USA, Russia, Europe, Australia, and more than 120 countries banned certain episodes of the cartoon because of the depiction of violence and the use of foul language. Subtle jokes made by SpongeBob were seemed as inappropriate by critics. An episode where Squidward contemplates suicide was also taken off air for being a bad influence on kids.
An episode of Peppa Pig was banned throughout Australia after it showed pigs living with a spider. With over 10,000 species of spiders (some highly poisonous) in the country, a friendship with the eight-legged was not a message Australia wanted to send out to its kids.
While Tom & Jerry is one of the cartoons almost every kid has memories of, it was banned in various parts of the world for offensive content. A number of scenes displaying smoking, alcohol consumptions, harmful substance abuse, and violence were deleted, re-dubbed, or even taken off-air. The show was also highly criticised around the world for promoting unpunished violence as Jerry was never held accountable for his mischief.
While most countries ban cartoons for inappropriate content, China banned Winnie The Pooh after a meme trend. In 2017, this cartoon was taken down by the Chinese government after memes comparing the appearance of Chinese President Xi Jinping with that of Pooh surfaced on the Internet. The government even blocked images of the cartoon on the Internet in opposition to the mockery against the leader.
India banned Shin Chan in 2008 after parents complained about the mischievous behaviour promoted by the cartoon. The show was aired in 2006 and soon became a matter of concern for guardians due to the use of inappropriate language and disrespect of adult characters in the show.
The concept of the show, alongside the gross jokes and sexual innuendoes, was considered objectionable in India and was banned in the country. The character of the cow in the cartoon is frequently seen on the receiving end of violence. Since cows are termed sacred in Hinduism, the cartoon was considered as a mockery of the sacred animal and was taken down.
The movie was banned in Israel after the heroes in a scene say "to bobbit," meaning that they want to cut off one character's biological organs. The word spurred controversy as it appeared after an accident in John Bobbit's family where John's wife cut off his "manhood”. The dubbing authors tried to undo the damage but ended up making it worse. They decided to replace this moment with a joke about a famous Israeli singer known for his high voice. This didn’t go down well with David D'Or, the singer, and he sued the cartoon's authors.
(Cover image credits: IMDb)