Disney's 8 'First Openly Gay' Characters: A Short History

gay character in disney movie

Strange World, wh Jake Gyllenhaal, Jaboie Young-Whe and Dennis Quaid, featur Disney's first gay lead character an animatn.

Contents:

DISNEY FILM FEATURG GAY MA CHARACTER BOMBS AT BOX OFFICE

Few Disney characters are explicly clared to be gay by the stud, but viewers have picked up on "gay dg." CBR explor. * gay character in disney movie *

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. 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. 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.

The show's creator and executive producer Terri Msky said that Cys and his story were largely spired by Terri's dghter's iends, who knew that they were gay middle school.

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

In Pixar’s new animated movie, Lena Wahe plays Officer Spector, the first openly gay character the stud’s movi. Disney’s history of LGBTQ reprentatn is spotty, and the pany needs to do more. * gay character in disney movie *

The same-sex kiss first ma headl last month, when Pixar animators spoke out agast Disney an open letter obtaed by Variety, sayg that rporate executiv had mand cuts "om nearly every moment of overtly gay affectn. But was later rtored light of Disney's "Don't Say Gay" ntroversy, when was revealed the pany had donated roughly $200, 000 to Republin policians who supported the bill, which forbids discsns of sexual orient elementary school classrooms. "Other live-actn Disney films have relegated queer characters to the background, like a blk-and-you'll-miss- kiss between two women "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, " or the "exclively gay moment" of Josh Gad's LeFou dancg wh another man "Bety and the Beast.

Long before announcements about "Disney's first gay character" beme somethg of a meme, the first direct reference to a gay person a Disney movie om a somewhat surprisg source: "The Prcs Diari 2: Royal Engagement" 2004.

DISNEY'S 8 'FIRST OPENLY GAY' CHARACTERS, RANKED (BY HOW EMBARRASSED DISNEY SHOULD FEEL)

The directors and st of "Strange World" discs the cln of a biracial, openly gay character the Disney animated feature. * gay character in disney movie *

" Rpons to the episo at the time were posive among the LGBTQ+ muny, wh GLAAD and queer former Disney star Miley Cys celebratg, while the far-right anti-gay group One Milln Moms protted the episo. The 2017 live-actn remake of "Bety and the Beast" arrived wh signifint prs verage about featurg an "exclively gay" moment volvg Gaston's sikick LeFou, played by Josh Gad.

Disney Channel had briefly featured gay romanc before, but wasn't until 2019 when Cys Goodman (played by bisexual actor Joshua Rh) on "Andi Mack" beme the first Disney Channel character to say the words "I'm gay. Cys first out to his iends Buffy and Andi the show's send season, while the history-makg "I'm gay" le occurs the episo "One a Myan" om the seri' third and fal season.

" Unnamed, non-speakg gay background characters alone, however, wouldn't qualify the show for this list — and while many queer viewers celebrated the genr nonnformy of male prcs Mar Diaz, Mar himself was never nfirmed to be queer. "High School Mil: The Mil: The Seri" featur two major gay characters who enter a relatnship wh each other: The choreographer Carlos Rodriguez (Frankie Rodriguez) and the actor Seb Matthew-Smh (Joe Serafi). Officer Specter, a cyclops p voiced by Lena Wahe the 2020 film "Onward, " is the first gay character wh a speakg role a Pixar movie ("Fdg Dory" and "Toy Story 4" prevly clud same-sex upl as background extras).

ONWARD’S OPENLY GAY CHARACTER STILL LEAV DISNEY BEHD S PETORS

Followg "Avengers: Endgame" and "Star Wars: Episo IX — The Rise of Skywalker, " many LGBTQ+ viewers were creasgly cril of Disney's assorted "first gay characters" om s var studs beg hyped up, only to turn out beg so mor that all the reprentatn uld be easily censored jt by changg one le.

Up until this pot on our list, most of the gay Disney characters promoted as the "first" of their kd uld still be clearly labeled as a specific "first" (first Disney character, first Marvel character, first "Star Wars character, " etc. When "Cella, " a live-actn reimagg of the villa om "101 Dalmatians" as an antihero, was released 2021, there were headl that the fashn signer character Artie might be Disney's "first major gay character. The six-year-old ballet dancer at the center of Moxie Peng's "The Ltle Prce(ss)" might or might not grow up to intify as gay, trans, or non-bary, but the fact that the story's them are all about directly challengg toxic enforcement of genr norms, homophobia, and transphobia is enough to make f fortably the Disney+ "Pri" sectn.

Durg this long wa for the film's release, there was already signifint bate over the fact that Jack Whehall, a straight actor, was gog to play the film's "effemate" and "mp" gay character McGregor Houghton (per The Mary Sue). Charl Zeller, played by gay actor Jefey Bowyer-Chapman, is somethg of an outsir amongst the other doctors at Oahu Health Medil Center, havg e all the way om Chigo to work Hawaii. Jok have been ma about beg awkward that the MCU's first gay black hero is someone who tak rponsibily for the bombg of Hiroshima, but even so, 's still a step the right directn for the mega-anchise.

*BEAR-MAGAZINE.COM* GAY CHARACTER IN DISNEY MOVIE

List: Gay characters, same-sex upl Disney, Marvel movi, shows .

TOP