Group Demands Disney Drop ‘Hakuna Matata’ Trademark

A Zimbabwean activist started an online petition, demanding Disney release it’s trademark on the phrase ‘Hakuna Matata‘.

The common South African saying, which means “no worries,” is a well-known song in the extremely successful 1994 Disney movie “The Lion King.”  The company trademarked the saying and used the phrase and song in several spin-offs of the Lion King movie.  An additional trademark in 2003 allows the company to use the phrase on merchandise.

A group gathered over 50,000-signatures in an online petition, claiming that the company trademarking the phrase is emblematic of “colonialism” and “cultural appropriation.”

Zimbabwean activist, Shelton Mpala, says he started the petition “to draw attention to the appropriation of African culture and the importance of protecting our heritage, identity and culture from being exploited for financial gain by third parties.  This plundered artwork serves to enrich or benefit these museums and corporations and not the creators or people it’s derived from.

Disney has not yet commented about the petition.  A live-action remake of “The Lion King” will be released in 2019.

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