Despite the many petitions being made for the request, it seems like Disney continues to refuse a grieving father in England to put an etching of Spider-Man on the tombstone of his 4-year-old son.
Ollie Jones, Lloyd Jones' four-year-old son, was given a comic book send-off when he died of a rare genetic disease. The child was a big Spider-Man fan, and according to British newspaper Metro, the send-off featured a horse-drawn carriage decorated with red and blue balloons.
The little boy who had lived a little bit outside London in Maidstone, Kent, had suffered from the disease leukodystrophy for two years of his life. A huge fan of Peter Parker, his parents decided to take him to Disneyland to meet his favorite superhero before the inevitable.
Grieving over his son's passing, Jones decided to ask his local council for permission to decorate Ollie's gravestone with a Spider-Man etching. However, when he was referred to Disney for permission, Jones was rejected by the Mickey Mouse House.
Apparently, Disney wouldn't allow him to make the etching because they want to "dissociate their characters with death."
Lloyd couldn't understand why the company would refuse such a small request – it wasn't like they would lose anything.
"I really wasn't expecting this – it's another massive blow," the father told Metro, "That makes no sense to me — characters die in their films all the time. I think this is all about money."
"This meant everything to us," Lloyd's brother, Jason, added. "My brother's life has been shattered, it has shattered the whole family."
Right now there are multiple petitions on Change.Org asking Disney to reconsider their decision. However, it seems like the company is standing their ground, saying that they are simply following a policy made by Walt Disney himself that disallowed the use of any of their characters on headstones, cemetery, or other memorial markers or funeral urns.
It's a heartbreaking scenario really. We hope that Disney finds a way to compromise and help the grieving family.
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