Censors have changed the ending of "Minions: The Rise of Gru" for audiences in mainland China. It's just the latest Hollywood film or TV series to be changed to make it more palatable for authorities.
The 'Despicable Me' franchise is extremely popular in ChinaImage: Koki Kataoka/The Yomiuri Shimbun via AP Images/picture alliance
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In China, even an animated antihero can't be allowed to get away with his dastardly deeds — or so censors want moviegoers to believe.
Social media users across the country noticed over the weekend that censors had altered the ending of the latest film in the "Despicable Me" animated franchise, "Minions: The Rise of Gru."
In the international version, the film ends with Gru and his mentor, Wild Knuckles, riding off into the sunset after the latter faked his own death to evade capture.
But not in mainland China, where a series of subtitled still images inserted into the credits sequence informed cinemagoers that Wild Knuckles had been caught and locked up for 20 years.
He then puts his con artist skills to positive use in prison, where he follows his "love of acting" and sets up a theatrical troupe.
Wild Knuckles (center) is voiced by actor Alan Arkin in the English versionImage: SHOWBIZ Film Reviews/empics/picture alliance
As for Gru, he "eventually became one of the good guys," devoted to raising his family, the Chinese ending says.
"It's only us who need special guidance and care, for fear that a cartoon will 'corrupt' us," DuSir, an online movie review publisher with 14.4 million followers on social media platform Weibo, wrote on Saturday.
He noted that the Chinese version of the film runs one minute longer than the international version.
Other online commentators mocked the addendum, saying it resembled a PowerPoint presentation.
Chinese censors love change
Western films often have certain scenes omitted or altered in China.
Last year, fans of the 1999 film "Fight Club" saw a very different ending when it appeared on a popular Chinese streaming platform.
Viewers were told police had foiled a plan by the protagonist and his alter ego, played by Edward Norton and Brad Pitt, to detonate a set of skyscrapers.
In China, Pitt's character, Tyler Durden, was also not just a figment of Norton's character's imagination but was sent to an asylum and later discharged.
Brad Pitt's character, Tyler Durden, is sent to an asylum in the version of 'Fight Club' streamed in ChinaImage: Mary Evans Picture Library/picture alliance
LGBTQ plotlines from hit US sitcom "Friends" were also removed before it was streamed earlier this year.
Disney's latest animated film, "Lightyear," was not even released in China as the company refused to remove a scene showing two female characters kissing.
'Lightyear' and other films banned
The new Pixar movie "Lightyear" has just been banned in several Arab countries. A look at film censorship worldwide, beyond the Middle East.
Image: Disney/Pixar/AP
'Lightyear' banned over lesbian kiss
Pixar's latest animated blockbuster, "Lightyear," has been banned in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and other Muslim countries, as the film features a lesbian kissing scene. Beyond this latest case in the Middle East, many other countries have censored scenes or entire films in the past.
Image: Disney/Pixar/AP Photo/picture alliance
Disney's self-censorship attempt
Pixar's parent company, Disney, tried to remove the kiss between astronaut Alisha (right) and another female character in the film. But the scene was kept in the end, following Pixar employees' protests. The UAE had recently announced it would no longer censor international films, but "Lightyear" was still banned. The country criminalizes consensual same-sex sexual activity between adults.
Image: Disney/Pixar/AP Photo/picture alliance
'Fantastic Beasts 3' modified for China
China also censors homosexuality in films. The most recent prominent example came with the release of "Fantastic Beasts 3: The Secrets of Dumbledore," which reveals a past romantic relationship between Albus Dumbledore and villain Gellert Grindelwald (Mads Mikkelsen, left). To satisfy Chinese authorities, US studio Warner Bros. removed two lines of dialogue referring to their love story.
Image: Warner Bros. Entertainment/dpa/picture alliance
'Bohemian Rhapsody' without gay references
In China, the biopic about Queen singer Freddie Mercury (Rami Malek) lacked all scenes that even hint at the homosexuality of the rock icon — including parts that were essential to the storyline, such as Mercury's coming out or his AIDS diagnosis. Reactions were mixed; many were glad the film was released in China at all.
Image: Everett Collection/picture alliance
Not all stories can be modified
Films like the multi-Oscar-winning drama "Brokeback Mountain" (2005), a love story between two cowboys starring Jake Gyllenhaal (left) and Heath Ledger (right), weren't publicly screened in China at all. The 2019 Elton John biopic "Rocketman" was also completely banned in the country. The British singer has openly acknowledged his homosexuality for decades.
Image: Focus Features/Paramount Classics/imago
'Seven Years in Tibet': China bans Brad Pitt
China's oppressed minorities, such as the Tibetans, are also a red flag for censorship. "Seven Years in Tibet" (1997) tells the story of the friendship between the Austrian mountaineer Heinrich Harrer (Brad Pitt, right) and the Dalai Lama. The film was not only banned, but all other movies starring Brad Pitt are not allowed to be shown in China.
Image: Film Constantin/dpa/picture alliance
A different 'Rocketman' in Russia
Homosexual scenes are also removed from films in Russia, including from "Rocketman" (2019). Elton John (pictured) protested loudly against the cuts in his biopic and accused Moscow of censorship. Although sexual activity between people of the same sex is legal in the country, "homosexual propaganda" is illegal and hate crimes against LGBTQ people are widespread.
Image: Matrix/imago images
Bans in Germany: Peter Jackson's 'Braindead'
State film censorship does not only happen in authoritarian countries. In Germany, too, numerous films have landed on the index for inciting violence, racial hatred or glorifying National Socialism. Even the cult horror film "Braindead" by "Lord of the Rings" director Peter Jackson (pictured) is banned in Germany because of its depictions of gory violence.
