because DID is only ever depicted with characters who are violent murders, people are uneasy and suspicious around traumatized systems who need support not rejection
This is a great discussion and I especially agree with the point Shannon made about the difference between representation in The Witches vs. Finding Nemo-I have an arm injury that is similar to Nemo’s lucky fin and the validation I received from that movie as a kid was so important to me and my confidence. I’m disappointed that The Witches is portraying limb differences as something scary and evil.
I can't imagine how horrible it would feel for a child with this limb difference to be aware of the way this version of the movie portrays the witches. It was bad enough in the original book that you could distinguish witches because they were bald & toeless, which is problematic for people who've lost their hair or toes, or were born without hair or toes. The blue spit characteristic was pretty good -- I'm not aware that there are real people with blue spit who get othered. Stick with the blue spit!
Rereading The Witches as an adult, I have more sympathy for the witches than I did as a child. I can totally understand not wanting to be around creatures who smell like fresh dog feces. Maybe I should rewrite the book...
I just remembered -- in the original book, the boy's GRANDMA (one of the story's heroes) actually HAS a limb difference -- she's missing a thumb!
I didnt even realize this when i watched it! Now that I think about it this is very wrong.
I really don't understand why they chose to do this in the movie. They really should have just stuck with the Catlike hands and upped the face effects.
Seems like a lot of ignorance.
Anne's apology seemed honest. Warner Brother's sounded....fake.
@Ashley-MaRie Deeble agreed
Even if they are classics, this is pretty much my feelings towards villains like Jason Voorhes and many other horror villains as I am born with a cleft lip and palate. Rarely does the hero have any birth anomalies as in 99% when a character has a birth “defect” they are the bad guys.
Might also just for fun add that the Christianity is one of very few that view witches as evil. The old norse version the völva was actually highly respected as she could help you both with seeing the tapestry of fate and also use their magic called seid to help all from deceases to everyday problems. And yes they had war magic to.
I think kids should automatically watch X-Men Evolution after watching that movie. Nightcrawler is a character with that same limb difference and he struggles not only with how he looks but also with that limb difference. Sure he’s more known for being a mutant who teleports that looks like a blue demon, but it could turn it on its head because he is one of the most lovable characters ever. Thankfully, Nightcrawler was my first exposure of any type of limb difference
**note: not all disabilities are visible as well for the disclaimer, Jo.
Yh I have 4 hidden disabilities at age 12 and they are all hidden none can be seen
I think its great that you are using this to educate us. I've learned some new ways of looking at things that I hadn't thought of before.Thank you.
Thank you. You explain this tragedy so well. I hope WB make up for this, either by altering the film or by bringing balance with a positive future representation of children with limb differences.
"I still haven't found it anywhere" LOL
I am glad this is being talked about so that it can come to an end. This isn't new that a villain will have a disability or difference, and in my opinion is one of the reasons why kids are frightened whenever they see someone with a difference. Villains that come to mind are Captain Hook, or other pirate characters with wooden legs. Often scary campfire stories include a man with a hook for a hand. Freddie Krueger, Jason, and Michael Myers, all guys with face differences/ disfigurements. Darth Vader I didn't realize as a kid that he was disabled, but learned later. I am older so hopefully this is something that ended 20 years ago when I stopped watching kids movies and then suddenly made an unwelcome comeback.
This video was really well-done. I had no idea what the controversy was about (I hadn't seen the film or ready any articles about it), but I'm happy to understand it now.
If people doubt how much media impacts people I'd recommend people to watch Disclosure on netflix.
This is a timely and powerful video! I think think Hollywood has been known for looking at the possible consequences of the stories they release. One example of this is the way that smoking and tobacco products were prominently featured - often in the opening scene - of both movies and television despite the known factors of the dangers. It turned out that the tobacco companies were heavy contributors to getting movies produced. Sadly, it's no surprise to me that they screwed up on this movie. I'm glad they issued apologies at least. Hopefully they will also post a warning at the opening to advise people of what it contains. Thank you again for a though-provoking video Jo!
Since this would have been done in post production with visual effects, it's really not Anne Hathaway's fault (though her sincere apology is still good). The crux of the blame should lie with the director and the visual effects crew.
See if this had been a more like, medieval witch type movie, this would have made more sense. A lot of birth defects were attributed to witchcraft or the devil/demons so in that scenario, it would be, ya know, kinda understandable. But i've read this book and they needlessly changed the character design in a way that could be extremely damaging
I love how cat is completely uninterested in 1:24, like being deaf, not even turning towards Jordan, but they all act in the same way all the time.
