Disney denies grieving father's request for son's tombstone (1 Viewer)

[lexus]

So, Disney has decided to decline a grieving father's request to have a Spiderman image engraved onto his 4 year old son's tombstone.

"Ollie Jones died in December aged just 4 years old after battling with leukodystrophy, a rare genetic disease which his sister Laillah is also living with. The family are understandably bereft and hoped to mark his grave with a specially designed Spider-Man headstone.

Ollie was a massive fan of the Marvel character, and his father Lloyd knows that Ollie would’ve loved Spider-Man watching over him. “At the moment I go to his grave and see flowers, it would be nice to have something that really reminds me of him,” he said.

However, the local council of Maidstone, UK, said it needs permission from Marvel, which owns the rights to the comic book character, to approve it. Sadly Disney, who has owned Marvel since 2009, cited a decision made by Walt Disney himself that bans the use of Disney-owned characters on graves, tombstones and other memorial markers. This policy is designed to preserve the innocence and magic around its characters.

“We extend our sincere condolences. If we played a small part in Ollie’s happiness we are honored,” a representative of Disney said. Generations of fans have responded to our characters with the same wonder and delight that Ollie did. In fact, many believe the characters to be real. We have striven to preserve the same innocence and magic around our characters that brought Ollie such joy. For that reason, we follow a policy that began with Walt Disney himself that does not permit the use of characters on headstones, cemetery or other memorial markers or funeral urns. Although we cannot grant the family’s request, we would be pleased to commemorate your nephew with a hand-inked, hand-painted, personalized cel that recognises his love for Spider-Man, which will read: ‘For your ——- (nephew’s name), Thank you for letting us share in the magic of your life. Your friends at the Walt Disney Company.’ We feel privileged to have had him as a fan.”

Ollie’s uncle, Jason Jones, was stunned by the decision. “This means everything to us. My brother’s life has been shattered, it has shattered the whole family. We can’t move on until we have his headstone done – Spider-Man was Ollie’s entire life. He loved it so much.”
“His coffin was covered in Spider-man, the procession was led by someone dressed as Spider-man, this would really mean the world to us. I didn’t expect it to be an issue – my funeral director, who’s also my friend, rang me and told me they can’t do it. I thought he was joking at first.”

Father Lloyd suspects that the giant corporation cares only about its bottom line. ”It makes no sense to me – characters die in their films all the time,” he said on Facebook. “Ollie’s last holiday was at Disneyland. He loved Spider-Man and we had bought him all the toys. But now he has died and we won’t be spending any more money, they don’t care.”
The affair has proven to be a massive own goal for Disney, with the internet awash with indignant outrage at their stubborn stance."

Spoiler

Source

What are your thoughts on this issue?

 

[lexus]

I think this is beyond ridiculous. I understand the copyright issues involved, but at the same time, why can't they grant his request? They don't want to take away "the magic of their characters", but have they forgotten how many characters have died in their movies?

 

[quinby]

I heard about this the other day and it pissed me off. Who cares about copyright when it's a TOMBSTONE for a young child. Disney remains trash.

 

[JakeyWantsCakey]

It's a difficult one, I mean the rule is kinda stupid but if Walt Disney himself said that was the case then I understand why the company wants to respect that...

 

[yeji]

wow this is ridiculous. disney should have granted this

 

[Belgizen]

I read this a long time ago.
People think Disney is bad and all but I'm with them.
I'm a huge Marvel fan, just as a lot of people. If they allow this then a lot of people will ask for a Marvel character on their tombstone.
Can you imagine a cemetery with 100s of Spidermen and all the other Avengers?

I think they won't prohibit figurines on the tombstone like kids do with drawings or something.

 

[lexus]

Also, this is a video I watched regarding the issue. It's about 14 minutes long though so watch it if you want to.




Another thing, there's currently petitions going around about one of them has 12,000 signatures as of last Wednesday.

 

[lexus]

I heard about this the other day and it pissed me off. Who cares about copyright when it's a TOMBSTONE for a young child. Disney remains trash.

Disney will always be trash to me now.

 

[lexus]

wow this is ridiculous. disney should have granted this

I agree. Why couldn't they just do this for one little boy? Heck they even had a funeral for him that was Spiderman themed. I think Disney is just being ridiculous.

 

[lexus]

I read this a long time ago.
People think Disney is bad and all but I'm with them.
I'm a huge Marvel fan, just as a lot of people. If they allow this then a lot of people will ask for a Marvel character on their tombstone.
Can you imagine a cemetery with 100s of Spidermen and all the other Avengers?

I think they won't prohibit figurines on the tombstone like kids do with drawings or something.

