Same-sex kiss set to keep Lightyear off Chinese screens

Walt Disney has been refused permission to show new Pixar movie Lightyear in 14 Asian and Middle Eastern countries, and the animated film is unlikely to open in China.

Lightyear producer Galyn Susman said authorities in China asked for cuts, which Disney declined to make, so she assumes the movie will not open there.

The film depicts a same-sex couple kissing, which prompted the United Arab Emirates to impose a ban on the movie. The UAE said it violated its media standards.

Homosexuality is considered criminal in many Middle Eastern countries.

But representatives of Muslim-majority countries including Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Indonesia, Malaysia and Lebanon did not say why they would not allow the film to be shown.

Lightyear is a prequel to Pixar's Toy Story series. Chris Evans voices the lead character, space ranger Buzz Lightyear.

In the film Buzz's close friend is a female space ranger who marries another woman. One scene shows them in a brief kiss.

Disney has not received an answer from Chinese authorities on whether they would allow the film in cinemas, Susman said. But China has previously rejected on-screen depictions of homosexuality.

"We're not going to cut out anything," Susman said at the movie's premiere in London.

In May, Disney refused requests to cut same-sex references in Marvel movie Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness.

Saudi Arabia and some other Middle Eastern countries did not show the film.