Entertainment

Lin-Manuel Miranda Let Disney Censor 'Hamilton' So Kids Could See It

by Christina Marfice
Lin-Manuel Miranda Let Disney Censor 'Hamilton' So Kids Could See It
Hamilton/Youtub Lin-Manuel Miranda/Twitter

Yes, Hamilton will be censored on Disney Plus to be more family-friendly — but Lin-Manuel says everything will be fine

By now, anyone who has even a passing interest in musical theater should know that the theatrically filmed version of Hamilton will be available to stream on Disney Plus in less than two weeks (after being moved up more than a year because Lin-Manuel Miranda knows we all need something to look forward to right now). But with the film’s July 3 release right around the corner, fans have been wondering whether the notoriously family-friendly Disney brand would allow it to stream completely uncensored — naughty language, sexual themes, adult situations, and all.

Well, the answer is no. Hamilton will be censored on Disney Plus. But don’t worry, fans — things aren’t as bad as they sound. Lin-Manuel took to Twitter to explain how and why the show needed to be cleaned up just a tiny bit, and answer fan questions about the censoring. From his explanations, it sounds like the changes won’t be too heartbreaking, even for the most diehard Ham fans.

When the trailer for the movie dropped this week, fans were quick to notice that it was rated PG-13, not R. So they took to social media to see what changes had been made to warrant that rating. Here’s what Lin-Manuel had to say.

Apparently, the problem with the ratings is that the MPAA will only allow one F-bomb in a movie that’s rated PG-13. Any more than that, and it gets an automatic R rating. And as anyone who regularly sings along with the soundtrack knows, Hamilton has three of ’em.

And so, two lyric changes had to be made to ensure the PG-13 rating would stand, Lin-Manuel explained. Or, as he put it, “I literally gave two fucks so the kids could see it.”

The only changes we’ll hear when we watch Hamilton on Disney Plus will be, according to Lin, “a mute over ‘I get the f___ back up again,'” and “Southern *record scratch*kin’ Democratic Republicans.” That means a total of two songs will be slightly different — “Yorktown” and “Washington On Your Side.”

A quick reminder of just how amazing this movie is going to be — here’s the goosebump-inducing trailer that dropped yesterday:

And don’t worry, Hamilton fans. Lin-Manuel confirmed in the replies that all the show’s other language, from “bastard orphans” to “blood and shit spray” are fair game under the PG-13 rating, and they won’t be changed. And just because a couple of F-bombs will be muted onscreen doesn’t mean we can’t scream them at home when we sing along — as long as the kids have finished their viewing party and gone to bed already.