Dreamworks’ Abominable could still be released if chart scene removed, says censorship board

Bede Hong5 years ago21st Oct 2019News

000 1le4y3 — A boy looks at a poster for the animated movie Everest Nguoi Tuyet Be Nho, also known as Abominable, at a movie theatre in Hanoi, Vietnam, where the movie is banned, on October 14. The Malaysian Film Censorship Board says the film is approved for screening on the condition that a scene featuring the ‘nine-dash line’ in the South China Sea is removed. – EPA pic, October 21, 2019.

THE Malaysian Film Censorship Board (LPF) maintains that Dreamworks’ animated movie Abominable could still be released if a controversial scene showing a chart of China’s “nine-dash line” in the South China Sea is removed.

Over the weekend, the film’s distributor United International Pictures confirmed with Reuters that film studio Universal Pictures will not be cutting the scene out.

“It is their call whether or not to screen the film,” LPF secretary Yusniza Yusuf told The Malaysian Insight.

“LPF’s stand on this matter is very clear – the animated film titled Abominable has been approved for screening in Malaysia under the condition that the controversial map is removed from the film.

“If the producer or distributor decides not to screen the film in Malaysia, it is up to them.”

The movie, a joint production by DreamWorks and Shanghai-based Pearl Studio, is about a Chinese teenager helping a yeti return to his home.

The movie would briefly show a chart featuring the “nine-dash line”, which is a U-shaped demarcation used by China to showcase its territorial claims over the South China Sea, including areas claimed by Malaysia, Vietnam, the Philippines, Brunei and Taiwan.

Vietnam has banned the movie last week while while Philippines’ foreign minister has joined a rising call on social media to boycott the film.

The animated movie was due for release in Malaysia on November 7. – October 21, 2019.

The Malaysian Insight

Advertisement