Texas judge still fightg to ny weddg ceremoni to gay upl | The Texas Tribune

Contents:

• GAY GAY HOMOSEXUAL GAY / I CAN STILL HEAR HIS VOICE
• SCHOOL BOARD TERMAT TEACHER OVER DOLLY PARTON, MILEY CYS 'RABOWLAND' SONG, FOLKS STILL GAY
• CALIFORNIA STILL HAS AN ANTI-GAY MARRIAGE LAW ON THE BOOKS. VOTERS COULD REMOVE IT NEXT YEAR
• ACTIVISTS NMN VLENCE AGAST LGBTQ MUNY ST. VCENT, WHERE GAY SEX IS ILLEGAL
• JAGUARS ASSOCIATE STRENGTH ACH KEV MAXEN OUT AS GAY A FIRST FOR US-BASED PRO LEAGU
• JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS ASSISTANT STRENGTH ACH KEV MAXEN OUT PUBLICLY AS GAY
• TEXAS JUDGE WHO DON’T WANT TO PERFORM GAY MARRIAGE CEREMONI HOP WEB SIGNER’S SUPREME COURT SE HELPS HER FIGHT
• CALIFORNIA STILL HAS AN ANTI-GAY MARRIAGE LAW ON THE BOOKS. VOTERS ULD REMOVE NEXT YEAR
• FROG AND TOAD ARE STILL GAY IN APPLE’S NEW KIDS’ SHOW—IF YOU WANT THEM TO BEBEST BUDSTHE CREATOR OF APPLE TV+’S NEW “FROG AND TOAD” SERI TALKS THROUGH BRGG THE CHILDREN’S BOOK CHARACTERS TO LIFE—AND NOT BEG AAID OF THE QUEER SUBTEXT SO MANY FANS CHERISH.FLETCHER PETERSENTERTAMENT REPORTERPUBLISHED APR. 26, 2023 7:02PM EDT PHOTO ILLTRATN BY THE DAILY BEAST / GETTYLIFE MIGHT BE A LTLE EASIER IF WE ULD ALL PACK UP OUR THGS AND MOVE TO THE WORLD OF FROG AND TOAD. WHAT IF LIFE’S BIGGT ISSU WERE LACKG THE WILLPOWER TO STOP EATG OKI, GOOFY BATHG SUS, AND CIDG ON A FLAVOR OF ICE CREAM?WE N’T ALL SHRK DOWN TO THE SIZE OF THE TY AMPHIBIANS—BUT WE N NOW LIVE VIRLY THROUGH THE BELOVED CHARACTERS, THANKS TO A NEW KIDS SHOW HEADG TO APPLE TV+ ON APRIL 28. THE SERI FEATUR ART THAT FEELS DRAWN STRAIGHT OUT OM THE HAND OF LATE WRER AND ILLTRATOR ARNOLD LOBEL, WH STORI OM ALL FOUR FROG AND TOAD BOOKS: FROG AND TOAD ARE FRIENDS, FROG AND TOAD TOGETHER, FROG AND TOAD ALL YEAR, AND DAYS WH FROG AND TOAD.THOUGH THE FROG AND TOAD BOOKS WERE WRTEN FOR CHILDREN THE 1970S, THEY’VE STOOD THE TT OF TIME—TWO BT BUDDI WHO HAVE BEE A IENDLY NUGGET OF NOSTALGIA FOR MULTIPLE GENERATNS. ROB HOEGEE, THE SHOWNNER FOR THE NEW ADAPTATN OF THE PICTURE BOOKS, SCRIB THE SERI A WAY THAT MAK YOU YEARN FOR THE PAST, AND FOR THE TIME WHEN YOU WERE YOUNG. AS YOU WATCH THE SHOW, YOU FEEL SMALL LIKE FROG AND TOAD, RECLED ON THE LAWN ON A WARM SUMMER’S DAY.“IT’S ALMOST AS IF YOU’RE LYG ON YOUR TUMMY YOUR BACKYARD, PEERG THROUGH SOME BLAS OF GRASS AND LOOKG TO A WORLD THAT’S AT GROUND LEVEL,” HOEGEE TELLS THE DAILY BEAST’S OBSSED, SPEAKG OVER ZOOM. “IT’S LIKE A DRAMA YOU’D MAKE GRA SCHOOL, WHERE YOU’D TAKE A SHOEBOX AND CUT A HOLE TO MAKE A SCENE SI. YOU PEER TO , AND YOU SEE THE STACKED FOREGROUND, MIDGROUND, BACKGROUND WH A RICHER SCENIC ENVIRONMENT WH SELECTIVE FOC, SHADOW, AND LIGHT.” APPLE TV+ SPEAKG ABOUT EVERYTHG OM THE LOR PALETTE ED TO BRG LOBEL’S ILLTRATNS TO TV TO THE QUEER SUBTEXT THAT HAS BEE SUCH A CHERISHED PART OF FANS’ RELATNSHIP TO THE CHARACTERS, HOEGEE MAK CLEAR JT HOW MUCH PRSURE THERE IS TO BREATHE NEW LIFE TO A PROPERTY SO NEAR AND AR TO SO MANY PEOPLE. EVEN CLEARER, HOWEVER, WAS HOW MUCH HE RELISHED . THE NEW SERI FOLLOWS THE TULAR PALS THROUGH THE EVENTS OF THOSE CLASSIC SHORT STORI: CRANKY TOAD REF TO GET OUT OF BED THE MORNG, BUT AN ENERGETIC FROG BOTHERS HIM UNTIL HE RO. A WISTFUL TOAD YEARNS TO RECEIVE A LETTER HIS MAILBOX, SO FROG WR HIM ONE BUT REVEALS WHAT THE LETTER SAYS BEFORE N ARRIVE AT TOAD’S STOOP. LTLE TAL OF SMALL GTUR GUI CHILDREN (AND OLR FOLKS!) THROUGH THE MMENT OF IENDSHIP; JT BEE FROG AND TOAD ARE VERY DIFFERENT CREATUR DON’T