Disney reportedly refused to allow a grieving father in England to place an etching of Spider-Man on the grave of his 4-year-old son \u2014 because, the media giant said, it wants to preserve the \u201cinnocence\u201d and \u201cmagic\u201d of the company\u2019s characters.<\/p>\n
Ollie Jones, whose family lives outside London in the county of Kent, died of a rare genetic disease and was given a Spider-Man sendoff. It featured a horse-drawn carriage decorated with red and blue balloons, British newspaper\u00a0Metro\u00a0reported.<\/p>\n
His family\u2019s last trip together had been to Disneyland so he could meet his beloved super-hero.<\/p>\n
Ollie\u2019s dad Lloyd Jones reportedly asked the local council for permission to decorate the boy\u2019s gravestone with Spider-Man\u2019s likeness. He was referred to copyright-owner Disney, which rejected the request.<\/p>\n
\u201cI felt sure they would allow it,\u201d Metro quoted him as saying.<\/p>\n
Lloyd said the movie giant is trying to \u201cdisassociate their characters with death\u201d and thought the decision was \u201cabout money.\u201d<\/p>\n
He added: \u201cThat makes no sense to me \u2013 characters die in their films all the time. I think this is all about money.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lloyd\u2019s brother Jason added, \u201cThis meant everything to us.\u201d<\/p>\n
A company rep wrote, \u201cWe follow a policy that began with Walt Disney himself that does not permit the use of characters on headstones, cemetery or other memorial markers or funeral urns.<\/p>\n
\u201cAlthough we cannot grant the family\u2019s request, we would be pleased to commemorate your nephew with a hand-inked, hand-painted, personalized [action frame from the movie] that recognizes his love for Spider-Man, which will read: \u2018For your \u2014 (nephew\u2019s name).<\/p>\n
\u201cThank you for letting us share in the magic of your life. Your friends at the Walt Disney Company.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ollie\u2019s sister Laillah, 6, also suffers from leukodystrophy, the disease that killed the boy. It damages the brain, spinal cord and often peripheral nerves.<\/p>\n\n
Disney reportedly refused to allow a grieving father in England to place an etching of Spider-Man on the grave of his 4-year-old son \u2014 because, the media giant said, it wants to preserve the \u201cinnocence\u201d and \u201cmagic\u201d of the company\u2019s characters. Ollie Jones, whose family lives outside London in the county of Kent, died of …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":61477,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[38],"tags":[3851,3852,1246,3853,3854],"yoast_head":"\n