Laika’s ‘ParaNorman’ Prents First Openly Gay Animated Character – IndieWire

Contents:

• 'PARANORMAN’S' MCH: THE FIRST FAY-FRIENDLY GAY ANIMATED CHARACTER
• MCH DOWNE FROM "PARANORMAN" IS AWOME GAY REPRENTATN
• WHY PARANORMAN FEATURED THE FIRST GAY CHARACTER AN ANIMATED FILM
• ‘PARANORMAN’ MA HISTORY WH ANIMATN’S FIRST-EVER OPENLY GAY HIMBO 10 YEARS AGO TODAY
• LAIKA’S ‘PARANORMAN’ PRENTS FIRST OPENLY GAY ANIMATED CHARACTER
• PARANORMAN CREATORS DISCS THEIR GROUNDBREAKG GAY CHARACTER
• 'PARANORMAN' SLIPS FIRST GAY ANIMATED CHARACTER
• 'PARANORMAN' FEATUR GAY JOCK, AND SOME PEOPLE DON'T LIKE
• WHY PARANORMAN FEATURED THE FIRST GAY CHARACTER AN ANIMATED FILM
• ‘PARANORMAN’ FILMMAKERS ON OUTG THE GAY JOCK MCH

'PARANORMAN’S' MCH: THE FIRST FAY-FRIENDLY GAY ANIMATED CHARACTER

In 2012, ParaNorman featured the first out gay character an Amerin, fay-targeted, animated theatril release. This has lead to an crease of gay-tged humor and ambiguo characters.

The fact that an unabashedly gay character like Mch ma on the big screen speaks to a shift Amerin culture that is reflected s animatn. In South Park: Bigger Longer & Uncut, the characters Satan and Saddam Hse are gay lovers; and Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters, the character Frylock clar himself a transsexual lbian trapped a man's body, and the end cred scene shows Frylock as a woman.

MCH DOWNE FROM "PARANORMAN" IS AWOME GAY REPRENTATN

This clus a greater potential for gay-tged humor or gay-d characters.

Gay-tged humor tends to be a short punch le or reference that has a gay-readg, but don’t affect the world or fe the sexualy of any of the characters. Gay-tged humor n also e the form of farcil homoerotic suatns between characters that are tablished as straight. This display of homoerotic humor preces a scene which both characters are shown beg attracted to sirens who have taken the form of betiful animals of their rpective speci, and is their attractn to the femal that leads to their advertent kiss.

WHY PARANORMAN FEATURED THE FIRST GAY CHARACTER AN ANIMATED FILM

In the se of gay-d characters, reliance on ambiguy allows for multiple readgs of a character. In the live actn film Thank God It’s Friday (1978) Kenny Friedman add a gay male uple to a background crowd of dancg straight upl. He found tt screengs that straight viewers did not notice while gay viewers did.

“Which is exactly what he wanted; he found that general dienc are unwillg to see gays and he ma easier for them.

Bee the Big Bad Wolf is prented as an ambiguo character, the two uld be read as a gay uple - but they don’t have to be. One review mentned as a gay kiss 7. In this way gay dg works to a stud’s advantage.

‘PARANORMAN’ MA HISTORY WH ANIMATN’S FIRST-EVER OPENLY GAY HIMBO 10 YEARS AGO TODAY

Ambiguy male characters, particularly male duos, has bee a wi enough regnized trope that bar the same name as the popular Saturday Night Live sketch, the "Ambiguoly Gay Duo.

” Other tim the qutns me the form of jt, like the Daily Show sketch that poked fun at a gay readg of the El Dorado characters 10. Eher way, the fact that a gay readg of the characters was brought up at all speaks to creasgly perceptive viewers.

LAIKA’S ‘PARANORMAN’ PRENTS FIRST OPENLY GAY ANIMATED CHARACTER

” The fact that they the film didn’t make any pot about Bryony’s sexualy is part of why she pged some people’s gaydar, bee is so rare to have a female protagonist who is not overtly heterosexual. To many Mch as a gay character was seen as no more a danger to child viewers then a character like Harry Potter would be as a wizard. More movi released means the potential for more risk takg the typ of characters and stori, and gay-tged humor and gay-d characters have creasgly been met wh approval by dienc or at the very least acceptance by viewers who re ls about the sexualy of the characters and more about the narrativ.

