James Cameron's The Abyss Pulled From Disney+ in the UK Because of Banned 'Rat Abuse' Scene - IGN

James Cameron's The Abyss Pulled From Disney+ in the UK Because of Banned 'Rat Abuse' Scene - IGN

James Cameron’s beloved sci-fi film The Abyss has been removed from Disney+ in the UK due to the inclusion of a banned scene.

ign.com

TL;DR: Disney+ UK quietly pulled James Cameron’s 1989 sci-fi classic The Abyss after spotting that a long-banned scene—where a real rat is dunked into a vat of fluorocarbon liquid—had snuck onto the April streaming upload. The British Board of Film Classification had outlawed the bit under 1937’s Cinematograph Films (Animals) Act and the 1984 Video Recordings Act, yet a loophole let it slip past because streaming services aren’t held to the same cut-it-or-lose-it rules as cinemas, DVDs or broadcast TV.

Why it matters: The RSPCA slammed the “streaming loophole” that lets animal-cruelty footage play unchecked in our homes and called for consistent protections across all platforms. In response, Disney has yanked the movie until it can reinstate a version with that notorious rat scene removed—just like every other UK release.