MEAN THEY’LL NEVER SEE EYE-TO-EYE.IN THE 1980S, A STOP-MOTN-ANIMATN ADAPTATN OF THE SERI BROUGHT FROG AND TOAD TO LIFE WH CLAY, AND 2003, THE BUDS SANG AND DANCE A BROADWAY MIL LLED A YEAR WH FROG AND TOAD. BUT THIS FEELS LIKE THE MOST FAHFUL ADAPTATN, WHERE FROG AND TOAD LOOK EXACTLY LIKE THE BOOK. THE SHOW EVEN HAD A SPECIFIC FROG AND TOAD FONT CREATED TO MATCH THE SIGNATURE SWOOPS OF THE ORIGAL VERS.CREATG A LANDSPE THAT WAS F FOR HIGH QUALY TELEVISN—BUT ALSO EVOKED THE ORIGAL ILLTRATNS—WAS SOMETHG HOEGEE AND HIS TEAM STGGLED TO BLUEPRT. IF YOU STUDY THE BOOKS, YOU’LL NOTICE THE ONLY LORS ED ARE BLACK, BROWN, GREEN, AND WHE; THAT WASN’T GOG TO LEND THE SERI THE VIBRANCY THAT THE TEAM SIRED. APPLE TV+ “WHILE WE WANTED TO KEEP THE LOR PALETTE OF THE SHOW WH THE WORLD OF WHAT WE THK OF FROG AND TOAD, WE DID WANT TO EXPAND ,” HOEGEE SAYS. “WHAT I LEARNED WAS THAT ARNOLD LOBEL LIVERED DRAWGS JT AS PEN AND K DRAWGS AND THE PUBLISHER LORED. THAT MA ME FEEL A LTLE B MORE WILLG TO PH THE LOR PALETTE A LTLE MORE, KNOWG THAT WAS MORE OF A PRTG CISN RATHER THAN AN ENTIRELY CREATIVE ONE.”THAT TAIL ABOUT LOBEL’S ORIGAL WORKFLOW ME OM HIS CHILDREN, ADRIANNE AND ADAM LOBEL, WHO SERVED AS EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS ON THE SERI AND HAVE BEE “THE CHAMPNS, GATEKEEPERS, AND GUARDIANS OF THEIR FATHER’S WORK AND LEGACY,” HOEGEE SAYS. “I SHARED WH THEM HOW I FELT A SHOW WOULD BE, AND THANKFULLY, WE WERE ALIGNMENT OF WHAT THAT WOULD LOOK LIKE.”HOEGEE CERTALY HAS HIS OWN MEMORI OF THE CHARACTERS OM HIS CHILDHOOD. “BUT THEY REALLY ME HOME WHEN I HAD MY OWN KIDS,” HE SAYS. “THEY’VE ALWAYS RONATED WH ME. YOU TALK TO ADULTS—THE ARE BOOKS AND CHARACTERS THAT DON’T LEAVE YOU. SO MANY CHILDRENS’ BOOKS, THEY STAY THE PAST, YOU AGE PAST THEM. BUT THERE’S SOMETHG ABOUT FROG AND TOAD THAT STICKS WH YOU.”READG THE BOOKS TO HIS CHILDREN, WHO ARE NOW 12 AND 16, HOEGEE REGNIZED THEM AS TIMELS TAL OF IENDSHIP, LOVE, AND PASSN. SIGNG ONTO THE APPLE TV+ PRODUCTN MEANT HE GOT TO FULLY REALIZE THOSE STORI TO A SERI, BUT ALSO MEANT HE HAD TO RELEASE SOME OF THOSE MEMORI. HE HAD TO LOOK PAST ALL OF THE VOIC HE GAVE FROG AND TOAD WHILE READG THE BOOKS ALOUD TO HIS CHILDREN, FOR EXAMPLE, AND ASSIGN ACTORS TO PLAY THE PART. “I HAD, MY HEAD, A VERY CLEAR VOICE FOR BOTH THE CHARACTERS,” HOEGEE SAYS WH A CHUCKLE. “I’D ALREADY BEE JAD BY MY OWN PRENCEIVED UNRSTANDG OF WHAT THE CHARACTERS SOUND LIKE. A BIG PART OF FOR ME WAS UNLEARNG WHAT THE GUYS SOUND LIKE SO THAT I ULD BE OPEN TO OTHER TERPRETATNS.”NAT FAXON AND KEV MICHAEL RICHARDSON WERE ST AS FROG AND TOAD, RPECTIVELY. FAXON READ THE BOOKS TO HIS KIDS, TOO—AS DID MUCH OF THE VOICE ST, WHICH CLUS YVETTE NILE BROWN, MARGARET CHO, COLE ESLA, APARNA NANCHERLA, FORTUNE FEIMSTER, AND TOM KENNY. JOHN HODGMAN, WHO VOIC ONE OF THE CHARACTERS ON THE SHOW, HAD A DRASTILLY DIFFERENT VOICE FOR TOAD THAN THE RT OF THE ST: “AN ODD EASTERN EUROPEAN” ACCENT, HOEGEE SAYS. “EVERYONE THAT HAS A LOVE FOR THIS SHOW TO WH THEIR OWN TAKE ON .”THAT CLUS THE BEHD-THE-SCEN CREATIVE TEAM. THEY HAD TO SELECT WHICH FROG AND TOAD WERE THE “ULTIMATE FROG AND TOAD,” SCE THE CHARACTERS' STYLE CHANG OVER TIME LOBEL’S BOOKS. THEY ALSO HAD TO DRAFT NEW, ORIGAL STORI THAT WOULD BE PAIRED WH THE STORI OM THE BOOKS. APPLE TV+ “EVERY SGLE PERSON ON OUR CREW THAT HAD A HAND THE SHOW—AS AN ARTIST, AS A WRER, AS A VOICE ACTOR—THEY ALL BROUGHT THEIR OWN VERSN OF FROG AND TOAD TO WHAT THEY DID,” HOEGEE SAYS. “IT WAS REALLY IMPORTANT TO ME THAT I ALLOW AS MUCH OF THAT ON THE SCREEN AS POSSIBLE.”THAT’S WHY HOEGEE FOUND IMPORTANT TO NSIR THE QUEER SUBTEXT OF THE FROG AND TOAD BOOKS. A “SIGNIFINT NUMBER” OF HIS ST AND CREW INTIFY AS LGBTQ+, HOEGEE SAYS, AND HE ASPIRED “TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERYONE FELT THAT THEY WERE BEG HEARD AND THEIR NTRIBUTN—THEIR FROG AND TOAD—LIVED ON WHATEVER SHAPE THAT WAS.”