Why did Disney’s Jungle Cise have to go gay? | Voice

Contents:

• 'JUNGLE CISE' 'S JACK WHEHALL SAYS HE'S 'PROUD' OF GAY CHARACTER'S COMG-OUT MOMENT FILM
• A GAY CHARACTER SPARKS BATE AND A REFORMED TRAR SAM EMERG DISNEY'S 'JUNGLE CISE'
• A CHARACTER DISNEY’S JUNGLE CISE IS GAY, OR SO WE’RE TOLD
• ‘JUNGLE CISE’S’ GAY CHARACTER IS YET ANOTHER BABY STEP FROM DISNEY
• JUNGLE CISE'S GAY CHARACTER ISN'T PERFECT, BUT HE'S PROGRS
• JUNGLE CISE: DISNEY’S FIRST GAY MA CHARACTER (AND COMG OUT SCENE) EXPLAED
• WHY DID DISNEY’S JUNGLE CISE HAVE TO GO GAY?
• DISNEY'S 'JUNGLE CISE' HAS COMG OUT SCENE WH OPENLY GAY CHARACTER
• THE CONTROVERSIAL GAY REPRENTATN IN DISNEY’S “JUNGLE CISE” WAS MEH!

'JUNGLE CISE' 'S JACK WHEHALL SAYS HE'S 'PROUD' OF GAY CHARACTER'S COMG-OUT MOMENT FILM

Lily Houghton who eventually reveals himself to be gay the adventure film. Brish edian Jack Whehall plays a gay character Disney’s “Jungle Cise. ”Whehall’s MacGregor Houghton “ out” a “Jungle Cise” scene wh Dwayne Johnson’s Frank Wolff (never g the word "gay") film featur a rebooted Trar Sam, a character recently removed om the Disney Parks’ Jungle Cise after cricism over the ri’s racist pictn of Indigeno "Jungle Cise" has some notable passengers.

Brish edian Jack Whehall plays Lily's brother MacGregor Houghton, who is gay, even g out  a scene wh Wolff (though notably whout employg the word "gay"). Meanwhile, ntroversial shnken head aler Trar Sam, recently removed om the Jungle Cise ri after cricism for s racist pictn of Indigeno people, reappears onscreen the reimaged form of Mexin actrs Veroni Falcó's how the characters took their plac onboard "Jungle Cise" which took $90 ln  worldwi box office and Disney+ Premiere Accs over openg Rock, Ey Blunt: Reveal that most awkward 'Jungle Cise' kiss, dirty jok cut by DisneyMacGregor Houghton subtly out to his Jungle Cise ptaDisney has been cricized for the lack of LGBTQ film reprentatn movi, and lled out for blk-or-you'll-miss- gay character moments films such as "Bety and the Beast" and "Onward.

A GAY CHARACTER SPARKS BATE AND A REFORMED TRAR SAM EMERG DISNEY'S 'JUNGLE CISE'

" The word "gay" is not mentned the scene that further explas MacGregor's bond to his sister: dienc learn MacGregor's remag fay, and society, have turned their back on him "all bee of who I love.

A CHARACTER DISNEY’S JUNGLE CISE IS GAY, OR SO WE’RE TOLD

"It didn't matter if he said the word 'gay' or not, " says Johnson, a producer on the film. "'Bety and the Beast': That 'gay moment' may have been much ado about nothg"We didn't want to e across like we're standg on a soapbox, " Johnson adds, notg the scene shows diversy and cln were "owned and held regard" the praised screenwrer Michael Green for craftg the scene "wh licy and simplicy.

‘JUNGLE CISE’S’ GAY CHARACTER IS YET ANOTHER BABY STEP FROM DISNEY

" Producer Hiram Garcia says the "Jungle Cise" filmmakers never set out to clu a gay character the perd piece.

"Early reactn to the gay character was mixed, wh one Twter er statg, "Disney will really do anythg to avoid g the word 'gay' s mastream ntent.

""The gay character JUNGLE CRUISE is cute and is generally right about thgs, " another Twter er wrote. At this pot I feel like we should have a boilerplate article pre-wrten to fill as need: “Disney character X is gay as evinced one blk-and-you miss scene/reference/throwaway le that n be easily excised for ternatnal markets. When Whehall was st as McGregor Houghton 2018, was announced wh fanfare that McGregor would be Disney’s “first gay character, ” a tle a dozen other characters have been given before and sce wh vanishg returns.

JUNGLE CISE'S GAY CHARACTER ISN'T PERFECT, BUT HE'S PROGRS

While he don’t e the word “gay, ” he says he broke off three engagements wh women bee his “terts happily lay elsewhere. It’s not strange that McGregor wouldn’t say “gay”—the movie is set the early 20th century, and that word didn’t emerge as a fn embraced by gay men until the 1960s. ” As our Briana Lawrence wrote her brilliant article back May, “Congratulatns to Disney’s 7th Openly Gay Character“(we were talkg about Cella then), so often the prs blz around the apparent cln of queer characters is “a chance for the bare mimum to get a pat on the back.

