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Did people know that Disney Animation of all places has a show with the lead character in an openly queer relationship?

-Hyperion-

Alt-Account
Banned
Aug 14, 2021
594
Disney's The Owl House

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^The girl in the bottom 2 panes is the protagonist, purple is a supporting character^

It's so open. No equivocation, no veiled references, no "they're really good friends/special/mean a lot/are important to me", no will-they won't-they, no pussy-footing, no queer-baiting.

No having to work to see yourself in it. It goes straight up "this girl is mad-cute and I want to date her".

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Moar please.

Sometimes it slides into being a pure romance show but I'll give it a pass given how little opportunity there is to see stuff like this. It even has a main character who was in a non-binary relationship.

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I wonder what could have been if I'd had this stuff growing up.
 
Platy

Platy

Member
Oct 25, 2017
27,679
Brazil
Pretty impressive considering there are 3 Star Wars trans characters that to know they are trans you have to do research considering how the clues to them being trans are either only on extended stuff or a blink and you miss moments
 
take_marsh

take_marsh

Member
Oct 27, 2017
7,267
It's been on my list since I could add it on Disney+. Looks really good, just need to make time to watch it.

btw good Garth Marenghi drop right there, pal
 
Sabretooth

Sabretooth

Member
Oct 27, 2017
5,067
India
Didn't know Owl House was Disney, but I did assume it was quite queer given that one of its writers is Molly Ostertag, who is married to She-Ra's Noelle Stevenson. I just considered it a given!
 

viskod

Member
Nov 9, 2017
4,396
*Had a show.

We still have like 10 episodes left in Season 2, and then we're getting 6 episodes split into three 44 minute specials for Season 3 and that's it. The show's not getting an actual third season.
 
Aurongel

Aurongel

Attempted to circumvent ban with alt account
Banned
Oct 28, 2017
7,065
Sabretooth said:
…given that one of its writers is Molly Ostertag, who is married to She-Ra's Noelle Stevenson.
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OH. That makes perfect sense then, She-Ra is such a great example of a show that wastes no time mucking around in unnecessarily veiled subtext when it comes to character sexuality and gender. Watching it with zero context beforehand made it such a refreshing experience that was free from the usual frustrating sidelining of certain characters.
 
KtotheRoc

KtotheRoc

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 27, 2017
56,638
I finally watched Gravity Falls this year and this show is absolutely on my list to check out.
 
Señor Sepia

Señor Sepia

Member
Aug 2, 2020
867
What
It had a weak, badly paced and kinda bad at times first season, but season 2... oh boy, i like it a lot and cant wait to Season 2B
 
Addleburg

Addleburg

The Fallen
Nov 16, 2017
5,068
That's cool to see. Isn't Steven Universe (I know, not Disney) pretty celebrated for its representation, too?

Sadly, I trust shows like these more in normalizing queer people for kids than I do many of their parents.
 
jwk94

jwk94

Member
Oct 25, 2017
13,422
As does Power Rangers Dino Fury. It's a good year for queer representation!
 
MadLaughter

MadLaughter

Avenger
Oct 25, 2017
13,096
Perhaps now that China seems to be largely choosing not to show Marvel movies regardless, maybe Marvel can stop being cowardly about LGBTQ representation to try and appease them.
 
Dice

Dice

Member
Oct 25, 2017
22,304
Canada
-Hyperion- said:
Disney's The Owl House

xib685lvgxf71.png


^The girl in the bottom 2 panes is the protagonist, purple is a supporting character^


I wonder what could have been if I'd had this stuff growing up.
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bambi-flower.gif


That's so darn sweet. I need to watch this show (as a Canadian, I literally have no idea how besides buying it digitally down the road or whatever)
 
apocat

apocat

Member
Oct 27, 2017
10,055
Still waiting for season 2 where I'm living, but it's great to see that they really push on in that direction. Season one was fairly overt, but I was worried they'd chicken out.

