Saudi Arabia, UAE Ban Release of Disney's 'Lightyear'

Saudi Arabia and the UAE have banned the upcoming Disney animated movie "Lightyear" from screening in Cinemas.

According to reports, Pixar's "Lightyear" has been banned due to a same-sex kiss in the film. The kiss scene was originally removed from the movie but was later reinstated after it was criticized surrounding a statement from Pixar employees accusing Disney of censoring "overtly gay affection", according to The Hollywood Reporter website.

The Media Regulatory Office of the UAE announced on Monday that "Lightyear" is not licensed for public screening in all cinemas in the UAE, due to its violation of the country's media content standards, The Emarati newspaper, "Al-Bayan" reported.

The office confirmed that all movies screened in cinemas across the country are subject to follow-up and evaluation before that date of screening to the public, to ensure the safety of the circulated content according to the appropriate age classification.

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"Lightyear" movie is inspired by the most prominent character in "Toy Story" movies, "Buzz Lightyear", but not as a game as he appeared in the famous movie series, but as a human astronaut.

The "Captain America" superhero from the "Avengers" movie series, Chris Evans is the voice actor of the character "Buzz Lightyear" in the new movie.