Disney has added a disclaimer to some of its classic films streaming on its new Disney+ service.

The disclaimer on films that contain racist stereotypes states: “This programme is presented as originally created. It may contain outdated cultural depictions.”

The studio launched its long-awaited Disney+ streaming service in the US earlier this week.

Some of the classic films that now carry disclaimers are Dumbo, Peter Pan, Lady and the Tramp, the Jungle Book and Swiss Family Robinson.

The 1941 film Dumbo features crows with exaggerated accents that help the young elephant learn to fly.

The lead crow is also called Jim Crow – the name for an infamous set of laws that legalised segregation in the Southern US states.

Meanwhile, the 1953 Peter Pan features caricatured Native American characters.

Lady and the Tramp meanwhile, released in 1955, contains a pair of Siamese cats with exaggerated oriental accents.

The studio has come in for some criticism from those who believe the warning should have gone further.

Psyche Williams-Forson, chairwoman of American studies at the University of Maryland, said the company should make a “more robust statement that this was wrong, and these depictions were wrong.”

She agreed that it was important that the scenes were shown rather than cut, in order to encourage discussion about the films and their part in cultural history.

Disney is not the first studio to include disclaimers with its films.

A Warner Bros disclaimer warned that: “While these cartoons do not represent today's society, they are being presented as they were originally created, because to do otherwise would be the same as claiming these prejudices never existed.”