I disagree. I don't think granting this would give hundreds of people character themed tombstones either.
They have a bereaving father, who also has a daughter with the same condition as the son, who just wants this done for his son so he can finally be at ease. It's not like he just went ahead and did it without their permission either.

 

[Abeamus]

I read this a long time ago.
People think Disney is bad and all but I'm with them.
I'm a huge Marvel fan, just as a lot of people. If they allow this then a lot of people will ask for a Marvel character on their tombstone.
Can you imagine a cemetery with 100s of Spidermen and all the other Avengers?

I think they won't prohibit figurines on the tombstone like kids do with drawings or something.

Then how about they just say no lol, there's a difference in granting it for a 4 year old dying of a rare disease than a 60+ year old superfan who died naturally

 

[Belgizen]

I disagree. I don't think granting this would give hundreds of people character themed tombstones either.
They have a bereaving father, who also has a daughter with the same condition as the son, who just wants this done for his son so he can finally be at ease. It's not like he just went ahead and did it without their permission either.

Because if they agree, there is only a grey area, kinda like rules.
If they agree then another father will write and ask for a Captain America tombstone for his 12 year old son, then there's a chain reaction.
No offense but there are probably a lot of people whose kids died and wanted a tombstone with a Marvel character.
If they agree to give it to one then they should grant it to all kids since it wouldn't be fair.

 

[Belgizen]

Then how about they just say no lol, there's a difference in granting it for a 4 year old dying of a rare disease than a 60+ year old superfan who died naturally

As I said in the comment above, it would become a grey area. If they just said no then people would be mad anyways.
I'm not a Disney-defender but I understand their decision in this case

 

[lexus]

Because if they agree, there is only a grey area, kinda like rules.
If they agree then another father will write and ask for a Captain America tombstone for his 12 year old son, then there's a chain reaction.
No offense but there are probably a lot of people whose kids died and wanted a tombstone with a Marvel character.
If they agree to give it to one then they should grant it to all kids since it wouldn't be fair.

I understand that part. However, them stating that they don’t want their characters “associated with death” and that they want to “preserve the ‘magic’” of their characters is a bit of a stretch. And it’s quite hypocritical too.
I still don’t see the problem with them granting this simple request for one child who had to suffer from a rare disease.

 

[Belgizen]

I honestly don't see the problem with that. If anything, seeing superheroes on tombstones would just make a cemetery feel less heavy and morbid, and more like, "These people have passed on, but we're sending heroes to watch over their graves, and to remind us that they lived well."

I'm a huge DC fan, and if I saw tons of copies of Superman or Wonder Woman or any other DC hero, I wouldn't be offended. And come to think of it, that would also give me something to relate to. Even from a distance, I can go, "Oh hey, that person was also into DC Comics, cool!" It would help us identify with total strangers who we're not there to see, and, while not necessary, that would feel rather nice, wouldn't it? To have that connection? Then that person would live on even better...

Would Warner Bros allow it? Probably not.
If Disney doesn't want their characters to be associated with tombstones, cemeteries and dead people then it's their full right, as they own the characters.


I'm done arguing. This is my opinion and I respect y'alls opinions. I'm still not in the mood for arguments

 

[Abeamus]

As I said in the comment above, it would become a grey area. If they just said no then people would be mad anyways.
I'm not a Disney-defender but I understand their decision in this case

You're going from a 4 year old with a rare disease and saying they'd have to do it for every kid like every kid dies from a rare disease, they may all be tragic deaths but they are not all rare diseases.

 

[lexus]

Also y’all, let’s not have any heavy arguments about this please. I wanted to share this with everyone to see what their thoughts are about this. Whether you agree or disagree with ones opinion is fine, but let’s not get too heated about this.

 

[Venomous]

Honestly, Marvel was not always a Disney property so I think following Walt's "protect the magic" rule is moot, especially considering it's a character from a comic book universe in which people die brutally in practically every issue.

Besides, Disney was a noted racist, misogynistic, anti-semite and that's been confirmed by his own family. It's not about protecting the magic, but protecting their bottom line.

 

[RandAlThor]

I agree. Why couldn't they just do this for one little boy? Heck they even had a funeral for him that was Spiderman themed. I think Disney is just being ridiculous.

Because its never one kid. That is the rub with policy decisions.
They sent a hand inked Cell, frame it put that with the child's photo that is a fitting marker / reminder.

 

[lexus]

Because its never one kid. That is the rub with policy decisions.
They sent a hand inked Cell, frame it put that with the child's photo that is a fitting marker / reminder.

I understand that. I’m starting to consider the other side of the situation too now.
However, it’s still saddening that this father couldn’t do this for his own son. :/