“YOU N’T NY ,” HOEGEE SAYS. “IT IS PART OF THE BOOKS, ’S PART OF THE LEGACY.”THOUGH FROG AND TOAD ARE SIMPLY LLED “IENDS” THE SERI AND THE BOOKS, ARNOLD LOBEL ME OUT TO HIS FAY AS GAY 1974, AFTER THE BOOKS HAD BEEN PUBLISHED. IN A 2016 TERVIEW WH THE NEW YORKER, ADRIANNE LOBEL LLED THE BOOKS “THE BEGNG OF HIM G OUT.” OVER THE YEARS, FROG AND TOAD HAVE BEE GAY INS. THERE ARE SHIRTS THAT READ “FROG AND TOAD ARE GAY.” EVEN WHEN THIS SERI WAS ANNOUNCED, THEM WROTE AN ARTICLE HEADLED “EVERYONE’S FAVORE QUEER COUPLE, ‘FROG AND TOAD,’ ARE COMG TO TV.” “WHAT WE WANTED TO DO HERE IS CREATE A FAHFUL ADAPTATN OF THE BOOKS,” HOEGEE SAYS. “FOR PEOPLE, A LOT OF REARS OF A CERTA AGE, FROG AND TOAD AS CHARACTERS SEEN THROUGH A QUEER LENS IS HUGELY IMPORTANT TO THEM. WE N’T NY ANYONE THAT MEANG TO THEM, AS FAR AS THE CHARACTERS GO. IF THAT’S HOW YOU SEE THE CHARACTERS THE BOOK, ’S FAIR TO SAY THAT YOU WILL HAVE THE OPPORTUNY TO SEE A SIAR VIEWPOT THE SHOW AS WELL.”PERCEIVE FROG AND TOAD HOWEVER YOU WANT, BUT HOEGEE SAYS THE MOST IMPORTANT THG IS THAT YOU UNRSTAND HOW MUCH THEY EPLY RE FOR ONE ANOTHER. IT DON’T MATTER IF THAT PASSN IS PLATONIC OR ROMANTIC, THE FACT THAT THEY’RE NEARLY SEPARABLE SHOULD TEACH ALL A B ABOUT PANNSHIP.“WHAT FROG AND TOAD SHOWS IS THAT THERE IS STILL THE ABILY TO HAVE A EP AND MEANGFUL AND LOVG IENDSHIP THAT TRANSCENDS EVERYTHG,” HOEGEE SAYS. “THIS IS A SHOW THAT CELEBRAT HOW TWO VERY DIFFERENT CHARACTERS N STILL FD A MON GROUND AND A RPECT AND APPRECIATN AND LOVE FOR EACH OTHER, THAT STILL ALLOWS THEM TO HAVE FUN TOGETHER AND BE SEPARABLE. OUR DIFFERENC SHOULDN’T DIVI , OUR DIFFERENC SHOULD BE THE THG THAT BRGS TOGETHER.” APPLE TV+ IT’S AN IMPORTANT LSON FOR KIDS TO LEARN, BUT ’S EQUALLY FLUENTIAL FOR ADULTS, TOO. AS HOEGEE SAID, FROG AND TOAD DON’T REALLY LEAVE YOU—THE WHOLE WORLD WAS ELATED AT THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF A FROG AND TOAD SERI, NOT JT THE PIPSQUEAKS. I, FOR ONE, STILL KEEP A PY OF FROG AND TOAD ARE FRIENDS MY NIGHTSTAND. IN OUR TERVIEW, HOEGEE WHIPS OUT A RARE POP-UP PY OF SOME OF THE FROG AND TOAD STORI OM JT BEHD HIS SK. THE LTLE GUYS ARE ALWAYS NEARBY.“THERE’S AN ASSUMPTN THAT SHOWS MA AND WRTEN FOR KIDS HAVE TO BE SIMPLE THE SENSE THAT YOU’RE ALMOST CHANNELG YOUR NER FIVE-YEAR-OLD. THE FACT OF THE MATTER IS, THE ARE MA BY ADULTS. WE ARE STILL BRGG OUR OWN SENSIBILI AND OUR OWN BAGGAGE AND OUR OWN EXPERIENCE AND OUR OWN JOYS AND SADNS—ALL THOSE THGS GET POURED TO THE WORK WE DO,” HOEGEE SAYS.WHILE HOEGEE IS TALKG ABOUT HIMSELF AND HIS TEAM, ’S IMPOSSIBLE TO HEAR THIS QUOTE AND NOT THK ABOUT ARNOLD LOBEL, WHO WROTE THE STORI FOR CHILDREN WH TENR THEM OF LOVE, TST, AND BOUNDARI THAT—AS HIS CHILDREN HAVE NFIRMED—RELATED BACK TO HIS OWN LIFE. NOW, DOZENS OF OTHER ARTISTS GET TO SEE THOSE STORI RETOLD THROUGH THE LENS OF THEIR OWN LIV, TOO.KEEP OBSSG! SIGN UP FOR THE DAILY BEAST’S OBSSED NEWSLETTER AND FOLLOW ON FACEBOOK, TWTER, INSTAGRAM AND TIKTOK. FLETCHER PETERS
• CALIFORNIA STILL HAS AN ANTI-GAY MARRIAGE LAW ON THE BOOKS. VOTERS ULD REMOVE NEXT YEAR.

