Disney have been accused of cultural appropriation over their controversial trademarking of the Swahili phrase ‘Hakuna Matata’, made famous in the 1994 film, The Lion King. More than 40,000 people have signed a petition urging Disney to release it’s patent of the phrase – which translates to ‘No worries’ or ‘No problem’ – likening their legal ownership of it to ‘colonialism’.
Kenya youths the likes of @LarryMadowo are now pretending that "Hakuna matata" phrase is more important than the money siphoned through corruption in Kenya.#hakuna matata
— JAKOGERO (@ByronOdhiambo6) December 18, 2018
Though Disney originally filed for the trademark in 1994 – and later approved in 2003 – the row resurfaced ahead of the live-action remake of the beloved musical animation, coming July next year. Shelton Mpala, an activist from Zimbabwe argues that a culture’s language cannot and should not be able to be owned by corporations
So no one would have ever used Hakuna Matata in a sentence?
— Cedric Kanda (@KandaCedric) December 18, 2018
Calling it a ‘robbery’ of Swahili culture, Mpala launched the Change.org petition hoping to bring momentum back to the debate. On the petition’s page, Mpala wrote: ‘I liken this to colonialism and robbery, the appropriation of something you have no right over.
‘Imagine, “If we were to go that route, then we owe the British royalties for everyone who speaks English, or France for when we speak French.” ‘Disney can’t be allowed to trademark something that it didn’t invent.’ So far, the petition has amassed 42,444 signatures, just seven and a half thousand short of Mpala’s goal.
Since it’s release, The Lion King film has generated more than $1 billion in revenue for Disney, and even became the highest grossing theater show in 2014, overtaking The Phantom of the Opera by amassing a gross value of $6.2 billion in sales. The live action remake, starring Beyonce and directed by John Favreu, will be released worldwide on July 19, 2019.