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

Contents:

• ‘LU,’ CHILDHOOD IENDSHIP AND THE DISURSE AROUND GAY FISH
• 'LU' DIRECTOR ADMS THEY 'TALKED ABOUT' MAKG THE LEADS GAY BUT CID TO FOC ON A 'PRE-ROMANCE' IENDSHIP
• DO DISNEY’S ‘LU’ HAVE A GAY CHARACTER?
• LU FANS ARE NVCED 'S A GAY LOVE STORY AND THE MEM ARE INIC
• “LU” IS GAY AND YOU CAN’T CHANGE MY MD
• LU MAY NOT BE A GAY NARRATIVE, BUT ’S ABSOLUTELY A QUEER ONE
• I'M SORRY, BUT "LU" IS TOTALLY A GAY MOVIE, AND THE 18 TWEETS PROVE IT
• WA A SEC — ARE THE MA CHARACTERS PIXAR’S ‘LU’ GAY?
• OWEN IS A GAY FISH
• SORRY, FOLKS, PIXAR’S LU ISN’T GAY
• STREAM IT OR SKIP IT: ‘LU’ ON DISNEY+, A PIXAR OUTG WHICH (POSSIBLY GAY?) FISH-BOYS ENJOY AN ADVENTURE ON LAND
• IS LU A GAY MOVIE?
• 'LU' DIRECTOR ADMS THEY 'TALKED ABOUT' MAKG THE LEADS GAY BUT CID TO FOC ON A 'PRE-ROMANCE' IENDSHIP
• “LU” IS GAY AND YOU CAN’T CHANGE MY MD

‘LU,’ CHILDHOOD IENDSHIP AND THE DISURSE AROUND GAY FISH

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.

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

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. Young iendship wh d gay unrton? But is worth thkg about the implitns of this film and s potential as a gay narrative.

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

Relatnships between people sometim change as children grow to themselv; the love between Lu and Alberto is a strong platonic love, but even if they are not explicly gay, that do not mean they are straight. 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. 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?

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

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! "LGBTQ+ viewers worldwi have nnected to the movie and the mem and reactns are both wholome and Lu gay? Is Lu gay?

Discsg whether or not Lu is a gay love story, director Enri Casarosa told Polygon: "I was really keen to talk about a iendship before girliends and boyiends e to plite thgs.

“LU” IS GAY AND YOU CAN’T CHANGE MY MD

One person tweeted: "Jt saw Lu, & I don’t re what anyone else says, ’s the first gay animated film by Disney/Pixar.

"Another person tweeted: "Jt watched Lu and now I’m cryg over gay fish what the fuck.

Jt saw Lu, & I don’t re what anyone else says, ’s the first gay animated film by Disney/Pixar. Also me, watchg Lu: gay? Perfectly ptur the feelg of the bt iend you’re kda love wh as a young gay kid, the nfn, the fear of beg different & hidg..

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

i KNOW #Lu isn’t an explicly gay movie. Jt watched Lu and now I’m cryg over gay fish what the fuck— ? Kiiwi ? ONGOING DTIYS (@kiiwistu) June 18, 2021.

Lu asks the age old qutn: Are they gay or jt alian— Mar Mozzarella (@MarGractti) June 18, 2021. Hi, the characters Lu are more queer than any of the other 97 first openly gay characters the Disney/Pixar non, and if you don’t thk so then don’t talk to me or my mermaid son or his mermaid lover ever aga, happy PRIDE.

I'M SORRY, BUT "LU" IS TOTALLY A GAY MOVIE, AND THE 18 TWEETS PROVE IT

It's also worth notg that even though Casarosa said that Lu is not a gay love story, he hasn't explicly said if Lu and Alberto are queer or not. Holy sh, was gay! Disney has yet to animate a gay kiss or a g out scene a blockbter film.

They also happen to be gay.

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

Okay, now that ’s jt , let’s talk about how the movie really gets gay.

OWEN IS A GAY FISH

That’s GAY. The Inter is pretty much nsens: those were some gay-ass fish.

At The Dis (@gay_pnw) June 19, 2021.

SORRY, FOLKS, PIXAR’S LU ISN’T GAY

(@faveisgay) June 20, 2021. “Lu”’s director, Enri Casarosa, claims that ’s not a gay story.

STREAM IT OR SKIP IT: ‘LU’ ON DISNEY+, A PIXAR OUTG WHICH (POSSIBLY GAY?) FISH-BOYS ENJOY AN ADVENTURE ON LAND

” Sorry, Enri, but I was gay before puberty. I want to be clear: I don’t thk Lu and Alberto are gay any kd of sexual way. But their playful, schoolboy csh-style affectn is a kd of gay reprentatn I’ve rarely seen, even if wasn’t tentnal.

IS LU A GAY MOVIE?

Long story short, “Lu” is gay and you n’t change my md. I want my rebell gay royalty, damm!

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

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.

“LU” IS GAY AND YOU CAN’T CHANGE MY MD

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.

—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.