How The Abyss banned scene ended up on Disney+ as streaming service removes film

Yahoo

5 hours ago

A classic James Cameron film has been removed from Disney+ over a banned scene of animal cruelty.
The Abyss was originally released in 1989 and came under fire for a scene that showed a real rat being dunked into a vat of chemicals, which animal rights campaigners succeeded in having cut from theatrical screenings.
But a "loophole" meant that the full version including the rat scene dropped on streaming service Disney+ in April. It has now been removed - here's how it made its way onto the streamer and what happened next.
Cameron's 1989 film The Abyss starred Ed Harris in a sci-fi thriller about a diving team sent to recover a nuclear submarine, but stumble across aquatic aliens in the deep.
The storyline was inspired by something the Titanic and Avatar filmmaker had read as a teen about humans being able to breathe through liquid, so some scenes include Harris' character appearing to breathe through a liquid-filled helmet.
However, while Harris did not actually breathe in the fluid, a real rat used for filming actually was dunked into a vat of fluorocarbon liquid. Although it reportedly survived unharmed, animal rights campaigners were not impressed by the stunt and called for the scene to be removed from the film.
Eventually, the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) agreed that the scene should be cut as it was in breach of the Cinematograph Films (Animals) Act 1937, which bans by law the "cruel infliction of pain or terror on any animal or the cruel goading of any animal to fury" in films. The rat scene was not allowed to be shown in UK cinemas.
Despite clear rules that ban cinemas from showing scenes of animal cruelty under the Cinematograph Films (Animals) Act 1937, there is what the RSPCA has termed a "loophole" that meant the original film in its uncut form was able to stream on Disney+.
At the time of protests about the rat's treatment, the BBFC also used the Video Recordings Act 1984 to stop the scene from being released on Blu-Ray and DVD, or from airing on linear UK TV channels.
But how we watch TV and films has moved on in the years since, with many viewers now watching via streaming subscriptions that are sometimes not subject to the same rules.
The RSPCA's David Bowles said at the time the film arrived on streaming: "The RSPCA is really concerned that a loophole currently exists allowing animal abuse scenes deemed unacceptable elsewhere to be streamed freely and legally into our homes.
"The Abyss' controversial rat scene has long concerned the RSPCA, and has always been deemed unacceptable by BBFC — so it's hard to fathom out why Disney+ has decided to broadcast it.
"We need to ensure people are not being exposed to content which promotes or showcases cruelty to animals. As the way millions of households consume entertainment changes, it's vital the legal framework is responsive to that and continues to consistently protect people and animals."
Disney+ has now removed The Abyss from streaming, although it's not clear whether the film in its edited version for UK audiences may stream on the service in future.
According to GamesRadar, Bowles at the RSPCA said: "This isn't about cancel culture – we'd welcome Disney+ reinstating the film to their platform, just with this troubling scene removed – as is already the case in cinemas, on TV, and on DVD.
"This was instead about highlighting a loophole that currently exists allowing animal abuse scenes deemed unacceptable elsewhere to be streamed freely and legally into our homes - and protecting the public from having to see this animal abuse content."