Disney's ‘Strange World’ to feature gay teen romance

Contents:

• IS LU PIXAR’S FIRST GAY MOVIE? MAYBE
• HERE'S HOW 'STRANGE WORLD' TRODUC THE FIRST OUT GAY TEENAGER A DISNEY ANIMATED FILM: 'IT WAS A BETIFUL THG TO BE A PART OF'
• ‘STRANGE WORLD’ IS DISNEY’S FIRST ANIMATED MOVIE WH A GAY LEAD. WHY IS IT BEG BURIED?
• DISNEY’S ‘STRANGE WORLD’ TO FEATURE FIRST GAY TEEN ROMANCE ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
• LIST: 'STRANGE WORLD' REVIEWS ABOUT DISNEY'S FIRST OUT GAY, CHARACTER, BIRACIAL QUEER TEEN
• DISNEY FILM FEATURG GAY MA CHARACTER BOMBS AT BOX OFFICE

IS LU PIXAR’S FIRST GAY MOVIE? MAYBE

That outle holds an obv potential for queer allegory, and ed many Pixar fans trackg the film’s velopment quickly labeled Lu as the stud’s “gay movie”—a g-out story to be placed on Pixar’s mantle alongsi s medatns on grief, artistic exprsn, lonels, Ayn Rand-ian objectivism, and parentg. ” That suggts a limed unrstandg of gay growg up, particularly of when our feelgs of affectn and special closens and difference n first velop. That character, played tartly but briefly by John McCrea, is slightly ls of a scrap than the embarrassgly ballyhooed “exclively gay moment” 2017’s Bety and the Beast—but Artie still barely registered amid Cella’s cynil clamor.

Last year, Disney punted Love, Victor—a seri spoff of the feature film Love, Simon, the first stud film about a gay kid g out—om Disney+ to Hulu, clarg the young adult show a better f for that more grownup streamg service. Greg Gayne/HuluThe first season of Love, Victor very much felt like a show tend for Disney+ that somehow wound up alongsi Handmaid’s Tale. Love, Victor season two admirably exam life post-g out, as Victor (Michael Cimo) navigat his nascent relatnship wh barista Benji (Gee Sear) and tri to get his mother, Isabel (Ana Ortiz, queen of playg TV moms of gay kids), to fully accept his inty.

Victor and Benji grapple wh tra-gay nflicts jt as much as they do wh the wary nsiratns of the straight world.

HERE'S HOW 'STRANGE WORLD' TRODUC THE FIRST OUT GAY TEENAGER A DISNEY ANIMATED FILM: 'IT WAS A BETIFUL THG TO BE A PART OF'

But the scene sparked bate due to two issu: Florida’s ntroversial “Don’t Say Gay” law, which prohibs any class discsn about sexual orientatn and genr inty to stunts younger than ne years old, and Disney’s efforts as a pany to have repealed. His father supports him and giv him advice, not focg on whether his son is gay or not, but simply as a father who is by his son’s si matters of love. 23, the movie also monstrat the Moe Hoe's renewed mment to LGBTQ reprentatn by showsg the first out gay teenager a Disney rtoon feature.

That character is Ethan Cla, and he's voiced by out gay edian and actor Jaboie Young-Whe. "For her part, Unn not that her recent remake of Cheaper by the Dozen — which premiered on Disney+ March — featured one of Disney's first live actn gay teens (played by Caylee Blosensk), but says much of that storyle was downplayed the fished film.

‘STRANGE WORLD’ IS DISNEY’S FIRST ANIMATED MOVIE WH A GAY LEAD. WHY IS IT BEG BURIED?

Both the 2020 animated feature, Onward, which featured Disney's first self-intified lbian character, and 2022's Lightyear, which featured the stud's first same-sex kiss, were banned Sdi Arabia and other Gulf natns where homosexual nduct is still illegal.

The dispirg explanatn uld be that Disney, fearg uproar om all matters of the right, has chewed any big promo s more homogeno films receive. Strange World was never sted to be a hot button issue wh anti-gay, racist, fossil fuel-lovg punds.

