In the latest update to this continuing story, Ben Cohen released new footage of the “Remember Hiroshima” doll placed on “it’s a small world” in Disneyland and further discussed his reasons for orchestrating the protest.

Remember Hiroshima Doll on “it’s a small world”

As we first reported on August 7, guest videos and photos taken inside “it’s a small world” at Disneyland Park showed a doll had been added to the attraction. Rather than being a doll made by Disney, it was part of a protest reminding guests to “Remember Hiroshima” around the anniversary of the United States’ atomic bombing of Hiroshima in 1945. The doll, which was designed to resemble a small Japanese child, was placed on a platform in the Asia room of the attraction.

According to the guest videos, the incident took place on August 3.

Following our initial report, the guest who placed the doll on the attraction began posting her own videos on TikTok under the username mamahuahua. After picking up the doll from a FedEx location, she is seen carrying it through Disneyland Park. In a direct statement to WDWNT, she said she was involved with the Up in Arms campaign and explained her reasoning:

Yes we put a Japanese doll that said “Remember Hiroshima” onto the It’s A Small World ride at Disneyland. Why?

It is the 80th anniversary of the bombing; an important reminder of what war does to kids.

Hiroshima was a city full of children—tiny, happy bodies full of promise one moment, and murdered the next. Playgrounds turned to graveyards. Sound familiar? Happening now in Palestine, Myanmar, Ukraine, Sudan, and countless other countries around the world.

The bomb we dropped on Hiroshima killed 100,000 people.

The CURRENT, already-built U.S. nuclear arsenal can kill everybody in the world several times over.

And yet our government is planning on spending ~$2 trillion~ on a whole new arsenal. Ummm $2 trillion!? And we don’t have money for healthcare and homelessness and education!?!?!

We can build a world that actually looks more like the utopia in It’s a Small World — a world made for children, not for war.

Up in Arms Campaign

Up in Arms is a four-year campaign launched by Ben & Jerry’s Co-founder Ben Cohen. Cohen launched the Up in Arms campaign in June with a sculpture in Washington, D.C., representing the $100 billion the U.S. has spent on nuclear weapons. In a phone interview with Fox News, Cohen confirmed his connection to the doll and explained some of the reasoning behind it.

“The whole idea of the small world exhibit is that it’s a small world after all,” Cohen said. “You got all the children from the different countries around the world being together, loving each other. And we put a doll in there that says, ‘Remember Hiroshima.’ I mean, that’s what was supposed to happen after the bomb in Hiroshima. We were supposed to remember what we did there and say, ‘Never again.’ And we’ve, we’ve ignored that.” 

Later, a Disneyland spokesperson also told Fox News that a Cast Member quickly removed the doll from the attraction and reminded the guest who placed it — mamahuahua — of park rules. The spokesperson said the guest then left without incident.

Making of the Remember Hiroshima Doll

This latest video was posted by Cohen himself on his TikTok account. The video included a caption:

To mark the 80th Anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, I orchestrated a quietly staged cultural protest at Disneyland. We placed a small, ash-covered doll holding a sign that read “Remember Hiroshima” inside Disneyland’s It’s a Small World ride. 
The doll’s placement in a ride built around childhood innocence was deliberate. The intended message couldn’t be more timely: war is killing children while the world continues to look away.

Ben Cohen via Tiktok

The video begins with a short clip showing someone actually making the doll. The process included spraying the hair, typing the doll’s clothes, and attaching its head. The video then shows someone, likely mamahuahua, holding the doll while seated inside one of the boats for “it’s a small world.” There is also a shot of the doll actually standing in the attraction after it was placed.

New Statements from Ben Cohen

The rest of the video is an extended statement from Cohen, further explaining some of the reasoning behind the doll. Some of the lines are similar to Cohen’s previous media statements, but he goes into more detail here.

Why did we do this?

Because on the 80th anniversary of Hiroshima, we need to remember what war does to kids. Because we forget. Hiroshima wasn’t just a military target. It was a city full of children. Tiny bodies in rubble, skin melted, playgrounds turned to graveyards. And now we’re watching it happen again in Gaza.

We scroll past it. We call it tragic. We act like it’s not our responsibility. But the minute we stop seeing children as sacred, we start losing our humanity.

The bomb that we dropped on Hiroshima killed 100,000 people. Now we’ve got enough bombs to do that to every child in the entire world.

That’s not defense. That’s nuclear overkill.

Why did we do it in the “it’s a small world” ride? Because it’s a ride that celebrates the kind of world we want for our children. So we put her there to speak for the kids we didn’t save.

If we forget, we repeat it. If we stay silent, we’re complicit. This is the moment to care. This is the moment to act.

Ben Cohen via Tiktok

You can watch the full TikTok video below:

@yobencohen To mark the 80th Anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, I orchestrated a quietly staged cultural protest at Disneyland. We placed a small, ash-covered doll holding a sign that read “Remember Hiroshima” inside Disneyland’s It’s a Small World ride.  The doll’s placement in a ride built around childhood innocence was deliberate. The intended message couldn’t be more timely: war is killing children while the world continues to look away. #remeberhiroshima #disneyland ♬ original sound – yobencohen

For more Disneyland Resort news and info, follow Disneyland News Today on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. For Disney Parks news worldwide, visit WDWNT.