New Movie Meet the Robinsons Could Be Upsetting for Kids with Food Allergies
The good news about the new Disney kids’ movie Meet the Robinsons is that it raises awareness about food allergies by showing someone having a reaction to peanuts.
The bad news is that the scene is presented in an insensitive way that could easily frighten young children who have food allergies.
The second scene of the animated 3-D film shows a man having a serious allergic reaction after being accidentally splattered in the face with peanut butter. As his head quickly swells to a huge size and turns shades of red and purple, his wife produces a large hypodermic needle and jabs it into his thigh, instantly restoring him to health.
The point of the brief scene is merely to show why the film’s central character, a brainy 12-year-old orphan whose inventions often go awry, has failed all of his adoption interviews. His latest invention is a device that makes peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches, and the peanut-butter shower is a result of its malfunction as he’s proudly showing it off to a couple interested in adopting him. In the following scene, the discouraged boy asks the orphanage director “Did I kill him?” and is reassured that the man is fine now.
Young children with food allergies – especially those who have never had a serious reaction to a food – could very well be frightened at what happens to the man, as well as by the hypodermic needle that saves his life. The movie was clearly not made with the feelings of such children in mind.
FAAN has contacted both Disney and the motion picture industry as a whole, to ask that they show more sensitivity when portraying food allergies in future films.
You can let Disney know how you feel by writing to:
The Walt Disney Company
Attn: Walt Disney Pictures
500 South Buena Vista Street
Burbank, CA 91521
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