BY SOFIA MENDEZ
Disney’s new Pixar movie called “Onward” premiering March 6, recently announced that it is coming out with its first-ever openly gay character representing the LGBTQ+ community. The character is known to be a lesbian police officer who is voiced by “Master of None” actress and writer, Lena Waithe.
Onward’s protagonists are voiced by Tom Holland and Chris Pratt, as they are two teenage elf brothers named Ian and Barley Lightfoot who embark on a journey to magically bring their father back to life for one day only, as he passed away when they were younger. Although the time and place of the movie are set to be in a fictional world where there are noble wizards and battles against magical creatures, there is still an establishment of the LGBTQ+ community.
“It is a modern fantasy world and we wanted to represent a fantasy world,” director of the Pixar movie, Dan Scandlon said.
Although the time and place of the movie are set to be in a fictional world where there are noble wizards and battles against magical creatures, there is still an establishment of the LGBTQ+ community.
As opposed to previous movies that have Pixar characters only speculated by the public to be members of the LGBTQ+ community, this character, Officer Specter, makes it explicitly clear that she is in a same-sex relationship. In the scene, the character and her cop partner, voiced by Ali Wong, pull over a driver who states he was distracted because his girlfriend’s sons have been apparently acting up. That’s when Officer Specter says, “My girlfriend’s daughter got me pulling my hair out.”
Although the line of the scene may be short and less than five seconds, the line isn’t the main focus of the scene nor is it made to be, so the film doesn’t abruptly stop or create a moment of isolation; instead, it’s there to represent that it is perfectly normal to have two moms. The line passes unrecognized because clearly where we live in the present day, it’s an accepted fact that you can love anyone unconditionally.
“The scene being written was made to expand the world bit,” producer Koria Rae said.
The line passes unrecognized because clearly where we live in the present day, it’s an accepted fact that you can love anyone unconditionally.
In addition, Walt Disney and Lucasfilm’s Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker implemented a kiss between Amanda Lawrence’s character, Commander D’Arcy, and a female resistance fighter. Aside from that movie, the public has suspected that specific characters in some Disney movies, like Elsa in Frozen and Li Shang from Mulan, are secretly gay or bisexual. Back in 2016, viewers that watched “ Finding Dory” saw a lesbian fish couple, but it was never confirmed by the filmmakers. Also, in 2017, when the live-action form Beauty and the Beast hit theaters, they featured an openly gay relationship between characters Gaston and LeFou.
This may not be the first time that Disney has shown interest in representing the LGBTQ+ community, but it for sure is the first time that they actually confirm in a movie that there is someone officially in a lesbian relationship. It’s truly a remarkable and historic moment for Disney and Pixar.
Photo courtesy of Advocate