24 hours ago, I totally would have watched this movie if it was presented to me. I absolutely loved this book as a child and I got so excited that it was being made into a movie. But this was not what I was expecting. I am not going to give my money to a production that acts this way (especially not with that sucky apology.
P.S. Love you Jo ❤️
Hi Jo, I truly love your videos and am a below the knee amputee. This is not intended to be a flame post. Simply trying to bring up a point of contention. I understand the movie is visually scary and should have had a higher rating PG-13 for example. This would have resolved a lot of the children issues. That being said, it is a movie. The world is trying to be so plain vanilla and heaven help that someone, somewhere gets offended. I grew up as a kid knowing that just because I watched Three Stooges did not mean I could poke someone in the eyes or slap them in the head. That just because Whiley Cayote used an anvil against the Road Runner did not mean I could hurt a human being. Depiction of something evil traditionally has certain characteristics. Just because art does sometime imitate life does not mean it should be automatically discarded. Sometimes in life there is no redemption. Life can be scary and disturbing. That's life. Again, if this was a PG-13 movie this would not have been an issue. Thanks for letting me rant a bit. Keep up the good work.
I watched this movie while in the mental hospital. They played it during lunch and it was very uncomfortable especially because one of the people in the group was there because they had a limb difference and were very depressed about it (not the same as shown in the movie, but still). The movie also sucked in general.
I only made it about 10 minutes into that movie, and had no idea the change they made. Thank you for speaking on this, I won’t finish the movie, I completely agree with you all and it is so sad that the filmmakers made this very destructive choice. :(
Hollywood we want characters with disabilities and be fine!!!! Please 🥺
What I mean is that if a character has a disability that that shouldn't be all the character has to offer.
I’m so disappointed 😔 great post jo and thank you to everyone that spoke up 🤗🤗
The depiction of witches is inaccurate as well. The characters that they call witches are not from this earth and are not practicing witchcraft.
Yes, I think we really need to stop perpetuating the idea of witches being evil and being non human. Witchcraft is a valid religion.
@@sanurabellydancer This is satire right???
@@dylan-kc5 no, it's not satire. While witchcraft is a legally recognized religion in some countries, people in other countries are still being tortured and killed. Here's just one short article trying to bring attention to this issue.
www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/why-do-witch-hunts-still-happen-180957106/
@@sanurabellydancer Witches are fictional. Witchcraft is fictional. How witches are depicted in films isnt going to change how they behave. If you torture and kill someone for witchcraft, seeing nice witches in a movie isnt going to stop you.
@@dylan-kc5 your comments seem very uneducated on this topic.
Thank you and all of your friends for this. I will make sure to talk to my granddaughter about limb difference. She watched the movie and was ok with everything except the mouth. Which they made especially creepy.
Hi! Not sure if anyone has mentioned this yet. In the original book, the witches had feet with no toes. Unfortunately even in the original book limb differences were a way to distinguish between 'good' guys and 'bad' guys. (also worth mentioning that the original author was incredibly antisemitic yikes)
I was going to say this too. About them not having toes in the original film. I think their feet were only shown in one shot though so it was less in your face, so maybe people forgot.
I see them being bald as an identifier is an issue too. Not having hair doesn't make someone evil. Think people with alopecia or someone who going through chemo or hormonal issues etc.
@@Sandcat Exactly! I was thinking the same thing ab the baldness. Overall their portrayal is really problematic, especially in a children's film.
I'll be honest, when I saw what the video was about, I said 🙄 what is the problem now? and i thought it would be an exaggeration but you are absolutely right, It was a serious mistake, I want to believe that they did not think about it and that they did not do it to create controversy, I hope so!
A few day ago I saw some pictures of people who wrote not a witch on there hand and I don't understand it. Was referring to a movie because I don't watch these types of movies. It really brakes my heart that people think that this is ok.
As bad as it sounds in the original story THEY HAVE a limb difference, it's just how they were, only it wasn't the hands but the missing feet if I remember correctly... It should be the family making clear the difference between a creature of a story tale and a person in real life
I only hope that this movie's poor choice in portrayal of limb differences brings more awareness to those with limb differences. Parents should really monitor what they're allowing their kids to watch, but also take this opportunity to educate themselves & their kids about physical differences people have.
I didn't know that the original "witches" had cat claws instead of 3 fingers. I'm upset knowing now that they purposely used an actual medical condition to portray evil.
There are no superheroes, no main charecters who have a disability or a neurological condition (e.g Tourettes or Autism) like yeah there's a few but not enough, not enough for someone who has a disability to see and notice and look up to.