GAY GAY HOMOSEXUAL GAY / I CAN STILL HEAR HIS VOICE

In a sea of nned cktails, Gay Water wants to stand out. In other words, where Bud Light has buckled unr prsure as bigotry grows agast the LGBTQ+ muny, Gay Water’s creator Spencer Hodson wants his new boozy brand to be the anthis of that.

“The key issue that Bud Light tapped to was the fact that they didn’t unrstand their re dience and know enough about them,” Hodson, a gay man, told CNN about the ntroversy that began when the Anhser-Bch beer brand sent fluencer Dylan Mulvaney a n of beer.

SCHOOL BOARD TERMAT TEACHER OVER DOLLY PARTON, MILEY CYS 'RABOWLAND' SONG, FOLKS STILL GAY

Gay Water, however, is out and proud. The nned cktail is named after a lloquialism given to the popular mixed drk (vodka and soda) orred at bars by the gay muny.

“Puttg a product wh the word gay the tle is reprentatn self,” which he hop reclaims the word om the negativy ’s sometim associated wh. He thought of creatg Gay Water about a year ago while on a vatn wh his iend that had got a job wh the beverage dtry. The two chatted about the limed amount of gay people wh , and wh Hodson burnt out om his tradnal day job tech, started the nned cktail.

Hodson built up a strong social media followg on TikTok and Instagram durg Covid-19 and is g some of the money om that (as well as om iends and fay) to help fund Gay Water.

CALIFORNIA STILL HAS AN ANTI-GAY MARRIAGE LAW ON THE BOOKS. VOTERS COULD REMOVE IT NEXT YEAR

“Gay is an umbrella term and the ia behd the brand is to be as clive as possible, which means we want alli, we want straight people to be part of this muny we’re buildg.”. For now, Gay Water is sold largely onle (wh a few retailers) and four sugar-ee flavors — watermelon, lime, peach and grapeu — at lnch. Gay Water might not have the ep pockets pared to s petors, like Whe Claw, but “even at small sle, pani of many siz are havg succs makg spir-based seltzers and premixed cktails,” Bryan Roth, an analyst for Feel Goods Company and edor of the alhol beverage newsletter, Sightl+, told CNN.

“There’s lots of space the spir-based seltzer tegory which Gay Water n play, pecially if the brand n offer a cultural or emotnal nnectn that will feel more excg than the prospect of another peapple-flavored vodka seltzer om natnal or ternatnal rporatns,” Roth said. Of urse, other drks e the word “gay,” too, cludg Gay Beer and So Gay Rosé, Hodson noted, which are also tryg to reach the queer muny and offer them an alternative the straight-domated space.

Gay Gay Homosexual Gay or I Can Still Hear His Voice is a tchphrase often paired wh imag of characters om popular media, which one character remisc another character mockg them. In the panel foreground, the character Yugi Muto remembers the character Pharaoh Atem, sayg, "I n still hear his voice…" In the eded background, Atem says, "Gay gay homosexual gay, " creatg the imprsn that the memory of Atem is mockg Yugi. But January 2021, e of the image and phras, particular "Gay Gay Homosexual Gay, " began to grow populary.

