1000s sign petition urging Disney to re-think ban & allow Spider-Man on 4-year-old fan’s grave

A British father, who lost his 4-year-old son to a rare disease, says he suffered another blow as Disney forbid putting Spider-Man, the kid’s favorite character, on his grave. Yet, thousands quickly teamed up in his support.

“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,” Disney permissions department wrote in a response to Lloyd Jones, as cited by Mirror.

Ollie Jones, who died of leukodystrophy in December, was a huge Marvel fan and even spent his last holiday at Disneyland together with his beloved superheroes. The decision to ban the image of Spider-Man on the grave was explained with a need to preserve “innocence and magic” around Disney characters.

The father told Metro that it came as a total surprise for him. The man suggested that the ban was more about profit than disassociating the superheroes with death.

Now he has died and we won’t be spending any more money, they don’t care. 

To somehow give the situation a U-turn, his old friend launched an online petition, calling on Disney to reverse the ban, and the motion gathered more than 5,500 signatures on its first day.

The commentators online also disagreed with the company’s ruling and insisted that Spider-Man’s creator, Stan Lee, who died at the age of 95 last year, would’ve never gone against the last wish of a fan.

Others reminded of comic book lore where the death of uncle Ben played a key role in forming Spider-Man character and turning him into a dedicated crime fighter.

Some pointed out that by refusing a grieving father Disney was actually “taking away the magic” of its characters, but not preserving it. There were even calls to boycott all Disney’s movies and merchandise until the company overturns its “inhumane” decision.

One user also suggested that the family should go along with putting Spider-Man’s image on the gravestone to see if Disney will be eager to act against it.

Think your friends would be interested? Share this story!