Pixar’s animated film Lu may not be a gay narrative, but ’s a queer one - Polygon

Contents:

• DO DISNEY’S ‘LU’ HAVE A GAY CHARACTER?
• SORRY, FOLKS, PIXAR’S LU ISN’T GAY
• 'LU' DIRECTOR ADMS THEY 'TALKED ABOUT' MAKG THE LEADS GAY BUT CID TO FOC ON A 'PRE-ROMANCE' IENDSHIP
• WA A SEC — ARE THE MA CHARACTERS PIXAR’S ‘LU’ GAY?
• PIXAR REPORTEDLY SCRAPPED GAY ‘LU’ STORYLE: ‘HOW DO WE DO THIS WHOUT A LOVE INTERT?’
• LU MAY NOT BE A GAY NARRATIVE, BUT ’S ABSOLUTELY A QUEER ONE
• HOW GAY IS PIXAR’S LU?
• IS LU PIXAR’S FIRST GAY MOVIE? MAYBE
• LU DIRECTOR SAYS DISNEY FILM NEARLY FEATURED GAY ROMANCE BETWEEN MA CHARACTERS: ‘WE TALKED ABOUT ’
• IS PIXAR’S LUCA GAY? FILMMAKERS ANSWER THE BURNG LGBTQ+ QUTN
• IS LU A GAY METAPHOR?
• LU FANS ARE NVCED 'S A GAY LOVE STORY AND THE MEM ARE INIC

DO DISNEY’S ‘LU’ HAVE A GAY CHARACTER?

Jt a ltle over halfway through Pri Month, we are seeg people flock to Twter to prent their theori on why and how the lead duo Disney and Pixar’s latt g-of-age animated feature film, Lu, is, fact, gay. So do Lu have a gay character after all, or is this jt a se of fans creatg a headnon that’s gag tractn and onle clout?

Do Lu have a gay character?

SORRY, FOLKS, PIXAR’S LU ISN’T GAY

While Disney has not e on the rerd sayg that Lu and Alberto are gay, we (and many a Twter er! ) believe that the great mds at Pixar may have meant for the movie’s plot to be an overall metaphor for gayns and acceptance. I KNOW #Lu isn’t an explicly gay movie.

So while no character Lu has been intified by Disney outright as gay, we n very well read the subtext, metaphors, and straight-up visual evince (all of those nocent touch!

'LU' DIRECTOR ADMS THEY 'TALKED ABOUT' MAKG THE LEADS GAY BUT CID TO FOC ON A 'PRE-ROMANCE' IENDSHIP

When Pixar first revealed the plot synopsis of s upg movie Lu — a tale of two sea-monster boys named Lu and Alberto, and an “unfettable” summer on the Italian Rivera — many people quickly pared to Call Me By Your Name, the 2017 gay romance that also took place durg an unfettable summer Italy.

WA A SEC — ARE THE MA CHARACTERS PIXAR’S ‘LU’ GAY?

But 2020, Pixar released “Out” through s SparkShorts program, which centered around a gay uple. Eager for reprentatn, many fans have clung to the possibily that Lu might give them openly gay ma characters, and not jt one-note si characters. Lu is marketed as a "metaphor for anythg" but the sea monster setup is a perfect allegory for a gay story, and LGBTQ viewers n read that way.

Lu has arrived on Disney+ and, spe what Pixar says, the movie prents a strong allegory for growg up gay and fdg a nnectn wh other LGBTQ people. This elis the fact that beg gay, queer, or LGBTQ+ is not simply a matter of partners or relatnships or sex. Young gay people often feel very different om others before such feelgs velop, which n occur squarely the age bracket the story plac Lu and Alberto.

PIXAR REPORTEDLY SCRAPPED GAY ‘LU’ STORYLE: ‘HOW DO WE DO THIS WHOUT A LOVE INTERT?’