Platy said:
New Hope's trash compactor eye
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How's that for representation? What an inspiring character they created there.
 
hikarutilmitt

hikarutilmitt

Member
Dec 16, 2017
11,416
Addleburg said:
That's cool to see. Isn't Steven Universe (I know, not Disney) pretty celebrated for its representation, too?

Sadly, I trust shows like these more in normalizing queer people for kids than I do many of their parents.
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Quite a bit. It's got a lot of different types of relationships between ethnicities, genders, body types, the works. And the overall tone of it really is just to be with and love people regardless of all of these things. It treats this with more care than a lot of shows do or would. It's also just really fun to watch (after the first few episodes).
 
MadLaughter

MadLaughter

Avenger
Oct 25, 2017
13,096
J-Skee said:
I think they're making that a point with Valkyrie in Thor 4.
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Hope so! I saw that Eternals just got an 18+ rating or whatever in Russia, which is supposedly what they do when a gay relationship is portrayed, but until that movie is out we probably won't know how significant that portrayal actually is.
 
Speedstersonic

Speedstersonic

Member
Mar 11, 2020
5,040
viskod said:
*Had a show.

We still have like 10 episodes left in Season 2, and then we're getting 6 episodes split into three 44 minute specials for Season 3 and that's it. The show's not getting an actual third season.
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Is there a reason Disney seems to kill shows early when they get really popular? Gravity Falls had it happen, Ducktales reboot, now this and that Amphibian show i can't think of the name atm? I don't have high hopes the new Darkwing Duck will last, they kill this or force them to end really fast. You can't help but feel the small season 3 order and forcing it to end was because of gay characters and it really hurts.

I know Korra went through that.
 
Bio-Frost

Bio-Frost

Member
Nov 6, 2017
488
Bend
Speedstersonic said:
Is there a reason Disney seems to kill shows early when they get really popular? Gravity Falls had it happen, Ducktales reboot, now this and that Amphibian show i can't think of the name atm? I don't have high hopes the new Darkwing Duck will last, they kill this or force them to end really fast. You can't help but feel the small season 3 order and forcing it to end was because of gay characters and it really hurts.

I know Korra went through that.
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I know at least with Gravity falls the creator only wanted to do those seasons to tell his story. The rest tho, good damn question cause i loved ducktales reboot and amphibia is awesome as well.

Found the quote "While the widely popular cartoon ended after only two seasons, the show was never actually canceled. Creator Alex Hirsch said in a post on Tumblr that he made the decision to end the series after only two seasons — not because it wasn't doing well, but because that's exactly how long he'd intended it to run for."
 
Speedstersonic

Speedstersonic

Member
Mar 11, 2020
5,040
Bio-Frost said:
I know at least with Gravity falls the creator only wanted to do those seasons to tell his story. The rest tho, good damn question cause i loved ducktales reboot and amphibia is awesome as well.

Found the quote "While the widely popular cartoon ended after only two seasons, the show was never actually canceled. Creator Alex Hirsch said in a post on Tumblr that he made the decision to end the series after only two seasons — not because it wasn't doing well, but because that's exactly how long he'd intended it to run for."
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Ok, that's fair then with Gravity Falls, but def hasn't been the case with the others as far as i'm aware.
 
Finale Fireworker

Finale Fireworker

Love each other or die trying.
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Oct 25, 2017
14,711
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Speedstersonic said:
Is there a reason Disney seems to kill shows early when they get really popular? Gravity Falls had it happen, Ducktales reboot, now this and that Amphibian show i can't think of the name atm? I don't have high hopes the new Darkwing Duck will last, they kill this or force them to end really fast. You can't help but feel the small season 3 order and forcing it to end was because of gay characters and it really hurts.

I know Korra went through that.
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What I hope is that the shows will have a second life on streaming. These shows have wide audiences with a lot of adult viewers who are not going to watch it on Disney XD or something - these shows are really suited for Disney+.

I remember when the first five episodes of Season 2 of Owl House dropped Dana Terrace was saying watching it on D+ is the best way to support the show. There's a reason for that, I'm sure. Maybe there is a "second show" planned if the first three seasons are popular enough on streaming.
 