ACTIVISTS NMN VLENCE AGAST LGBTQ MUNY ST. VCENT, WHERE GAY SEX IS ILLEGAL

And those Heyer kids will grow up to hate rabows and/or gay people. Passg the Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Fay Valu bill would further rce eedoms a untry where gay sex is already punishable wh up to three years jail, crics and activists Odoi, an amic rearcher, filed a lawsu on July 7 challengg the bill's nstutnaly, sayg would impact donor aid and other forms of fancial support. Ghana's Supreme Court on Wednday led her arguments were not sufficiently nvcg to grant an lg cleared the way for the bill, one of the harsht towards the LGBTQ muny Ai, to go through a fal stage of parliamentary approval before beg signed to May, Uganda's Print Yoweri Meveni signed one of the world's tought anti-LGBTQ laws, which spelled out the ath penalty for "aggravated homosexualy"'s bill, backed by relig and tradnal lears, clus jail sentenc of up to 10 years for advotg for LGBTQ rights.

Still Gay.

Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed a subsequent legislative attempt to legalize gay marriage. Supreme Court legalized gay marriage natnally two years 2020, Nevada beme the first state to ensure the right to same-sex marriage s state nstutn.

JAGUARS ASSOCIATE STRENGTH ACH KEV MAXEN OUT AS GAY A FIRST FOR US-BASED PRO LEAGU

Vcent and the Grenad, where gay sex is still homelsns to ongog physil and verbal abe, the gay muny the small natn of some 100, 000 people says is unr nstant threat.

Vcent, anal sex is punishable by up to 10 years prison, while “gross cency” wh another person of the same sex is punishable by up to five years, acrdg to lonial-era laws that are mon the socially nservative Caribbean rarely voked, the rights group and a lol activist said the laws help legimize hostily and abe agast gay people. ”In July 2019, two gay men om St. Vcent who are livg abroad filed a se to challenge lol laws crimalizg gay sex that activists say should be stck down.

”Human Rights Watch terviewed more than 20 members of the island’s LGBTQ muny who shared their stori but were not intified to protect them, notg that lol police are often openly discrimatory toward gay people who seek help. One gay man relled how his classmat beat him and broke his arm. Several reported that their fai are homophobic and physilly and verbally abed them, g them to bee homels and promptg some to nsir also stggle to fd jobs amid a high unemployment rate and said they face discrimatn, cludg a 19-year-old gay man who said he has rorted to beggg: “Sometim I am so hungry.

JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS ASSISTANT STRENGTH ACH KEV MAXEN OUT PUBLICLY AS GAY

It is hard for me as a gay this untry.

TEXAS JUDGE WHO DON’T WANT TO PERFORM GAY MARRIAGE CEREMONI HOP WEB SIGNER’S SUPREME COURT SE HELPS HER FIGHT

”Six English-speakg natns the Caribbean still crimalize gay sex, cludg Domi, Jamai, Guyana, Grenada and St. Gonsalv prevly noted there’s been a history of discrimatn agast gay people.

That kd of irratnal homophobia is entirely unacceptable. ”González wh Human Rights Watch noted that 2019, the ernment held a workshop for public employe on the importance of rpectg gay rights, a rare move for a nservative Caribbean natn. -based profsnal league to e out as gay.

Michael Sam beme the first openly gay player to be drafted when the then-St. Jacksonville Jaguars assistant strength and ndng ach Kev Maxen cid on Thursday to e out publicly as gay hop of livg his life whout fear and to spire others.

CALIFORNIA STILL HAS AN ANTI-GAY MARRIAGE LAW ON THE BOOKS. VOTERS ULD REMOVE NEXT YEAR

Before jog Jacksonville’s achg staff, he was a strength ach for the football teams at Baylor and Febary 2022, Maxen reached out to NFL player Carl Nassib, who me out as gay 2021, to seek advice. Acrdg to the Texas judicial missn’s 2019 warng, Hensley referred gay upl who wanted her to pri over their marriage ceremony to other people who would officiate.