The film's director said 's about iendships, but many viewers observed a strong gay subtext. Alberto and Lu's relatnship is laced wh gay subtextLu is immediately taken by the ee-spired Alberto when he meets a fellow sea monster off the ast of 're sually physil wh each other, sleepg si by si unr a star-filled sky, wrappg their arms around each other's waists, and watchg the sunset together. "This might seem rehg to some, to see a Disney movie explore iendships as opposed to a fairy-tale love story, but s a shame that this cisn has e when a gay romance uld have so easily and naturally be Lu and Alberto explicly gay or queer wouldn't have felt ntrived.

DISNEY’S ‘STRANGE WORLD’ TO FEATURE FIRST GAY TEEN ROMANCE ANIMATED FEATURE FILM

It would have been a meangful nfirmatn of what is already a story rich gay subtext.

"Bety and the Beast" and "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker" both featured blk-and-you'll-miss- "gay moments:" a dance between two men and a kiss between two women. Queer kids will still feel forted by this story bee the scene plays out like an allegory for g out and beg gay, even if Casarosa said isn't.

LIST: 'STRANGE WORLD' REVIEWS ABOUT DISNEY'S FIRST OUT GAY, CHARACTER, BIRACIAL QUEER TEEN

—ClassicMovieGay (@jblikmovi) June 19, 2021What would have ma even more powerful, though, is if the movie explicly embraced the unniable queer subtext through will argue that Pixar ma the right ll to be more ambiguo, so that more people n take different thgs om the movie, but I feel queer dienc have been robbed of a goln opportuny for tangible reprentatn. Instead, Disney seems happy to let dienc terpret the movie their own way — (almost) satisfyg LGBTQ dienc wh a movie that feels gay but actually isn't, whout beg brave enough to prent an openly queer story. Disney’s upg adventure film “Strange World” will feature a gay teen romance — the first an animated feature produced by Walt Disney Animatn film, which is schled to open on Nov.

While “Strange World” explor a fantastil environment full of myster creatur and flora, cludg flyg fish and walkg rock lumns, the actn-adventure film also clus a first for Walt Disney Animatn Studs: a gay teen romance. The animated feature troduc viewers to Ethan Cla, a biracial, openly gay teenager who gets pletely tongue-tied when he’s near his csh, Diazo. “His gayns is one part of him.

It's the first Disney movie featurg an out-gay character named Ethan Cla, played by gay edian Jaboie Young-Whe. " Below are 11 excerpts om media webs and the different tak crics had on the gay character, characters Disney, Marvel? Photos of 8 Disney, Marvel characters who are gay, lbian or bisexualUSA TODAY lls 'Strange World' 'extremely morn'"Fans of pulpy 1930s and ’40s hero such as Doc Savage and Flash Gordon will dig the over-the-top actn vibe, yet “Strange World” is extremely morn s them.

DISNEY FILM FEATURG GAY MA CHARACTER BOMBS AT BOX OFFICE

It taps to real-world issu of nservatn and staabily of natural rourc, and there’s a strong sense of cln – Ethan’s a biracial gay teen, Legend mak up for a missg leg wh boundls energy – and the most wele aspect is that 's all pretty normal. (Ethan tak after gramps the adventurg partment, but he’s also sensive and openly gay a way that has never been more explic a Disney movie.

"Indie Wire: 'First ever gay character... Feels timid'"Ethan is the stud’s bajillnth 'first ever gay character' (and his fay is one of a few terracial fai all of Disney), but as progrsive as is, even that feels timid: His csh appears one scene at the begng of the movie, and apart om a short nversatn is not mentned aga — easily cut to appease the ternatnal censors that provi Disney wh so much of s revenue.

)"Vulture: 'Ethan is Black and unmistakably queer'"That Strange World’s sendary hero, Ethan, is Black and unmistakably queer (no “exclively gay moments” here — he do some sweetly awkward flirtg wh his csh one of his earlier scen) is noteworthy. "The Guardian: 'Wokens' and avodo toast"Ethan is Disney’s first openly gay teenager and, predictably, rightwg activists have lled for a boytt. In addn to Ethan beg gay, has that environmental msage and – oh, the wokens – a scene which avodo on toast is served.