In the ments, Casarosa is enuragg such terpretatn, meang that, if you see there, Lu is a gay story, Pixar's first feature film wh LGBTQ+ leads. The parallels of the boys secretly beg sea monsters and gay and LGBTQ+ people beg forced to hi their inti cuts closer than other mory groups, ratnalizg a queer readg of the movie. So while Pixar ni Lu is a gay story due to s settg and the age of s characters, viewers should read the LGBTQ+ narrative for what is.

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.

LU MAY NOT BE A GAY NARRATIVE, BUT ’S ABSOLUTELY A QUEER ONE

"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.

HOW GAY IS PIXAR’S LU?

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.

IS LU PIXAR’S FIRST GAY MOVIE? MAYBE

—ClassicMovieGay (@jblikmovi) June 19, 2021What would have ma even more powerful, though, is if the movie explicly embraced the unniable queer subtext through dialogue.

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.

Watchg the close relatnship the ma characters Lu and Alberto have, many even went and clared the animated versn of the gay g-of-age 2017 drama, "Call Me by Your Name, " starrg Timothée Chalamet and Armie "Lu" director Enri Casarosa has always said while dog prs that the story is based on his straight relatnship wh his bt iend growg up Italy, a recent terview wh The Wrap he did adm that for a moment while velopg the story they wonred if Lu and Alberto should be more than jt iends. "It's a shame that this cisn has e when a gay romance uld have so easily and naturally be explored, " he wrote. "Makg Lu and Alberto explicly gay or queer wouldn't have felt ntrived, would have been a meangful nfirmatn of what is already a story rich gay subtext.

LU DIRECTOR SAYS DISNEY FILM NEARLY FEATURED GAY ROMANCE BETWEEN MA CHARACTERS: ‘WE TALKED ABOUT ’

Wa a Sec — Are the Ma Characters Pixar’s ‘Lu’ Gay? Specifilly, they want to know: Are the ma characters Lu gay?

Here’s what we PixarArticle ntu below advertisementAre the ma characters Pixar’s ‘Lu’ gay? \u201cCryg joyful gay tears for all the nfed LGBTQ+ kids who will watch Pixar's LUCA and have their ner world validated.

IS PIXAR’S LUCA GAY? FILMMAKERS ANSWER THE BURNG LGBTQ+ QUTN

\u201d — ClassicMovieGay (@ClassicMovieGay).

IS LU A GAY METAPHOR?

Unfortunately, none of the tangible romantic chemistry between Lu and Alberto was ever ma official, and Lu director Enri Casarosa explaed that while makg the film's two lead characters gay was fely a possibily, he end up wantg to make the film about a "pre-romance" part of many children's liv. "The news of Giulia almost beg queer Lu on the heels of The Walt Disney Company beg hot water wh a lot of s LGBTQ+ fans for fundg and supportg legislators Florida who support the state's ntroversial "Don't Say Gay" bill. In the same Variety report mentned earlier, was also revealed that Pixar animators jt rtored a same-sex between two characters the upg Lightyear movie after a group of ncerned employe released a statement earlier March claimg executiv at Disney had censored all attempts to portray stanc of "overtly gay affectn" om storyl var Pixar is streamg on Disney+.

LU FANS ARE NVCED 'S A GAY LOVE STORY AND THE MEM ARE INIC

Enri Casarosa, the director of Disney and Pixar's beloved 2021 animated film Lu, went on the rerd a recent terview wh The Wrap, openg up about how there were discsns about possibly makg the film's two lead characters -- the tular sea monster Lu and his fellow aquatic btie Alberto -- gay. Unfortunately, none of the tangible romantic chemistry between Lu and Alberto was ever ma official the film, and Casarosa is now talkg about why that was, even though makg the characters gay was reportedly a possibily.

The legislatn’s tractors, who dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, quickly lled on Disney to stop fundg policians who support the bill. While Disney has recently rporated extremely subtle referenc to homosexualy some of s films, many crics feel the pany has not done nearly enough to make their movi clive. “Lu” tells the story of two male sea monsters who have a iendship so timate that many crics terpreted as a gay allegory.