Disney censors the Scrooge McDuck saga
The ax of censorship seems to have struck again, hitting one of the cornerstones of Disney's comic book narrative: the Scrooge McDuck Saga. A true Disney cult, Don Rosa's work is considered one of the most iconic representations of the myth of the richest duck in the world, a journey to discover the origins of this character and a passionate look into the soul of Scrooge. The news that the Walt Disney Company will impose censorship on the Scrooge McDuck Saga leaves therefore perplexing, changing the passage of some stories.
Don Rosa confirms that Disney will apply the censorship to the Scrooge McDuck Saga de' Scrooge according to the new company policies on inclusiveness
News that was not immediately disseminated by Disney, but which was indeed revealed by Don Rosa himself. Expected at the Vancouver FaneXpo, Rosa anticipated that he will not attend the event, motivating this decision as an act of protest against the decision to modify some passages of his beloved story of Scrooge's life. This choice by Disney is motivated by the new policies of the entertainment giant in terms of inclusiveness, which have pushed not only to impose an understandable control over future works, but also to review previous stories in this light, even reaching opt for radical cuts on the cult of the Disney myth. Gongoro seems to be at the center of Disney's decision, a character in the eyes of Disney censors could represent a striking detail due to its connotation.This vision of Disney could result in the heavy rewriting of two chapters of the Scrooge McDuck saga, The richest duck in the world and The dream of a lifetime. Despite Rosa's understandable fear that the end of his cycle will therefore be mutilated, it seems more probable that only The Richest Duck in the World will fall under the ax of Disney's internal censorship, a possibility that in any case embitters Don Rosa, worried that readers can no longer enjoy his work to the fullest. In this sense, one wonders how much this action taken by Disney can affect the future of reprints, considering how many appreciated historical cycles of the Disney world could have a similar fate. In the past there have certainly been cases of internal censorship (the story linked to the Italian story Mickey Mouse in I married a witch is historic), but the Rosa affair has shaken Scrooge aficionados in a more evident way.
Although whether the Walt Disney Company's intention to meet the sensitivity of all readers is objectively admirable, we must ask ourselves how much censorship risks doing more damage than it intends to heal. Works with years of honorable career behind them are the daughters of a different sensibility from the contemporary one, and should be experienced as such, making them even part of a process of socio-cultural evolution that bears witness to a real and not hypocritical inclusive will. As often as we tend to forget it, the authors are children of their time, an indissoluble bond that unconsciously influences their work, whether it's terms that later became socially unacceptable or by addressing the narrative in a disruptive way. Today we're talking about Don Rosa, but as we embark on this cancel culture journey, we could easily come to want to ban critical moments of other ninth art productions, looking at large narrative universes such as the Marvel Universe or the vast production of DC Comics.
Disney's choice to censor the Scrooge McDuck saga more than for an intent of heartfelt inclusiveness, it has the bitter taste of a desire to avoid a potential problem, not facing it but simply hiding it. Instead, it would be more useful to republish Rosa's work in its entirety, historically contextualizing it and enriching the reading with editorial sections in which the problem is faced honestly, explaining why certain jokes or some passages of works considered cults are today seen in a different way . Cultural and social evolution must not be built through damnatio memoriae, but it would be preferable to make these critical works a moment of conscious growth