From Barbie to Borat and Batman: All the weird and wacky reasons countries have banned movies

Barbie, starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, has earnt the ire of censors in Vietnam.

The film has been banned in the South-East Asian nation because it depicts a map with the "nine-dash line", which depicts areas of the South China Seat that China claims as its own, including areas Vietnam considers its continental shelf.

The Simpsons might be the most iconic cartoon family to have ever graced the small screen, but Myanmar was not too keen on their foray onto the big screen.

The nation, then called Myanmar, banned The Simpsons Movie not because of its content, but because it features too much red and yellow, which was considered to promote support for rebel groups.

The Wolf Of Wall Street has attracted bans in a number of countries due to its graphic content, but in Cambodia it was scrapped for another reason entirely: it portrayed the kingdom in negative a light.

A similar decision was made in the case of Kingsman: The Golden Circle, which authorities said made Cambodia look like "the place where the terrorists stay and make trouble for the world".

The second instalment of Christopher Nolan's critically acclaimed Batman trilogy featured a number of scenes that were shot in Hong Kong.

However, when an outdoor cinema in the country attempted to screen it in 2022, it had to change its plan because of the amount of violence in the film.

Organisers said that, "based on direction from the HK Government Office for Film, Newspaper and Article Administration".

The cancellation came amid a crackdown following anti-China protests on the island state.

Warner Bros. decided against trying to get The Dark Knight approved for screening on the mainland when it was first released, although it was shown at cinemas in Hong Kong.

Speaking of China, one of the notable Western films to not get a run there was 2018's Christopher Robin.

An official reason wasn't given, but the decision came amid a crackdown on pictures of Winnie the Pooh after government critics depicted President Xi Jinping as the beloved – but rather pudgy – teddy bear.

Some, however, claimed the ban was simply a matter of timing – China has a foreign film quota and there were a number of other major titles already released when Christopher Robin hit the screens.

The 2010 action film Machete is banned in Ukraine because one of its stars, Steven Seagal, fell foul of local authorities.

Seagal, who was given Russian citizenship by Vladimir Putin, was blacklisted for visiting Crimea after Russia illegally annexed it in 2014, well before the full-scale invasion was launched eight years later.

It's not the only title to be pulled in Ukraine for a blacklisted actor. In fact, Volodymyr Zelenskyy even stars in one of them.

Zelenskyy was an actor and comedian before becoming president, and starred in the 2015 rom-com 8 First Dates.

However, one of his co-stars was Yekaterina Varnava who, like Seagal, visited Crimea after it was annexed.

As a result, you can't watch 8 First Dates in Ukraine, even though it stars the country's president.

The only way people in Iran were able to watch 300 was on bootleg DVDs, due to its unflattering depiction of the Persian empire and its soldiers.

The film is notorious for its historical inaccuracies – among other things – but Iran's Islamic leadership was particularly upset by it.

"Such a fabrication of culture and insult to people is not acceptable by any nation or government," government spokesperson Gholamhossein Elham said.

"(Iran) considers it as hostile behaviour which is the result of cultural and psychological warfare."

Censorship isn't particularly rare in Iran.

It banned Zoolander for promoting homosexuality, and also red-flagged the Oscar-winning Argo for its negative portrayal of Iran.

After six weeks running in Israeli cinemas, the 1965 James Bond film Goldfinger was pulled.

The reason? It emerged that Gert Fröbe, who played the film's eponymous villain, had been a Nazi member for eight years up to 1937.

However, after Jewish man Mario Blumenau walked into the Israeli embassy in Austria several months later and told how Fröbe hid him and his mother from Nazis, potentially saving their lives, authorities did a swift u-turn and re-allowed the film.

Sacha Baron Cohen's memorable mockumentary was banned upon release in Kazakhstan – unsurprisingly so, given its portrayal of the country.

So it was something of a shock when, 14 years later, Kazakh Tourism unveiled a new campaign with Borat's iconic "very nice!" catchphrase as its "official new slogan".

Russia, on the other hand, decided to blacklist Borat for being "offensive".

All Quiet On The Western Front, the critically acclaimed anti-war epic based on the 1929 novel of the same name, featured on a number of censorship lists leading up to World War II.

One of the countries it was banned in was Germany, where the ruling Nazi party decided it was too anti-militaristic for public viewing, and that it was anti-German.

Ironically, authorities in Poland also banned it – in their case claiming it was too pro-German.

All the way over in Australia, the film was successful, with one notable exception: it was banned in Victoria by the state's chief censor for promoting pacifism.

Lebanon prohibited Wonder Woman from being shown because it stars Gal Gadot in the lead role.

Gadot is from and was in the armed forces of Israel, which is technically still at war with Lebanon following a 2006 UN-brokered ceasefire between the two nations.

Qatar and Tunisia also banned the film because of Gadot's casting, while other films she has starred in, such as Death On The Nile, have also attracted the ire of censors in the Middle East.

Not everyone got to enjoy Buzz Lightyear's origin story.

Lightyear was banned in a swathe of nations before its release, including Egypt, Malaysia, Indonesia and the United Arab Emirates, because of a scene in which Alisha Hawthorne kisses her female partner.

Films have frequently faced censorship for showing same-sex relationships, but Lightyear producer Galyn Susman was adamant the film wouldn't cut any scenes to appease authorities.

"We're not going to cut out anything, especially something as important as the loving and inspirational relationship that shows Buzz what he's missing by the choices that he's making, so that's not getting cut," she said.

"It's great that we are a part of something that's making steps forward in the social inclusion capacity, but it's frustrating that there are still places that aren't where they should be."

The Da Vinci Code grossed more than $1 billion at the box office, despite a raft of nations blacklisting the blockbuster citing religious concerns.

The film, based on Dan Brown's novel of the same name, controversially delves into some of the core aspects of Christianity, claiming – among other things – that Jesus married Mary Magdalene.

Pakistan banned it due to "blasphemous content", church leaders in Samoa filed a complaint, and Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare said the "film basically undermines the very roots of Christianity" in his country.

Unsurprisingly, The Da Vinci Code is also prohibited in Vatican City.