A Brief Timele of Disney's 17 'First Gay Characters'

Contents:

• IS LU PIXAR’S FIRST GAY MOVIE? MAYBE
• LIST: 'STRANGE WORLD' REVIEWS ABOUT DISNEY'S FIRST OUT GAY, CHARACTER, BIRACIAL QUEER TEEN
• ‘STRANGE WORLD’ IS DISNEY’S FIRST ANIMATED MOVIE WH A GAY LEAD. WHY IS IT BEG BURIED?
• 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.

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

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.

Updated on June 7th, 2022 by Danielle Bnti: In the wake of Florida's extremely ntroversial "Don't Say Gay" bill and the strong cricism that me om wh The Walt Disney Company for not speakg up, seems like Disney is fally unrstandg out important LGBTQ+ reprentatn is for s fans and s st members.

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

While the word "gay" never is spoken  Better Nate Than Ever, the notn that Nate is gay is hted at relentlsly. Phastos is a geni and ventor turned superhero who also happens to be openly gay. Artie Cella is an openly gay character who teracts wh the ma character throughout the new movie that foc on Cella Vil om 101 Dalmatians.

Artie is able to be his thentic self and actor John McCrea is happy wh his portrayal of Artie and believ him to be a gay character, but Disney yet aga ma the mistake of not fully lvg to Artie beg an openly gay character. Orka and Flix Star Wars Ristance are two openly gay characters who aren't human and are actually two different speci but are openly a relatnship the seri.

Jungle Cise hasn't technilly been released yet, but Disney has been clear that one of the major characters the movie, McGregor Houghton, will be gay. There's been a lot of ntroversy surroundg the announcement of Houghton beg a gay character. Certa groups are upset at the ia of a children's movie reprentg the LGBTQ+ muny while progrsiv are upset at Jack Whehall's stg, believg a gay actor should be st, and the ia that might be a stereotypil, harmful reprentatn.

DISNEY FILM FEATURG GAY MA CHARACTER BOMBS AT BOX OFFICE

Viewers may not remember the gay prce om The Prcs Diari 2, and maybe that's bee the movie don't actually show him person. In early 2017, Disney XD progrsed even more wh portrayals of gay love wh the rtoon Star Vs.

Before the live-actn versn of Bety and the Beast me out 2017, director Bill Condon announced an terview that one character would have a gay sp. LeFou, Gaston's right-hand man, would be gay, the director said, g excement and anticipatn om the LGBTQ+ muny. Cys Goodman om Andi Mack was Disney's first character to ever utter the words, "I'm gay," 2019.