10 Movies That Were Re-Edited After Release (And Why)
6. Show Dogs
Show Dogs hit cinemas in May 2018, and just a few days after it launched, it began to stir up some controversy. Why? Well, this family film about a talking dog was said to be sending a "troubling message that grooms children for sexual abuse." Yes, really.
That's what the National Center on Sexual Exploitation claimed in a statement, with the organisation adding that Show Dogs normalized "unwanted genital touching" in a few scenes:
"[Show Dogs] contains multiple scenes where a dog character must have its private parts inspected, in the course of which the dog is uncomfortable and wants to stop but is told to go to a ‘zen place.’ The dog is rewarded with advancing to the final round of the dog show after passing this barrier. Disturbingly, these are similar tactics child abusers use when grooming children - telling them to pretend they are somewhere else, and that they will get a reward for withstanding their discomfort."
Even though these parts were played for laughs, the film was pulled from cinemas and re-edited to have this content removed. In total, two scenes were cut from the film, and to coincide with these changes, the filmmakers and the studio released statements condemning non-consensual touching.