This from The Guardian:
After an absence of about 20 years, cinema will make a tentative return to Saudi Arabia next month with a screening of cartoons for an audience of women and children. A one-hour programme of foreign cartoons dubbed into Arabic will be shown at a hotel in Riyadh three times a night for two weeks, starting from November 2 or 3, when the holy month of Ramadan ends.
And this from a Saudi blog on how various cartoon characters might be received:
Bugs Bunny: Clean animal, eats carrots, American accent but we can dub him into street-Jeddah, he should go down well.
The Simpsons: Well, Homer can be used as a negative role model for slobby boozing infidel. Trouble is, Lisa is a bit smart, and certainly more so than her brother. That will upset our cultural preconceptions. No Simpsons.
Fred Flintstone: The women know their place, stay at home, never drive. Men get to do all the fun stuff. Definitely OK.
Charlie Brown and Snoopy: Cute, but dogs are unclean, haram. Sorry.
Betty Boop: You’re kidding! Look at her. Harlot! Stone her!
Top Cat: A clean animal but a bit too streetwise. Reminds us of a gang of foreign “overstayers”, out in the streets selling Qurans they’ve just stolen from the local mosque. Sorry.
Mickey Mouse: Cute, innocent, dumb. OK. But no Minny.
Popeye: Tobacco addiction. Unveiled girlfriend. Sorry.
Scooby-Doo. We believe in Jinns (spirits), but can’t have an unclean dog chasing them away, they’ll only come back ten-fold.
Winnie the Pooh: If you don’t know the answer already, you haven’t been paying attention.
Yogi Bear: In principle, OK. Problem is, he steals. So he’s going to get one hand and the opposite foot amputated. Not that that will upset the kids, they see amputations all the time. It’s just that a wobbly bear isn’t funny any more.
Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner: Road Runner drives like the typical Saudi Dad, especially in the city. He’ll be a real hero. Definitely.
Superman: Yes. Just change the “S” to an Arabic “Siin” and have him speak Arabic with a Riyadh accent.
Wonder Woman: What do you think?
Porky Pig: Ditto
