Removing women from movie posters is standard in this religious city — but it's not every day that an animated character is censored.
In the ultra-orthodox Bnei Brak, outside Tel Aviv, Israel, posters for Smurfs: The Lost Village are missing one of the film's main characters, Variety reports. The female Smurfette, who's voiced by Demi Lovato, isn't on the city's posters. Instead, the posters only depict the film's three other main characters: Brainy (Danny Pudi), Clumsy (Jack McBrayer), and Hefty (Joe Manganiello).
"Ultra-religious Jewish males are forbidden to look upon images of women," Variety explains. In the past, that's led to censorship of posters for movies like The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 2. It's not just movies, either — IKEA has released an ultra-Orthodox version of its catalog, featuring only men, in the past. And according to Fox News, ultra-Orthodox news outlets in Israel didn't publish photos of Hillary Clinton alongside news articles about the 2016 U.S. presidential election.
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The Times of Israel notes that, while it might seem odd, this isn't the first time an animated character has been censored for religious neighborhoods. Apparently, a cartoon Tinkerbell has been edited out of Peter Pan ads in the past, too.
The Smurfs posters aren't censored by the city or by religious groups directly. The Smurfs movie's PR firm and distributors created the Smurfette-free ads specifically with religious neighborhoods in mind. Forum Film, the movie's distributor in Israel, told Haaretz that its PR company decided against hanging the original posters in Bnei Brak "in order not to harm residents' sensibilities," according to the news outlet.
Variety also notes that the majority of Israel features the original posters, which include Smurfette.
Still, many Twitter users in Israel and across the globe mocked the censorship of an animated character.
wait... They seriously censored out Smurfette from posters?? A blue cartoon character? Because she was a woman (THE ONLY ONE IN THE MOVIE)??
— Evelina (@evelina_lann) March 28, 2017
How dare they erase Smurfette from the picture, @ddlovato you deserve better than this being a central character in the movie ? https://t.co/EwZBk3Bn1Q
— ㅤ (@alluring_demi) March 28, 2017
@DiannaDeLaGarza @ddlovato They did not take off Smurfette. THE Smurfette. Voiced by Demi Lovato.. pic.twitter.com/qIHWcGlWYu
— C0CAINA (@BadBxtchDemi) March 28, 2017
Smurfette erased from @SmurfsMovie posters in Israel because she's too provocative but topless male Smurfs remain. https://t.co/ZyvRntbRE9 pic.twitter.com/X6hk9zWOzB
— Maia Efrem (@maiaefrem) March 28, 2017