FROG AND TOAD ARE STILL GAY IN APPLE’S NEW KIDS’ SHOW—IF YOU WANT THEM TO BEBEST BUDSTHE CREATOR OF APPLE TV+’S NEW “FROG AND TOAD” SERI TALKS THROUGH BRGG THE CHILDREN’S BOOK CHARACTERS TO LIFE—AND NOT BEG AAID OF THE QUEER SUBTEXT SO MANY FANS CHERISH.FLETCHER PETERSENTERTAMENT REPORTERPUBLISHED APR. 26, 2023 7:02PM EDT PHOTO ILLTRATN BY THE DAILY BEAST / GETTYLIFE MIGHT BE A LTLE EASIER IF WE ULD ALL PACK UP OUR THGS AND MOVE TO THE WORLD OF FROG AND TOAD. WHAT IF LIFE’S BIGGT ISSU WERE LACKG THE WILLPOWER TO STOP EATG OKI, GOOFY BATHG SUS, AND CIDG ON A FLAVOR OF ICE CREAM?WE N’T ALL SHRK DOWN TO THE SIZE OF THE TY AMPHIBIANS—BUT WE N NOW LIVE VIRLY THROUGH THE BELOVED CHARACTERS, THANKS TO A NEW KIDS SHOW HEADG TO APPLE TV+ ON APRIL 28. THE SERI FEATUR ART THAT FEELS DRAWN STRAIGHT OUT OM THE HAND OF LATE WRER AND ILLTRATOR ARNOLD LOBEL, WH STORI OM ALL FOUR FROG AND TOAD BOOKS: FROG AND TOAD ARE FRIENDS, FROG AND TOAD TOGETHER, FROG AND TOAD ALL YEAR, AND DAYS WH FROG AND TOAD.THOUGH THE FROG AND TOAD BOOKS WERE WRTEN FOR CHILDREN THE 1970S, THEY’VE STOOD THE TT OF TIME—TWO BT BUDDI WHO HAVE BEE A IENDLY NUGGET OF NOSTALGIA FOR MULTIPLE GENERATNS. ROB HOEGEE, THE SHOWNNER FOR THE NEW ADAPTATN OF THE PICTURE BOOKS, SCRIB THE SERI A WAY THAT MAK YOU YEARN FOR THE PAST, AND FOR THE TIME WHEN YOU WERE YOUNG. AS YOU WATCH THE SHOW, YOU FEEL SMALL LIKE FROG AND TOAD, RECLED ON THE LAWN ON A WARM SUMMER’S DAY.“IT’S ALMOST AS IF YOU’RE LYG ON YOUR TUMMY YOUR BACKYARD, PEERG THROUGH SOME BLAS OF GRASS AND LOOKG TO A WORLD THAT’S AT GROUND LEVEL,” HOEGEE TELLS THE DAILY BEAST’S OBSSED, SPEAKG OVER ZOOM. “IT’S LIKE A DRAMA YOU’D MAKE GRA SCHOOL, WHERE YOU’D TAKE A SHOEBOX AND CUT A HOLE TO MAKE A SCENE SI. YOU PEER TO , AND YOU SEE THE STACKED FOREGROUND, MIDGROUND, BACKGROUND WH A RICHER SCENIC ENVIRONMENT WH SELECTIVE FOC, SHADOW, AND LIGHT.” APPLE TV+ SPEAKG ABOUT EVERYTHG OM THE LOR PALETTE ED TO BRG LOBEL’S ILLTRATNS TO TV TO THE QUEER SUBTEXT THAT HAS BEE SUCH A CHERISHED PART OF FANS’ RELATNSHIP TO THE CHARACTERS, HOEGEE MAK CLEAR JT HOW MUCH PRSURE THERE IS TO BREATHE NEW LIFE TO A PROPERTY SO NEAR AND AR TO SO MANY PEOPLE. EVEN CLEARER, HOWEVER, WAS HOW MUCH HE RELISHED . THE NEW SERI FOLLOWS THE TULAR PALS THROUGH THE EVENTS OF THOSE CLASSIC SHORT STORI: CRANKY TOAD REF TO GET OUT OF BED THE MORNG, BUT AN ENERGETIC FROG BOTHERS HIM UNTIL HE RO. A WISTFUL TOAD YEARNS TO RECEIVE A LETTER HIS MAILBOX, SO FROG WR HIM ONE BUT REVEALS WHAT THE LETTER SAYS BEFORE N ARRIVE AT TOAD’S STOOP. LTLE TAL OF SMALL GTUR GUI CHILDREN (AND OLR FOLKS!) THROUGH THE MMENT OF IENDSHIP; JT BEE FROG AND TOAD ARE VERY DIFFERENT CREATUR DON’T MEAN THEY’LL NEVER SEE EYE-TO-EYE.IN THE 1980S, A STOP-MOTN-ANIMATN ADAPTATN OF THE SERI BROUGHT FROG AND TOAD TO LIFE WH CLAY, AND 2003, THE BUDS SANG AND DANCE A BROADWAY MIL LLED A YEAR WH FROG AND TOAD. BUT THIS FEELS LIKE THE MOST FAHFUL ADAPTATN, WHERE FROG AND TOAD LOOK EXACTLY LIKE THE BOOK. THE SHOW EVEN HAD A SPECIFIC FROG AND TOAD FONT CREATED TO MATCH THE SIGNATURE SWOOPS OF THE ORIGAL VERS.CREATG A LANDSPE THAT WAS F FOR HIGH QUALY TELEVISN—BUT ALSO EVOKED THE ORIGAL ILLTRATNS—WAS SOMETHG HOEGEE AND HIS TEAM STGGLED