This is not to unrme what a monumental thg was to have Mch be gay. ParaNorman is revolutnary, not jt bee mak the unspoken official – Gay characters n exist…Look there he is – but bee reflects our changg social valu. Gay reprentatn is out there, but to portray a character who's gay as a big, happy bte is a rare treat.

And at the very end of the film, he’s revealed to be gay. This mcled himbo is gay.

PARANORMAN CREATORS DISCS THEIR GROUNDBREAKG GAY CHARACTER

He’s not effemate, he don’t lisp or do his nails — he’s almost the exact oppose of the old homosexual stereotype. Mch is a great gay reprentatn bee he rrectly reprents that gay people are people, and they have facets, differenc and don’t f to a tegory. He really blasts away that le that too many of hear: “You don’t look gay!

Not that some gays aren’t effemate. But that’s jt the thg, we’re all different sorts this muny, and havg a character that was built around a set of archetyp that are ually straight, but then addg that he’s gay as a si note had this wrer celebratg. Gay Reprentatn In Different Flavors.

The way he’s revealed to be gay is que nice, too. Gay reprentatn is out there, but to portray a character who’s gay as a big, happy bte is a rare treat. But maybe his character hs jt a ltle close to home when you are a mcled, gay weightlifter who’s sometim a ltle air-head!

'PARANORMAN' SLIPS FIRST GAY ANIMATED CHARACTER

As the DVD, Blu-Ray, and Ultravlet versns of ParaNorman today h stor and puters (and iPhon, if you get pocketBLU), we talked wh animatn's hottt dream team -- gay wrer/director Chris Butler and his (not gay) -creator, director Sam Fell -- abouttheir smash animated film. They also touch on The Breakfast Club, stop-motn animatn, and their so-lled gay agenda.

And all of that means there are spoilers for those of you who haven't seen the story of a bullied kid, a pack of zombi, an ancient curse, and a gay Advote: I believe that ParaNorman is the first mastream animated film wh a ma character who is gay. You look to your left there's the next set beg pated and you look to your right, there's a bunch of wigs beg veloped for a new character, so you're pletely immersed There's somethg liberatg as a director to actually pot at an object you're talkg about, rather than jt potg the fger at a Butler (left) and Sam FellI saw some of the small mols when I was at the premiere which was endlsly fascatg Mch, the gay character. I noticed a lot of parent blogs wrote somethg like, "Great film about tolerance, too bad had a gay character at the end.

I thk that one of the nservative punds had a piece soon after the film me out that said was only a matter of time before the gay muny targeted children wh films like ParaNorman.

'PARANORMAN' FEATUR GAY JOCK, AND SOME PEOPLE DON'T LIKE

I thk they were tryg to say that you, Chris, beg gay, meant that this is part of your so-lled gay [Lghs] My sid agenda gettg out Sam, you also did Flhed Away, which is also this sort of ntemporary type of film which you didn't have to be a kid, or have a kid, to enjoy .

WHY PARANORMAN FEATURED THE FIRST GAY CHARACTER AN ANIMATED FILM

But, for our purpos, ParaNorman also serv cred for s trailblazg cln of the genre’s first gay himbo character. Well before Disney began toutg “exclively gay moments, ” Laika did what no other stud had done before: It troduced the first openly gay character a mastream animated feature… who, y, also happened to be a sweet and brawny airhead. Related: Behold the trope of the “unexpected gay” character.

‘PARANORMAN’ FILMMAKERS ON OUTG THE GAY JOCK MCH

We don’t get to see the movie date—we don’t even get to meet the boyiend—and there’s no other reference to the fact that Mch is gay. In retrospect, do feel pretty mimal, but, by simply cludg an out gay character, Laika did what Disney (or any other mastream animatn stud) didn’t have the nvictn to do at the time.

By not publicizg this “gay moment” ahead of time, ParaNorman wasn’t h wh claims of queer-bag or met wh blowback for unr-liverg on expectatns. But as the film’s wrer and -director Chis Butler—who is gay—se , Mch’s sexualy is jt part of the fabric of the movie’s story, one that’s all about tolerance:.