Cat Party

Cat Party

Member
Oct 25, 2017
10,413
Speedstersonic said:
Is there a reason Disney seems to kill shows early when they get really popular? Gravity Falls had it happen, Ducktales reboot, now this and that Amphibian show i can't think of the name atm? I don't have high hopes the new Darkwing Duck will last, they kill this or force them to end really fast. You can't help but feel the small season 3 order and forcing it to end was because of gay characters and it really hurts.

I know Korra went through that.
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I assume it's a combination of expense (shows get much more expensive to produce after 1-2 seasons) and the fact that Disney seems to dislike when show creators themselves get popular. Disney wants shows they can control, and they know they can't control Dana Terrace or Matt Braly, no more than they could control Alex Hirsch.
 
Lord Vatek

Lord Vatek

Avenger
Jan 18, 2018
21,508
Finale Fireworker said:
What I hope is that the shows will have a second life on streaming. These shows have wide audiences with a lot of adult viewers who are not going to watch it on Disney XD or something - these shows are really suited for Disney+.

I remember when the first five episodes of Season 2 of Owl House dropped Dana Terrace was saying watching it on D+ is the best way to support the show. There's a reason for that, I'm sure. Maybe there is a "second show" planned if the first three seasons are popular enough on streaming.
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Yeah she said that while a proper season 3 is no longer in the cards, supporting the show on Disney+ might encourage Disney to make merch and spin-offs.
 
Platy

Platy

Member
Oct 25, 2017
27,679
Brazil
gforguava said:
I can't tell if you are serious, which kind of solidifies your point.
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100%, but i am not even sure the creators intended that way xD

spookyduzt said:
I can't find any info about Karre or Am being trans.
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They are univitelin twins. The implication here is that either were born assigned male or female because that is how univetelin twins work

apocat said:
How's that for representation? What an inspiring character they created there.
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The canon expanded stuff say that she is a female member of a non gendered one sex species.

Also she is force sensitive.

starwars.fandom.com

Omi

Who will I be the next time around?Omi's final thought Omi was a Force-sensitive dianoga who lived inside garbage masher 3263827 aboard the Death Star. Omi, like other dianoga, was a sentient carnivorous cephalopod which possessed multiple hearts, seven suckered tentacles, and a single eyestalk...
starwars.fandom.com starwars.fandom.com
 
Messofanego

Messofanego

Member
Oct 25, 2017
26,158
UK
Antoo said:
it's a rule they've had forever for stuff on Disney channel that shows run for a set amount of seasons and then get wrapped up (3 for animation and 4 for live action I think)
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Oh is it? Unwritten speculation or is there a source for this? That's really restrictive but I guess they're cost cutting. Although they could afford it as probably the biggest media company.
 
Raxus

Raxus

Member
Oct 26, 2017
7,492
Speedstersonic said:
Is there a reason Disney seems to kill shows early when they get really popular? Gravity Falls had it happen, Ducktales reboot, now this and that Amphibian show i can't think of the name atm? I don't have high hopes the new Darkwing Duck will last, they kill this or force them to end really fast. You can't help but feel the small season 3 order and forcing it to end was because of gay characters and it really hurts.

I know Korra went through that.
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Disney tends to have shows run for around 3 to 4 seasons before ending them no matter how popular.

Ducktales and amphibia actually had been planned to run their entire seasons (I believe it is true for Ducktales as well). Gravity falls ended early because the creator was sick of Disney's shit (this is a baseless accusation with a little to back it up). And the owl house got 2 and a quarter seasons despite winning a god damn Peabody because I am sure there is a story behind that and I am still mad and *goes off on a rant*.

In short the reasons the shows end runs the gammut from planned endings to executive Tom foolery. Most of Disney's popular animated shows now a days are rarely straight up cancelled in a 'didn't pull ratings' sense.
 

viskod

Member
Nov 9, 2017
4,396
Ducktales was specifically cancelled for low ratings.