TO BLUEPRT. IF YOU STUDY THE BOOKS, YOU’LL NOTICE THE ONLY LORS ED ARE BLACK, BROWN, GREEN, AND WHE; THAT WASN’T GOG TO LEND THE SERI THE VIBRANCY THAT THE TEAM SIRED. APPLE TV+ “WHILE WE WANTED TO KEEP THE LOR PALETTE OF THE SHOW WH THE WORLD OF WHAT WE THK OF FROG AND TOAD, WE DID WANT TO EXPAND ,” HOEGEE SAYS. “WHAT I LEARNED WAS THAT ARNOLD LOBEL LIVERED DRAWGS JT AS PEN AND K DRAWGS AND THE PUBLISHER LORED. THAT MA ME FEEL A LTLE B MORE WILLG TO PH THE LOR PALETTE A LTLE MORE, KNOWG THAT WAS MORE OF A PRTG CISN RATHER THAN AN ENTIRELY CREATIVE ONE.”THAT TAIL ABOUT LOBEL’S ORIGAL WORKFLOW ME OM HIS CHILDREN, ADRIANNE AND ADAM LOBEL, WHO SERVED AS EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS ON THE SERI AND HAVE BEE “THE CHAMPNS, GATEKEEPERS, AND GUARDIANS OF THEIR FATHER’S WORK AND LEGACY,” HOEGEE SAYS. “I SHARED WH THEM HOW I FELT A SHOW WOULD BE, AND THANKFULLY, WE WERE ALIGNMENT OF WHAT THAT WOULD LOOK LIKE.”HOEGEE CERTALY HAS HIS OWN MEMORI OF THE CHARACTERS OM HIS CHILDHOOD. “BUT THEY REALLY ME HOME WHEN I HAD MY OWN KIDS,” HE SAYS. “THEY’VE ALWAYS RONATED WH ME. YOU TALK TO ADULTS—THE ARE BOOKS AND CHARACTERS THAT DON’T LEAVE YOU. SO MANY CHILDRENS’ BOOKS, THEY STAY THE PAST, YOU AGE PAST THEM. BUT THERE’S SOMETHG ABOUT FROG AND TOAD THAT STICKS WH YOU.”READG THE BOOKS TO HIS CHILDREN, WHO ARE NOW 12 AND 16, HOEGEE REGNIZED THEM AS TIMELS TAL OF IENDSHIP, LOVE, AND PASSN. SIGNG ONTO THE APPLE TV+ PRODUCTN MEANT HE GOT TO FULLY REALIZE THOSE STORI TO A SERI, BUT ALSO MEANT HE HAD TO RELEASE SOME OF THOSE MEMORI. HE HAD TO LOOK PAST ALL OF THE VOIC HE GAVE FROG AND TOAD WHILE READG THE BOOKS ALOUD TO HIS CHILDREN, FOR EXAMPLE, AND ASSIGN ACTORS TO PLAY THE PART. “I HAD, MY HEAD, A VERY CLEAR VOICE FOR BOTH THE CHARACTERS,” HOEGEE SAYS WH A CHUCKLE. “I’D ALREADY BEE JAD BY MY OWN PRENCEIVED UNRSTANDG OF WHAT THE CHARACTERS SOUND LIKE. A BIG PART OF FOR ME WAS UNLEARNG WHAT THE GUYS SOUND LIKE SO THAT I ULD BE OPEN TO OTHER TERPRETATNS.”NAT FAXON AND KEV MICHAEL RICHARDSON WERE ST AS FROG AND TOAD, RPECTIVELY. FAXON READ THE BOOKS TO HIS KIDS, TOO—AS DID MUCH OF THE VOICE ST, WHICH CLUS YVETTE NILE BROWN, MARGARET CHO, COLE ESLA, APARNA NANCHERLA, FORTUNE FEIMSTER, AND TOM KENNY. JOHN HODGMAN, WHO VOIC ONE OF THE CHARACTERS ON THE SHOW, HAD A DRASTILLY DIFFERENT VOICE FOR TOAD THAN THE RT OF THE ST: “AN ODD EASTERN EUROPEAN” ACCENT, HOEGEE SAYS. “EVERYONE THAT HAS A LOVE FOR THIS SHOW TO WH THEIR OWN TAKE ON .”THAT CLUS THE BEHD-THE-SCEN CREATIVE TEAM. THEY HAD TO SELECT WHICH FROG AND TOAD WERE THE “ULTIMATE FROG AND TOAD,” SCE THE CHARACTERS' STYLE CHANG OVER TIME LOBEL’S BOOKS. THEY ALSO HAD TO DRAFT NEW, ORIGAL STORI THAT WOULD BE PAIRED WH THE STORI OM THE BOOKS. APPLE TV+ “EVERY SGLE PERSON ON OUR CREW THAT HAD A HAND THE SHOW—AS AN ARTIST, AS A WRER, AS A VOICE ACTOR—THEY ALL BROUGHT THEIR OWN VERSN OF FROG AND TOAD TO WHAT THEY DID,” HOEGEE SAYS. “IT WAS REALLY IMPORTANT TO ME THAT I ALLOW AS MUCH OF THAT ON THE SCREEN AS POSSIBLE.”THAT’S WHY HOEGEE FOUND IMPORTANT TO NSIR THE QUEER SUBTEXT OF THE FROG AND TOAD BOOKS. A “SIGNIFINT NUMBER” OF HIS ST AND CREW INTIFY AS LGBTQ+, HOEGEE SAYS, AND HE ASPIRED “TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERYONE FELT THAT THEY WERE BEG HEARD AND THEIR NTRIBUTN—THEIR FROG AND TOAD—LIVED ON WHATEVER SHAPE THAT WAS.”