PETA executives are calling for the producers of Anchorman: The Legend Continues to edit all of the scenes shot at SeaWorld.
PETA Foundation Director of Captive Animal Law Enforcement Delcianna Winders said in a statement , “The constant deprivation that marine mammals face at SeaWorld is suited to a horror film, not a comedy.”
Winders continued, “The makers of Finding Dory changed its ending after learning how cruel SeaWorld is, and PETA is calling on the creators of Anchorman to do the same – and leave all SeaWorld scenes on the cutting-room floor, where they belong.”
Pixar recently announced that it had changed the ending of Finding Dory , the sequel to Finding Nemo, in response to the SeaWorld documentary, Blackfish. Documentarian Gabriela Cowperthwaite set out to uncover the truth about trainer Dawn Brancheau’s 2010 death, and exposed the deplorable conditions Tilikum, the whale who killed Brancheau, was being held in.
A Pixar employee said the film’s ending was originally set in a SeaWorld-type marine park, but the studio decided to restructure that part of the story after the documentary came out. The new ending gives the mammals and fish in the park the option to leave, instead of being kept in captivity. Since the film is still in the early stages of production, the changes only required a rewrite and not a complete overhaul. It should still make its November 25, 2015 release.
In Anchorman: The Legend Continues, Will Ferrell reprises his role as Ron Burgundy, a San Diego news anchor in the 1970s. In the sequel, Ron is washed up from his news anchor job and has to work as an announcer at SeaWorld. Dolphins are featured briefly in the trailer .
Anchorman: The Legend Continues is scheduled to hit theaters December 20.
What do you think of PETA’s request to remove the SeaWorld scenes from Anchorman?