Table of contents:
- 12 Back to the Future Part II (1989) – Netflix
- 11 Splash (1984) – Disney +
- 10 The Office – Netflix, Peacock
- 9 Toy Story 2 (1999) – Disney +
- 8 The French Connection (1971) – The Standard Channel
- 7 Free Solo – Disney+
- 6 Birds of Prey (2020) – HBO Max
- 5 God’s Country (2017) – Amazon Prime Video
- 4 Lilo and Stitch (2002) – Disney +
- 3 WWE – Peacock
- 2 The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (2021) – Disney +
- 1 It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia – Hulu
We live in a new age of entertainment. grab digital broadcasting services Cinema and television have made it more accessible than ever before. Instead of going to the theater or the nearest rental store to get a disc, everything is now available online to stream whenever and wherever you want. In many ways, this is great. It allows people to watch a lot more movies and series than they could before, while broadening their taste in what might otherwise be some unexpected directions. However, there are also a lot of downsides to streaming as well.
One of the biggest critics of the modern era of broadcasting has been the ability to change a movie or series beyond its original cut, on a whim. While remakes and cuts of film are nothing new, there has been a disturbing trend of films being edited or altered for broadcast, without preserving the original cut. In the worst cases, broadcasters would remove the content entirely, essentially wiping the work out of existence in the public eye if there were no physical copies available.
Fortunately, in many cases of a movie or series being edited, the backlash has been great enough to restore the original version. Here are 12 cases where a movie or show was modified, altered, or censored for the streaming service:
12 Back to the Future Part II (1989) – Netflix
Back in May 2020, Eagle Eye Back to the future part two Fans have noticed that the version of the movie that was available on Netflix has been significantly removed. The edit is found in the scene where Marty McFly realizes that the Sports Almanac he thought was actually an adult magazine called “Ooh La La”. In the original version, Marty flips through the pages of the magazine in disbelief while repeating the name to himself several times.
The version on Netflix cut out a lot of this scene, making it more kid-friendly. However, the original version of the movie was quickly restored on Netflix. The explanation given stated that Universal had mistakenly provided the broadcaster with a copy of the film that had been edited for broadcast on television.
11 Splash (1984) – Disney +
Another example of an adaptation being done on an old movie is the 1984 rom-com splashDirected by Ron Howard. In early 2020, fans of the movie noticed that the version of the movie streaming on Disney+ had been altered with some shoddy CGI. The edit was made to cover up a moment where audiences can briefly see star Daryl Hannah’s butt running away from Tom Hanks and jumping into the ocean. The mod extended her character’s hair to hide any kind of nudity.
It seemed an odd and unnecessary choice at the time, considering it’s a brief moment in a PG-rated movie. However, the original version of the movie was restored with a 4K release on the platform, which coincided with new parental controls.
10 The Office – Netflix, Peacock
NBC’s US version of the desk It might be the most popular sitcom in the world. It was a juggernaut in its original TV show, and has only grown in popularity during its extended availability on Netflix. Now, the show is available on Peacock, with most seasons even offering extended cuts from the show’s episodes. However, before the series moved to NBC’s service, there were several scenes and cutscenes from the series that were either censored or removed altogether.
One of the most infamous examples of this comes from the episode “Dwight Christmas” in the ninth and final season. In June 2020, a scene from the episode, in which a character briefly appeared in black as part of Dwight’s old German holiday celebrations, was removed from broadcasting.
9 Toy Story 2 (1999) – Disney +
One classic Disney movie that’s also changed in its modern availability is Pixar’s original sequel, Toy Story 2. When in 2019 an updated DVD re-release of the film was made to coincide with the remake Toy Story 4A small scene within the mid-credits error sequence was removed.
The joke of the scene was that the movie’s villain, Stinky Pete, was caught making some inappropriate comments to the two Barbies, which included him saying, “You know, I sure can share with you a Toy Story 3. This couch joke has not appeared again in the film since, nor was it included in a release Toy Story 2 Streaming on Disney+.
