Los Angeles Times - 13.03.2020

E2 FRIDAY, MARCH 13, 2020 LATIMES.COM/CALENDAR

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EXCLUSIVE ENGAGEMENTS

START TODAY

AT THE MOVIES

“Onward” features an
openly LGBTQ character
and that’s a big deal — for a
Disney film.
Directed by Dan Scanlon,
the Pixar production that
opened this past weekend is
set in a fantasy world where
magic has become obsolete.
Its residents include elves,
fairies, centaurs, manticores
and at least one queer cy-
clops.
Officer Specter is voiced
by Lena Waithe, who won an
Emmy in 2017 for writing a
“Master of None” episode in-
spired by her own coming-
out experience. In her one
scene in “Onward,” Specter
does something no other
Pixar character has done be-
fore: She casually mentions
her same-sex relationship.
“My girlfriend’s daughter
got me pulling my hair out,”
Specter says to commiser-
ate over the difficulties of be-
ing a stepparent.
It’s a historic moment for
Disney, which for years has
been called out for its dearth
of identifiably LGBTQ char-
acters in its films. According
to media advocacy group
GLAAD, Walt Disney Stu-
dios has had the weakest
history of LGBTQ inclusion
on screen out of all the major
film studios the group has
been tracking since 2012.
Specter is the first char-
acter in any animated Dis-
ney film to openly acknowl-
edge being queer in a line of
dialogue. That’s significant.
But Disney has a pattern of
blink-and-you’ll-miss-it
LGBTQ moments, and that
makes these milestones in-
creasingly difficult to cele-
brate. There was the much-
hyped “exclusively gay
moment” in 2017’s live-action
“Beauty and the Beast” that
ended up being more than a
little lackluster: Gaston’s

sidekick LeFou, whom the

film hints harbors some ro-

mantic feelings for the arro-

gant villain, is briefly shown

dancing with another man

during the celebration at the

end of the movie.

The Marvel Cinematic

Universe featured its first

queer character in 2019’s

“Avengers: Endgame” in the

form of an unnamed man

who appears in one group

counseling scene and casu-

ally mentions dating men.

Credited as “Grieving Man,”

he is played by the movie’s

co-director Joe Russo.

The “Star Wars” saga fol-

lowed with its first openly

LGBTQ moment in 2019’s

“The Rise of Skywalker” by

briefly showing two women

kissing as the Resistance

celebrated its victory. Direc-

tor JJ Abrams hinted at the

scene before the film’s re-

lease after unequivocally

shutting down the possibil-

ity of romance between two

of the sequel trilogy’s central

characters — defected

Stormtrooper Finn and Re-

sistance pilot Poe. It was a

poor consolation prize.

Meaningful inclusion has

been just as elusive in Dis-

ney’s animated fare. Al-

though the studio has

moved away from

queer-coding its villains,

LGBTQ characters are

often visible only to fans with

keen eyes.

Among recent films, pos-

sible lesbian couples were

spotted in the background

of “Toy Story 4” (2019) and

“Finding Dory” (2016). Ini-

tially spotted in a trailer,

“Finding Dory” includes two

women shocked to find an

octopus in a stroller. When

asked whether the women

were a couple by USA Today,

co-director Andrew Stanton

said “they can be whatever

you want them to be.”

In “Toy Story 4,” two

women can be spotted drop-

ping off and later picking up

a child together at kinder-

garten. “Zootopia” (2016)

featured two male antelopes

who were confirmed to be a

married couple by co-direc-

tor Jared Bush on witter af-

ter audiences took notice of

their shared, hyphenated

last name in the credits.

With such meager repre-

sentation, it’s no wonder a

legion of fans have felt kin-

ship with Elsa from “Frozen”

(2013) and have claimed her

as queer because she con-

veniently has never had an

opposite-sex love interest.

(“Saturday Night Live” even

had Kate McKinnon play El-

sa’s coming out for laughs in

a sketch this season, but fan

campaigns to get Elsa an ac-

tual girlfriend have re-

mained unsuccessful.)

At a time when audiences

are seeing increasingly

meaningful queer represen-

tation in family-friendly TV

shows, the tiny moments in

Disney films are especially

exasperating because they

almost appear to be eras-

able by design.

And sometimes — when

the films hit international

markets — they do just get

erased. Russia has report-

edly censored Officer Spec-

tor’s scene in “Onward” by

replacing the word “girl-

friend” with “partner.” The

film has also reportedly been

banned in countries includ-

ing Kuwait, Oman, Qatar

and Saudi Arabia for the

“girlfriend” reference.

Disney’s refusal to cut

LeFou’s moment in “Beauty

and the Beast” led to it being

banned in Malaysia. But

“The Rise of Skywalker’s”

lesbian kiss was cut for some

international markets such

as Singapore and the United

Arab Emirates, and the

scene in “Endgame” was cut

from the Russian release.

It’s difficult to be con-

vinced that any moment is

significant if it can be ex-

cised from international ver-

sions without hurting the

story. And it’s a disservice to

the actual LGBTQ people

who have helped Disney’s

ascendance as an entertain-

ment powerhouse.

Meaningful queer repre-

sentation is important be-

cause seeing our lives and re-

alities reflected in television

affects how we see ourselves.

LGBTQ kids and those

growing up with LGBTQ

families deserve to see their

experiences reflected in

family-friendly movies and

TV shows too.

For now, TV remains the

more LGBTQ-inclusive me-

dium, even among cartoons

with shows such as “Steven

Universe,” “She-Ra and the

Princesses of Power” and

“Arthur” continuing to

break ground. Disney’s TV

shows are frequently more

LGBTQ-inclusive than Dis-

ney movies. The Disney+ se-

ries “High School Musical:

The Musical: The Series” in-

troduced the franchise’s

first gay love story last year.

“Andi Mack” featured Dis-

ney Channel’s first coming-

out story line, which earned

it a GLAAD Media Award in

2018. And though the upcom-
      ing “Love, Simon” spinoff
      “Love, Victor” has been
      moved from Disney+ to the
      more adult-oriented Hulu,
      the decision is reportedly
      due to its “general sexual ex-
      ploration” and not for its
      LGBTQ content.
      Some upcoming Disney
      titles suggest that at least
      one arm of the studio is mov-
      ing in a more inclusive direc-
      tion. The MCU’s upcoming
      “The Eternals,” slated for re-
      lease in November, will fea-
      ture an openly gay
      superhero who is married
      and has a family. And it’s ex-
      pected that Tessa Thomp-
      son’s Valkyrie will be looking
      for her queen in 2021’s “Thor:
      Love and Thunder.”
      Hopefully, another ani-
      mated LGBTQ Disney char-
      acter will not be far behind —
      and maybe this time be in
      more than one scene.

Disney, mere tokenism isn’t enough

‘Onward’ features an

LGBTQ character,

but like others before

her, she’s hardly there.

By Tracy Brown

OFFICER SPECTER, right, casually mentions co-parenting with a girlfriend in Pixar/Disney’s “Onward.”

Pixar / Disney

PERSPECTIVE