An animated family film about a fluffy white yeti has been caught up in an international territorial dispute.
The movie, Abominable, has been reportedly pulled from cinemas in Vietnam because of a brief scene featuring a map showing China's disputed claims in the vast and resource-rich South China Sea.
The map offended the Vietnamese government for including the so-called "nine-dash line," which is used by Beijing to illustrate its claims in the contested waters, Reuters reported on Monday.
Abominable, a co-production between DreamWorks Animation and Shanghai-based Pearl Studio, depicts how a Chinese girl and her friends help a yeti return to its home on Mount Everest.
The controversial scene came at the beginning of the film, when the girl, Yi, was looking at a Chinese map and dreaming of traveling around the country, moments before she met the yeti for the first time.
The map, though only shown for a few seconds, clearly features the nine-dash line " the U-shaped feature that encompasses an area of the South China Sea that is approximately the size of India.
Over the past few years, Beijing has become more assertive in enforcing its territorial claims. In mainland China, all maps must show regions such as the self-ruled island of Taiwan and the South China Sea as part of Chinese territory. The nine-dash line is based on a Chinese map from 1947.
International companies that fail to toe the line on China's territorial claims often face boycott calls in the country.
But following Beijing's rules sometimes means offending people elsewhere. The nine-dash line, for example, is disputed by countries including Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei.
Last week, ESPN was criticized after showing a map of China that included the nine-dash line during a broadcast.
As a Twitter observer noted, not only does ESPN's China map include Taiwan and the Nine Dash Line, which the US gov't and international community deem illegal, it also includes the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh, which the US has recognized as Indian territory since the 60s. pic.twitter.com/J3UVkt1trM
" Jeff M. Smith (@Cold_Peace_) October 10, 2019
The Vietnamese government has taken a stronger stance in countering Beijing's claims since a Chinese survey ship and its armed coastguard escorts began making passes through Vietnam-controlled waters in July.
According to Reuters, Abominable was removed from cinemas in the country on Sunday after images of the nine-dash line scene were shared widely on social media.
Ta Quang Dong, deputy minister of culture, sports and tourism, was quoted as saying by the Thanh Nien newspaper that the screening license of the film would be revoked.
China is the world's second-biggest film market. Hollywood producers have in the past made changes to movie plots and casts in order to court the government and audiences in the country.
Abominable is the first Hollywood cartoon to feature a modern Chinese family. It premiered in mainland China on October 1, the beginning of the National Day holiday marking the 70th birthday of Communist China.
DreamWorks said previously it relied on its Chinese partner to make sure the movie depicted life in China accurately and resonated with Chinese audiences.
"The film is packed with little nods and grace notes to Chinese culture," the company said in its promotional materials. Neither DreamWorks nor Pearl responded immediately to Inkstone's request for comment.
The film has so far made a total of $109 million globally, according to Box Office Mojo, including a modest $14 million in China. Its budget was reportedly $75 million, excluding marketing and promotional costs.
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