Movies

Vietnam banned animated 'Abominable' over way territory is depicted on map

By Karen Butler   |   Oct. 14, 2019 at 10:19 AM
The animated movie "Abominable" has been banned from theaters in Vietnam. File Photo by Chris Chew/UPI Actress Chloe Bennet arrives for the world premiere of "Abominable" at the Toronto International Film Festival in Canada on September 7. File Photo by Chris Chew/UPI Actor Tenzing Norgay Trainor arrives for the world premiere of "Abominable" at the Toronto International Film Festival in Canada on September 7. File Photo by Chris Chew/UPI

Oct. 14 (UPI) -- Vietnam will not allow Abominable to screen in its movie theaters because of the way a disputed territory is depicted on a map in the family film.

Ta Quang Dong, Vietnam's deputy minister of culture, sports and tourism, said the license had been revoked for the co-production between Hollywood's DreamWorks Animation and the Chinese-owned Pearl Studio.

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Variety reported the film was banned because of the way a map shows contested "nine-dash line" territorial claims between China and Vietnam in the South China Sea.

The BBC said the movie debuted in Vietnamese cinemas on Oct. 4, but was removed from theaters after audience members posted screenshots of the controversial map on social media.