HEARTLESS: Disney Denies Father’s Request to Put Spider-Man on His Child’s Grave Marker

The Walt Disney Company has denied a father’s request to include an image of Spider-Man on his young son’s grave marker after he died.

Four-year-old Ollie Jones of Kent, England, died last December from leukodystrophy, a rare genetic disorder. Little Ollie loved Marvel superheroes, none more than Spider-Man. He owned all of the toys, and his last vacation was to Disneyland, where he was able to meet his hero.

After he died, the young boy received a Spider-Man-themed funeral, including a horse-drawn hearse covered in red and blue balloons.

Ollie’s father, Lloyd Jones, asked his local council for permission to include an etching of Spider-Man on his son’s gravestone. They told him to obtain permission from Disney, the owners of Marvel.

Disney responded to Jones by email, denying his request because they wanted to preserve the ‘magic’ and ‘innocence’ around its characters. Instead they offered the family a Spider-Man celluloid frame with a personalized message to Ollie.

Ollie’s father Lloyd cannot understand the response. “I really wasn’t expecting this,” he told local media. “It’s another massive blow. I felt sure they would allow it.”

Lloyd believes Disney is making a decision based on money and trying to “disassociate their characters with death.”

Ollie’s sister Laillah, 6, also suffers with leukodystrophy, which affects the brain, spinal cord and peripheral nerves.

In a Facebook post, Lloyd said “Kids only matter to Disney when they’re alive and spending money with them.”

In a statement, The Walt Disney Company said “We extend our sincere condolences. If we played a small part in Ollie’s happiness we are honored. Generations of fans have responded to our characters with the same wonder and delight that Ollie did. In fact, many believe the characters to be real. We have striven to preserve the same innocence and magic around our characters that brought Ollie such joy. For that reason, we 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.”

The Maidstone Borough Council, which governs where Ollie will be buried, is appealing to Disney to allow the gravestone to feature Spider-Man, but no response has been received.

Source: Metro UK