MTRCB deliberating on 'Barbie' amid banning concerns over South China Sea map
MANILA, Philippines — The Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) is currently deciding if the upcoming blockbuster "Barbie" starring Margot Robbie as the titular doll will be allowed for commercial release in the Philippines.
The agency released a statement that "Barbie" was reviewed on July 4 and an assigned Committee on First Review is deliberating the request of distributor Warner Brothers F.E. Inc. to exhibit the film.
The MTRCB said a copy of the Committee's decision will be uploaded on their official website once available.
The review of "Barbie" comes after Vietnam's decision to ban the film because of scenes with a map showing China's claims to territory in the South China Sea through its so-called nine-dash line.
MTRCB chairperson Lala Sotto told GMA News that the local distributor applied for rating and classification before Vietnam's decision.
According to Warner Bros' Philippine representatives, "Barbie" is set to be released July 19.
Last 2022, Sony's videogame movie "Uncharted" starring Tom Holland was pulled out from cinemas — two months after its release — as the film had a scene with a map depicting China's nine-dash line, and according to Department of Foreign Affairs, the scene was contrary to national interest.
The DFA stressed then that China's nine-dash line claim over the South China Sea, part of which is the West Philippine Sea, has been settled by the July 2016 arbitral award by the UNCLOS-backed tribunal which ruled that claim as invalid.
The DFA made similar requests to pull out 2019 animated film "Abominable" and two episodes of Australian political drama "Pine Gap" on Netflix for depictions of the nine-dash line.
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