” Once aga the same old story is happeng wh Whehall’s McGregor, wh Slashfilm’s headle readg, “‘Jungle Cise’ Star Jack Whehall on Playg Disney’s First Major Gay Character” while Pk News is tired of the sp and their headle is “Disney slammed for fallg short yet aga wh Jack Whehall’s gay Jungle Cise character. He’s gay. It’s another step om Disney toward LGBTQ+ reprentatn that feels big the ntext of the opprsively heterosexual rporatn—certaly, ’s an improvement over some of the lghably meangls Disney “gay moments” recent years—but small the ntext of the year 2021.

JUNGLE CISE: DISNEY’S FIRST GAY MA CHARACTER (AND COMG OUT SCENE) EXPLAED

This is hardly the first time mastream Ameri has seen a gay man on a TV or movie screen.

McGregor Houghton (Whehall) had already been d as a gay man, somewhat stereotypilly, throughout the film—fsy, effemate, and a ltle too to skre. ) But about an hour to the film, Frank and McGregor share a quiet moment together, which McGregor reveals— so many words— that he recently me out as gay to his fay.

In 2017, Bety and the Beast director Bill Condon promised an “exclively gay moment a Disney movie, ” which turned out to be a two-send shot of LeFou—as played by Josh Gad—dancg wh a man the film’s fal ball sequence, jt before the creds roll. Two years later, Avengers: Endgame -director Joe Rso revealed the film would feature the Marvel Cematic Universe’s first-ever openly gay character, which turned out to be a random du (played by Rso) g male pronouns to refer to his romantic partner. Unsurprisgly, the queer muny has not rpond wh gratu to the gay bread cmbs om Disney.

WHY DID DISNEY’S JUNGLE CISE HAVE TO GO GAY?

Unlike Bety and the Beast, his “gay moment” is an actual, hont-to-God scene that lasts for longer than two sends, and is not thrown at the very end of the film. For once, the filmmakers didn’t proudly announce “Disney’s first gay character” while pattg themselv on the back for “reprentatn.

) There’s even a good exce to avoid the word “gay, ” given that Jungle Cise tak place the early 1900s, a time when the term “gay” ually meant feelg happy and nothg more. Some may argue—reasonably so—that a movie about a magil tree and ghosts is allowed a gay anachronism or two.

Personally, I re ls about hearg the word “gay, ” so much as I re about beg shown that McGregor is actually attracted to men. It's a phenomenon so md-bogglgly persistent that 's bee a nng joke onle: Disney keeps announcg, and re-announcg, and re-re-announcg their first-ever gay character.

DISNEY'S 'JUNGLE CISE' HAS COMG OUT SCENE WH OPENLY GAY CHARACTER

From Bety and the Beast's LeFou to Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker's blk-and-you'll-miss-them lbians, Disney has e unr some unrstandable fire for their apparent abily to produce a film wh a gay character of substance — until Jungle Cise. Though when the film was first announced, many were skeptil that Jack Whehall's purportedly gay character the actn-adventure flick would jt be another name to add to the baker's dozen of so-lled "first" gay characters, but what dienc were treated to stead broke the mold: a nfirmed queer character wh signifint screentime and a substantial scene explicly acknowledgg his sexualy (even if the label is unattached).

Though Jungle Cise's McGregor Houghton certaly isn't a perfect attempt as far as gay reprentatn Disney films go, he's a step (albe a small one) the right directn — and that's somethg worth talkg about.

When news broke that Brish standup edian Jack Whehall had joed the st of Jungle Cise and would be playg Disney's first major gay character, the cisn received signifint cricism and phback om fans and crics alike. Many were quick to qutn the mers of a not-gay actor playg a gay role — a ntroversial but not entirely damng move. On paper, 's a pictn that's le wh outdated portrayals of gay men.

THE CONTROVERSIAL GAY REPRENTATN IN DISNEY’S “JUNGLE CISE” WAS MEH!

The cisn to make Jungle Cise's gay character f this mold, which has an unfortunate number of overlappg tras wh historilly damagg pictns of gay men, is still one that rais qutns of the film's ias of gay men and masculy. In that ntext, Whehall isn't cidg to make this character choice for the first time and for the sole purpose of brgg to life a gay character. ) the jok all e before the film even addrs that he's gay.

As many a headle has noted, though, the film skirts around McGregor actually tellg Frank "I'm gay, " stead optg for a more perd-appropriate assurance that "My terts happily lie elsewhere. " At the same time, though, 's worth notg that such verbiage ntu Disney's trend of reprentatn that clears the "we have a gay character" thrhold while still remag palatable for nservative viewers and foreign markets wh anti-LGBTQ+ legislatn. Although Disney mt ntue improvg s LGBTQ+ reprentatn, Jungle Cise is a clear step forward wh s first openly gay ma character.