Disney reverses direction on trademarking Dia de los Muertos

Word spread quickly Tuesday that Disney had filed a trademark application for “Dia de los Muertes.”

The Internet was outraged at the request, and the Internet won again. Disney acted quickly to quell dissent.

Fronteras Desk, one of the news outlets that helped the story go viral, tweeted at day’s end that Disney was “withdrawing trademark application for ‘Dia de los Muertos’ following story, social media outcry.”

On Wednesday it was confirmed true. This means the  “Dia de los Muertes” phrase can’t be trademarked by any corporation, since Disney is one of the most powerful. If you haven’t been keeping up with this controversy, read one of the news alerts ArizonaLatinos.com posted earlier on Tuesday, May 7:

By Maria G. Valdez, The Latin Times

Every year, the 1^st and 2^nd of November, Mexico shuts down to celebrate “Día de los Muertos,” a holiday to honor, pray for and remember friends and family members who have died. People build altars using sugar skulls, marigolds, and anything that the departed liked and visit their graves with these as gifts.

 Celebrating the deaths of ancestors apparently has appealed a lot to Disney, who now wants to trademark “Día de los Muertos” because it has been selected as the topic of an upcoming film from Pixar Animation Studios.

You must be thinking why promote a movie about death and target it to little kids. Well, think of it as a cultural experience. The “Día De Los Muertos” or “Day of the Dead” is not about portraying the morbid aspect of death, but celebrating life, and appreciating the good times people had while on earth.

If you think about it, it’s about teaching the kids to leave a positive mark on the world so when time comes, people remember them, and value their contributions to society. They’ll also learn about Mexican culture, which is very rich, interesting and colorful, and as a parent, you’ll feel good to have a great educational family outing.

Among the trademark applications that The Walt Disney Company has filed for, are education and entertainment services, confectionery, cosmetics, transmission or reproduction of sound or images, computer programs, accessories, jewelry, paper articles, luggage, and more.

Even though the project is officially known (for now) as “The Untitled Pixar Movie about Dia de los Muertos,” filing the application might indicate that the movie could actually be called “Día de los Muertos,” and they want to play it safe with the name, since it’s a popular celebration.

The film will be directed by Lee Unkrich and will hit the theatres in 2015.

From The Latin Times