The film triggered an unusually sharp identity dispute inside and around Disney. Critics objected to its satanic imagery and to Bill Cosby's atypical performance as Barney Satin, the Devil's chief henchman, while longtime Disney supporters sent angry letters complaining about profanity and insisting that Walt Disney would never have approved such material. Cosby and his wife Camille had also initially been uneasy about a Black actor taking a role traditionally associated with white performers, although Cosby ultimately accepted partly because he viewed the casting as a way to challenge that convention. The backlash helped convince Disney executives that mature material needed a separate corporate identity rather than being released directly under the family brand. Three years later, the company launched Touchstone Pictures, followed eventually by Hollywood Pictures, providing an outlet for films that did not fit the traditional Disney image.
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AI concept artworkArchive Record · 1980s
Angry Disney Traditionalists Revolt Over Hell, Profanity, and a Black Devil
Bill Cosby and The Devil and Max Devlin / 1980s
The film triggered an unusually sharp identity dispute inside and around Disney. Critics objected to its satanic imagery and to Bill Cosby's atypical performance as Barney Satin, the Devil's chief henchman, while longtime Disney supporters sent angry letters complaining about profanity and insisting that Walt Disney would never have approved such material. Cosby and his wife Camille had also initially been uneasy about a Black actor taking a role traditionally associated with white performers, although Cosby ultimately accepted partly because he viewed the casting as a way to challenge that convention. The backlash helped convince Disney executives that mature material needed a separate corporate identity rather than being released directly under the family brand. Three years later, the company launched Touchstone Pictures, followed eventually by Hollywood Pictures, providing an outlet for films that did not fit the traditional Disney image.
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