It started out on Disney XD which is a premium cable channel and since nobody subscribes to those things anymore of course it had low ratings. Then it was moved to The Disney Channel, but the Disney Channel didn't advertise or promote it one bit, so they cancelled it. The creators then asked for the final season to air back on Disney XD again because XD actually advertised and promoted the show and they wanted that done for their finale.

Gravity falls wasn't cut short. Hirsch said it ended where he wanted it to end.

Owl House I can only imagine is getting cut short because of Enchanting Grom Fright. That episode had the usual so and so's up in arms because gay people exist. I think they had already been renewed for Season 2 at that point but were told they weren't getting a Season 3 and could make do with 6 episodes to end the show with.

I don't know anything about Amphibia though.
 
Tavernade

Tavernade

Tavernade
Moderator
Sep 18, 2018
8,628
Raxus said:
Disney tends to have shows run for around 3 to 4 seasons before ending them no matter how popular.

Ducktales and amphibia actually had been planned to run their entire seasons (I believe it is true for Ducktales as well). Gravity falls ended early because the creator was sick of Disney's shit (this is a baseless accusation with a little to back it up). And the owl house got 2 and a quarter seasons despite winning a god damn Peabody because I am sure there is a story behind that and I am still mad and *goes off on a rant*.

In short the reasons the shows end runs the gammut from planned endings to executive Tom foolery. Most of Disney's popular animated shows now a days are rarely straight up cancelled in a 'didn't pull ratings' sense.
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I think Disney begged the Gravity Falls creator to make more but he refused, both due to burn out and frustration. He must feel better about it now, though, since he's helped out on some of their newer shows.
 
SigmasonicX

SigmasonicX

Member
Oct 25, 2017
15,498
To clarify the situation, The Owl House season 3 is only three 45-minute specials. We know that this was not at all what was planned, and Dana Terrace was pretty frustrated by this. It's worth noting that Amphibia, made around the same time, is getting a full season 3.

That brings us to speculation that higher ups chose to cut the show short due to content reasons. We have actually seen something similar happen with Amphibia. The season 2 finale was removed from the broadcast schedule at the very last minute, and only after a Twitter revolt by the creator was it put back. What happened there was that the episode got approved by higher ups, but then a different higher up took a look at it and got cold feet.

As such, it's not hard to imagine a similar thing happened here, and the most obvious thing Disney would get cold feet about is the very relationship this topic is about. Or perhaps more accurately, frustration with Dana Terrace being "difficult to work with". But again, this is all speculation.
 
WhiteRabbitEXE

WhiteRabbitEXE

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Oct 25, 2017
12,592
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Messofanego said:
So they're following the Netflix model? Is it that it's losing popularity?
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Disney's always had a thing about keeping shows to shorter orders, except randomly when they don't.

You'd probably be surprised how many well known Disney shows ended at season 2 or 3. Lizzie McGuire, Proud Family, Gravity Falls, and Phil of the Future were all two season shows, and many more ended at 3. Even Stevens was 3, but had roughly the same episode count as Lizzie McGuire.

Looking through, it seems like ~65 episodes is the soft cap, though Disney will randomly split those up from anywhere from 2 to 6 seasons.
 
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AnotherDayAnotherDollar

The Fallen
Oct 31, 2017
5,632
WhiteRabbitEXE said:
Disney's always had a thing about keeping shows to shorter orders, except randomly when they don't.

You'd probably be surprised how many well known Disney shows ended at season 2 or 3. Lizzie McGuire, Proud Family, Gravity Falls, and Phil of the Future were all two season shows, and many more ended at 3. Even Stevens was 3, but had roughly the same episode count as Lizzie McGuire.

Looking through purgers, it seems like ~65 episodes is the soft cap, though Disney will randomly split those up from anywhere from 2 to 6 seasons.
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I read somewhere that after the 3rd season they have to pay the talent more money, so a lot of streamers keep it to 3 seasons and call it a day. Broadcast and cable have historically been more open to the idea of having more seasons.
 

Vector

Member
Feb 28, 2018
6,649
Awesome to see and we need more of this!!

With that said... I wish a show would be daring enough to have gay guys in the lead. I feel like there's a long way to go in normalizing that.
 
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