“YOU N’T NY ,” HOEGEE SAYS. “IT IS PART OF THE BOOKS, ’S PART OF THE LEGACY.”THOUGH FROG AND TOAD ARE SIMPLY LLED “IENDS” THE SERI AND THE BOOKS, ARNOLD LOBEL ME OUT TO HIS FAY AS GAY 1974, AFTER THE BOOKS HAD BEEN PUBLISHED. IN A 2016 TERVIEW WH THE NEW YORKER, ADRIANNE LOBEL LLED THE BOOKS “THE BEGNG OF HIM G OUT.” OVER THE YEARS, FROG AND TOAD HAVE BEE GAY INS. THERE ARE SHIRTS THAT READ “FROG AND TOAD ARE GAY.” EVEN WHEN THIS SERI WAS ANNOUNCED, THEM WROTE AN ARTICLE HEADLED “EVERYONE’S FAVORE QUEER COUPLE, ‘FROG AND TOAD,’ ARE COMG TO TV.” “WHAT WE WANTED TO DO HERE IS CREATE A FAHFUL ADAPTATN OF THE BOOKS,” HOEGEE SAYS. “FOR PEOPLE, A LOT OF REARS OF A CERTA AGE, FROG AND TOAD AS CHARACTERS SEEN THROUGH A QUEER LENS IS HUGELY IMPORTANT TO THEM. WE N’T NY ANYONE THAT MEANG TO THEM, AS FAR AS THE CHARACTERS GO. IF THAT’S HOW YOU SEE THE CHARACTERS THE BOOK, ’S FAIR TO SAY THAT YOU WILL HAVE THE OPPORTUNY TO SEE A SIAR VIEWPOT THE SHOW AS WELL.”PERCEIVE FROG AND TOAD HOWEVER YOU WANT, BUT HOEGEE SAYS THE MOST IMPORTANT THG IS THAT YOU UNRSTAND HOW MUCH THEY EPLY RE FOR ONE ANOTHER. IT DON’T MATTER IF THAT PASSN IS PLATONIC OR ROMANTIC, THE FACT THAT THEY’RE NEARLY SEPARABLE SHOULD TEACH ALL A B ABOUT PANNSHIP.“WHAT FROG AND TOAD SHOWS IS THAT THERE IS STILL THE ABILY TO HAVE A EP AND MEANGFUL AND LOVG IENDSHIP THAT TRANSCENDS EVERYTHG,” HOEGEE SAYS. “THIS IS A SHOW THAT CELEBRAT HOW TWO VERY DIFFERENT CHARACTERS N STILL FD A MON GROUND AND A RPECT AND APPRECIATN AND LOVE FOR EACH OTHER, THAT STILL ALLOWS THEM TO HAVE FUN TOGETHER AND BE SEPARABLE. OUR DIFFERENC SHOULDN’T DIVI , OUR DIFFERENC SHOULD BE THE THG THAT BRGS TOGETHER.” APPLE TV+ IT’S AN IMPORTANT LSON FOR KIDS TO LEARN, BUT ’S EQUALLY FLUENTIAL FOR ADULTS, TOO. AS HOEGEE SAID, FROG AND TOAD DON’T REALLY LEAVE YOU—THE WHOLE WORLD WAS ELATED AT THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF A FROG AND TOAD SERI, NOT JT THE PIPSQUEAKS. I, FOR ONE, STILL KEEP A PY OF FROG AND TOAD ARE FRIENDS MY NIGHTSTAND. IN OUR TERVIEW, HOEGEE WHIPS OUT A RARE POP-UP PY OF SOME OF THE FROG AND TOAD STORI OM JT BEHD HIS SK. THE LTLE GUYS ARE ALWAYS NEARBY.“THERE’S AN ASSUMPTN THAT SHOWS MA AND WRTEN FOR KIDS HAVE TO BE SIMPLE THE SENSE THAT YOU’RE ALMOST CHANNELG YOUR NER FIVE-YEAR-OLD. THE FACT OF THE MATTER IS, THE ARE MA BY ADULTS. WE ARE STILL BRGG OUR OWN SENSIBILI AND OUR OWN BAGGAGE AND OUR OWN EXPERIENCE AND OUR OWN JOYS AND SADNS—ALL THOSE THGS GET POURED TO THE WORK WE DO,” HOEGEE SAYS.WHILE HOEGEE IS TALKG ABOUT HIMSELF AND HIS TEAM, ’S IMPOSSIBLE TO HEAR THIS QUOTE AND NOT THK ABOUT ARNOLD LOBEL, WHO WROTE THE STORI FOR CHILDREN WH TENR THEM OF LOVE, TST, AND BOUNDARI THAT—AS HIS CHILDREN HAVE NFIRMED—RELATED BACK TO HIS OWN LIFE. NOW, DOZENS OF OTHER ARTISTS GET TO SEE THOSE STORI RETOLD THROUGH THE LENS OF THEIR OWN LIV, TOO.KEEP OBSSG! SIGN UP FOR THE DAILY BEAST’S OBSSED NEWSLETTER AND FOLLOW ON FACEBOOK, TWTER, INSTAGRAM AND TIKTOK. FLETCHER PETERS

CALIFORNIA STILL HAS AN ANTI-GAY MARRIAGE LAW ON THE BOOKS. VOTERS ULD REMOVE NEXT YEAR.