Disney animators have a long history of hiding — ahem — body parts in plain sight within their family-friendly films and it looks like they’ve done it again with Haunted Mansion.
The film is a reboot of the 2000’s film starring Eddie Murphy and based on the beloved Disneyland ride. While it has been getting middling reviews, it currently sits at number three at the box office behind the mega-hits Barbie and Oppenhiemer. And while Haunted Mansion is ostensibly aimed at kids and families, there is a scene about halfway through the film that made us do a double take.
In the movie, LaKeith Stanfield stars as Ben Matthias, a paranormal guide who is trying to help a single mom, played by Rosario Dawson, rid her home of ghosts. At one point, he is holding a candle that becomes possessed by spirit and suddenly sprouts eyes and a mouth. It may not have been onscreen for long, but the candle caught our attention because the shape looked oddly familiar.
Courtesy of Disney
Look, we’ve seen a lot of dicks over the years and that candle, with its bulbous mushroom-capped head was comically phallic shaped.
Did Disney intend for the ghost candle to look like a penis? Who knows. But it is far from the first time the studio has been accused of hiding raunchy images in their family-friendly films. It’s not even the first time the Disney animators have hidden a dick in a movie!
In the original-animated version of The Little Mermaid, there is a penis-shaped tower in the background of the movie poster and the minister in the film is shown with a boner. Plus “Sex” was spelled out in the wind in The Lion King and there was a topless woman in the background of The Rescuers.
Despite this history we still didn’t count on Disney being bold enough to include a flaming dick in their movie!
Haunted Mansion is currently in theaters.
