Church of England questions Hindu cartoon film in UK cinemas

The Church of England has accused UK cinemas of "hypocrisy" after an advertisement featuring a Christian prayer was banned before a film but the screening of a Hindu animated film has been allowed.

Before every showing of 'The Good Dinosaur' in Odeon, Cineworld and Vue cinemas across Britain, there is a short animated film called 'Sanjay's Super Team' that shows Hindu deities acting as superheroes during prayer to protect a young boy.

Last month, the same cinemas had triggered a controversy over their refusal to screen a 60-second advert showing people reciting the Lord's Prayer, saying that it could cause offence to people of other faiths.
 

Reverend Arun Arora, the director of communications for the Archbishops' Council, told 'The Times': "I haven't seen the film but as someone who grew up watching Hindi films and brought up on Bollywood, I have no problem whatsoever with Sanjay and certainly have no objection to the cinemas showing this film.

"But the fact that they are doing so demonstrates the incoherence of their on-the-hoof policy making. Every film and advertisement conveys a message. And this one seems to convey an obviously pro-religion, in this case pro-Hinduism, one.

"There is an unfortunate combination of double standards and hypocrisy on display in this decision-making process which needs addressing urgently."

The advert featuring the Lord's Prayer had been due to be shown before 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' but after initially agreeing to the advert being shown, Digital Cinema Media (DCM) - which handles most advertising and is owned by Odeon and Cineworld - changed its mind.

The advert, made by justpray.Uk, shows a sequence of people in different settings saying the Lord's Prayer. It has been launched on YouTube and is hosted on the Church of England's website.

The DCM said that it had a policy not to show political or religious adverts that might offend audiences.

The cinema chains defended the screening of 'Sanjay's Super Team', saying that it was a film made by the same studio as'The Good Dinosaur' and that the two films were shown together as one movie.

A spokesperson for Odeon said: "It is a film, not an advertisement, so is not covered by our advertising policies.