Disney were forced to recall millions of copies from one of iconic movies after 'naked woman' was shown in it

Updated 17:08 19 Nov 2024 GMTPublished 17:05 19 Nov 2024 GMT

In 1999, over three million copies of this film were recalled for featuring an X-rated photo in two of its frames

Disney were once forced to recall millions of copies of one of their most iconic movies, all because of an X-rated photo that was shown in the background of one of the scenes.

The 'objectionable background image' can only be seen in two frames, but it was enough to gather all units sold back in the 90s.

Originally released in 1977, nobody noticed the image when it first came out in theatres, as the film ran too fast for it to be caught.

But when Disney re-released it on home video in 1999, viewers saw the same thing.

The Rescuers centres around brave mice rescuing a kidnapped orphan girl, and it was a hit.

This X-rated photo can be seen on a background window when mice Bernard and Bianca fly through New York City on an albatross, revealing a woman's nude body, though a Disney spokesperson said that it was put in the film during production, not revealing what they were or who put them there.

It then became the first ever video to be recalled for the company for containing an objectionable image.

The history behind it is that as soon as the company caught wind of the nude woman, they recalled 3.4 million copies of the film, as spokeswoman Claudia Peters stated that this was 'to keep our promise to families that we can trust and rely on the Disney brand to provide the finest in family entertainment'.

The motive behind putting the image there also wasn't explained, as she said that it was an 'internal matter' that happened while the film was being made.

It's not the first time that Disney have been accused of inappropriate images or language being included in their animated films, though.

Some have claimed that The Little Mermaid and The Lion King contains some X-rated content, though this has never officially been proved.

The recall for The Rescuers was so that Disney could hold up its promise to be a reliable brand that would provide the best content in family entertainment.

Back in 1999, those that bought the video following its release in 5 January that year were told to return it to Disney's video distribution wing at Buena Vista Home Entertainment in Carson, California, USA.