8 The French Connection (1971) – The Standard Channel
One of the most recent adaptations made for broadcast was made on the 1971 film French link. The best picture winning drama is available for streaming on the Criterion Channel in the US, but a small portion of the film has been recently censored. The version broadcast in the United States contains the character “Popeye” Doyle’s use of racial slurs. In total, six seconds of film were removed from this scene, which now features a very clumsy cut in the middle of a conversation.
This change in the film angered many movie fans online, who called the adaptation from Disney (the film’s current distributor) a “historic revision”.
7 Free Solo – Disney+
In another instance of Disney editing the language of a film for the version available on streaming, the Academy Award-winning documentary Solo free Many modifications have been made. These are all edits to cover up the moments when one of the film’s subjects, usually Alex Honnold, swears in front of the camera. Specifically, the moment Honnold says something is “unwanted” is changed to say it is “rotten”.
The example where “g * ddamn” is used is also completely omitted. This remaster of the movie appears to be only on Disney+, as other streaming and home options don’t censor the language of the movie.
6 Birds of Prey (2020) – HBO Max
DC movie wild birds (And the wonderful liberation of one Harley Quinn) It’s currently available to stream on Max in all its R-rated glory, but for a while that wasn’t the case for HBO Max. In late 2021, fans noticed that the version streaming on Warner Bros.’s streaming service was not the R-rated version released in theaters, but rather the censored version made for broadcast television.
It is not clear when the censored version was from wild birds It hit the service, but it was quickly replaced with the original version after people noticed it. This is the example that appears to be censored wild birds On the broadcast it was just a mistake, as the wrong version of the movie was being served to the broadcaster.
5 God’s Country (2017) – Amazon Prime Video
In May 2020, director Francis Lee noted that his film version, God’s own country, which was available to stream on Amazon Prime Video, was not what he produced. The film was edited to remove several scenes that included nudity and homosexual sex. The director took to Twitter to call out the change, saying the movie being streamed “wasn’t the movie I intended or made.” The adaptation appears to have been done by the film’s distributor, Samuel Goldwyn, rather than by Amazon itself.
4 Lilo and Stitch (2002) – Disney +
Another Disney classic animated movie released on Disney+ is the 2002 movie Lilo and StitchDirected by Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois. There is one scene in particular in which viewers noticed a change.
This moment comes early in the movie when Lilo is being chased by her older sister Nanny. Lilo hides in a dryer before Nani catches him, but that’s not exactly what happens in the Disney+ version. Instead, the new film adaptation has Lilo hiding behind a pizza box in a cupboard.
3 WWE – Peacock
One of the biggest brands in American entertainment, WWE, has also censored much of its content for broadcasting. Many old WWE The matches are available to watch on NBC’s Peacock streaming service, but they are not entirely in their original context.
These edits span a number of different matches over the years, with censored content ranging from the use of racist and homophobic slurs, blackface wrestlers, and various other bits and comments that could be deemed offensive.
2 The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (2021) – Disney +
In another example of what appears to be misguided censorship, Disney+ removed much of the blood and violence from its Marvel series, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, just one year after the series’ release. This change was most notably made in the third episode of the series, during action sequences where small amounts of bloodstains can be seen throughout.
The original version of the series was quickly restored to Disney+ after the change was noticed. IGN stated that the censored version of the series was produced to meet the requirements of foreign rating boards.
1 It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia – Hulu
The show is one of the most beloved and controversial sitcoms of the modern era It’s always sunny in Philadelphia, starring Charlie Day, Rob McElhinney, Glenn Howerton, Kaitlyn Olson and Danny DeVito. The show, which is currently in its 16th season and renewed through its 18th, is no stranger to criticism for its crude and often offensive humor. However, there are five episodes that have been removed from streaming availability on Hulu altogether.
These 5 episodes are S4 E3 – “America’s Next Top Paddy’s Billboard Model Contest”, S6 E9 – “Dee Reynolds: Shaping America’s Youth”, S8 E2 – “The Gang Recycles Their Trash,” S9 E9 – “The Gang Makes a Weapon Lethal 6” and S14 E3 – “Dee Day”. All five were removed for the same reason; They all showed blackface. The show has continued to withstand all the criticisms thrown its way, even though it holds the record for the longest-running live American comedy show on television.
