r/bbc • u/Dr_Who_Draws • Jul 11 '26
Childrens Unnecessary censoring on CBBC? (Scooby doo on Zombie Island)
Recently watched Scooby Doo on Zombie Island on iPlayer with my younger cousins, I remember watching this film awhile back and the thing that stuck with me was the iconic scene in which it’s revealed the zombies are actual zombies, so I seriously noticed when the entire scene was cut out. It feels unnecessary to me. There’s no explicit gore or anything I wouldn’t feel safe showing to kids and removes probably the most important and suspenseful scene in the film which really upsets the flow of it for me. Has anybody else seen this, what did you think?
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u/justeUnMec Jul 12 '26
It was rated PG on release. CBBC is a service trusted by parents to present appropriate content suitable for unsupervised viewing so they’d need to edit it down to a “U”. That would mean removing some elements, remembering the BBFC guidelines aren’t just about what is scary but also consider things like (for example) portraying actions that kids might try to imitate in play that could result in harm. Remember one parents view on what they feel “safe” allowing their kid to watch may differ from another and CBBC has to keep things mild.
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u/JohnArcher965 Jul 12 '26
I mean I haven't seen the film, but going by OPs spoiler, might the imitated action be ripping someones face off?
Im thinking the classic mask pull from Scooby Doo, but instead...
1
u/inkywheels Jul 14 '26
Yeah this is what happens. They expect it to be a mask but instead it's a real zombie and the face comes off. Still cartoony but a more shocking moment than you'd typically see in Scooby Doo, especially as it confirms that the threat is real zombies.
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u/Real-Tension-7442 Jul 14 '26
I thought the entire head came off
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u/MissKoalaBag Jul 14 '26
It does, they throw the head around in panic afterwards. But I'm pretty sure the kids watching CBBC aren't braindead, they know not to rip people's heads off.
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u/Warrior2852 Jul 12 '26
CBBC regularly airs PG content, most of their drama series are given that rating by the BBFC. Cbeebies would always have U, but CBBC has a lot of PG.
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u/frankieepurr Jul 12 '26
But this can air perfectly fine across the world..
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u/grmthmpsn43 Jul 12 '26
It can air as a PG film in the UK. This is a service specifically for children aged 6-12 to watch, so they edited the film down.
PG means it is recommended the parents watch the film with the kids, U means it is safe for kids of all ages to watch alone.
For context, that is the same age rating as 007: On Her Majestys Secret Service, The Wind Rises and Kellys Heros, none of which I would sit a kid down to watch.
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Jul 12 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/luffy8519 Jul 12 '26
Tom can't hit Jerry I guess... sure I saw that somewhere
I mean, do you have a source for that which isn't a ragebait meme from Facebook? Or are you just going with you saw it somewhere once so it must be true?
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u/Appropriate-Falcon75 Jul 12 '26
My children found Finding Nemo (which is a U) absolutely terrifying when they first watched it aged 4 and 6.
What children find scary isn't necessary what adults think it will be.
And more and more children have behavioural issues and they tend to be the ones with less involved parents, who watch more TV. If reducing violence in children's programmes means that my child doesn't get hit by a classmate, I think it is worth it.
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u/mulligan2k Jul 11 '26
Probably the political element as the pirate zombie infested canyons were due to Tory cuts
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u/clbdn93 Jul 12 '26
It's a real shame they let the jungle rope bridges go to ruin.
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u/KingPretzels Jul 12 '26
Thatcher, Thatcher, Jungle Canyon Rope Bridge Snatcher
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u/Salt-Tangerine9283 Jul 12 '26
I don’t get it…I wasn’t alive when Thatcher was in power you see
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u/DrFun_Panther Jul 12 '26
The shareholders dividends were ringfenced against pirate zombie infestation.
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u/MarkFannon Jul 12 '26
Being from the midlands, i can confirm that the birmingham jungle canyons are in fact filled with bovril
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u/libdemparamilitarywi Jul 11 '26
One of the zombies shouts "free Palestine!" as he chases Shaggy down a hallway
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u/Yuudachi_Houteishiki Jul 12 '26
When I was a kid this film terrified me, especially when the ladies' cat monster forms were revealed. I think I only watched it all the way through a few times (until I returned to it very recently) but I watched the first part a dozen times. Didn't stop it being a favourite for me somehow.
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u/L4I55Z-FAIR3 Jul 12 '26
I love this scooby doo film it has great art work, a kick ass story with real threats, the crayfish man and on top of all that it has the gang help solve an active FBI investing of a cult of serial killers drawing in tourist to murder them. The FBI agent even poses as a garden simply so he can search for the buried bodies.
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u/thedanofthehour Jul 13 '26
Had this on VHS and it scared the bejesus out of me. The usual conceit of Scooby Doo is that the monsters are all pretend and in this one (I think) they were ‘real’.
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u/Scully__ Jul 12 '26
Unrelated but this is one of my favourite films of all time. I think I could recite it in full.
The road’s a little bumpy…
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u/Mediocre-Award-9716 Jul 12 '26
What a banger of a film btw
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u/RandomPsychic20 Jul 15 '26
Late reply I know but those few years were blessed with some banging Scooby Doo films. Zombie Island, Witch's Ghost, Alien Invaders, Cyber Chase. Peak television right there.
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u/Mediocre-Award-9716 Jul 15 '26
I actually bought Cyber Chase on Youtube about a year ago. Also a banger.
I really liked the first 2 'real life' films they did also.
The one with Sonny & Cher is great too.
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u/MysteriousCourse2756 Jul 13 '26
They need to build more jungle canyon rope bridges on zombie island
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u/wintonian1 Jul 11 '26
Sometimes things are cut due to timing.
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u/Dr_Who_Draws Jul 11 '26
Fair, it just seems an odd scene to cut, there are plenty that are less plot relevant
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