Disney/Pixar's "Onward" The First Animated Film to Feature an LGBTQ Supporting Character: Here's Why I Care and DON'T Care

Greetings, adventurers!

Are you ready for a quest of epic, awesome, majestic and emotional proportions? If you're saying 'yes', then you're ready for...

the first LGBTQ+ character in an animated film.

That's what is happening in the upcoming installment from the "companies with the biggest, most obvious stronghold of the Academy Awards ever" franchise -- also known as Walt Disney Pictures and Pixar Animation Studios: Onward.

For those of you unaware (and I'm hoping there aren't many), Onward centers on two teenage elf brothers, Ian and Barley Lightfoot (voiced respectively by Tom Holland and Chris Pratt), who learn by their mother Laurel (Julia Louis Dreyfus) on the former's 16th birthday, that their late accountant father (he passed away when both boys were very young) was actually a wizard and left them with a magical staff and collection of spells in the hopes of continuing his legacy in a world with magic and wizardry are dwindling in saddening fashion. After this everything-changing reveal, the bros then find a spell that can bring their dad back from the great beyond for 24 hours, and it works... until they reanimated only his legs, waist and feet. This leads them on a journey to find a continuing spell to bring back the rest of their now-bottom-half dad and, along the way, find themselves closer in a very emotional and heartwarming way that only Pixar can make it.

But right now, that's not what's everyone is focusing on.

What's getting word of mouth is that last week, it was announced that one character in the film, a cyclops named Officer Specter would be portrayed as "a self-identified lesbian" (voiced by entertainment quadruple-threat Lena Waithe - whom is also a lesbian) in the movie. She appears in one scene with two other cops - Officer Gore and Colt Bronco (portrayed by Ali Wong and Mel Rodriguez respectively) - doing a traffic check where the Brothers Lightfoot passing through.

Here's the peek into Officer Spector's life of scissoring and cross-tounging:
“My girlfriend’s daughter got me pulling my hair out"

For context, here's part of the article from TODAY.com.
"Officer Specter comes in towards the middle of the brothers’ quest while they head to the magical mountains. In one scene, the character and her cop partner Officer Gore pull over a driver who claims he was distracted because his girlfriend's sons have been acting up.
“My girlfriend’s daughter got me pulling my hair out,"
Officer Specter relates during the scene."

And that's it. That's all we hear about it. Nothing overt, nothing brash, nothing in your face, nothing worth waving the rainbow flag. She's just a cop raising a kid from a previous relationship with her girlfriend. It's just so overwhelmingly underwhelming, that even I felt dulled out by it, asking "that's it?". So basically, Disney and Pixar are taking the subtle route and making the personal life of Officer Specter sound normal and mundane as if it's not a big deal.
As they should.

As revealed by producer Kori Rae to Yahoo, "it just kind of happened" and added “The scene, when we wrote it, was kind of fitting and it opens up the world a little bit, and that’s what we wanted.”
Director Dan Scanlon said in another interview,
“It’s a modern fantasy world and we want to represent the modern world.”

From the moment the movie was announced, I was super excited. It's a fun, exciting story with no-doubt fun, relatable characters (voiced by no-doubt very talented actors) and some moments that make me laugh, cry, feel and enjoy. Plus, it officially debuts on my birthday - March 6. And as we reach closer to the release date, the trailers and behind-the-scenes videos got me even more amped. Nothing could stop me from seeing it. Not even the fact that an LGBTQ character will be in it.

Okay, don't get me wrong and make no mistake. I'm very happy for a non-straight character in an animated film (whether made for the family or otherwise). And if you expected me to get triggered and trash Disney and Pixar for this accusing them of "supporting the SJWs" and "brainwashing the kids", you're in for a rude awakening.

Here's why I care about this: 

I don't have any problems with non-straight characters in movies and TV shows all my life. There are gay characters I've seen featured in several different characteristics -- some (read: few) written well, others (read: many) stereotypically unwell, and several in between. Most of them are vibrant and flaming. And rarely, in the previous century, has any characters of the like been treated normally and respectfully instead of as a joke. The problem with that is we've been so used to seeing gay people like that in media for years that it's hard to see the LGBT community as anything but overdramatic, flamboyant, sexually active, disease-carrying, comically dressed weirdos. Which is why it's great to find TV shows and movies these days that depict less... those. But some people just don't want to get educated about why gay people aren't what they think. They're so close-minded it's more scary than funny, and that's a shame.

Here's why I don't care about this:

As happy as I am about Officer Specter being lesbian as any open-minded, progressive-thinking person would, I don't care if someone's LGBTQ because in real life - unless I'm dating them; that doesn't matter to me. If I want to make friends with someone or talk personal with them - and they reveal to me that they're lesbian, gay, bi, trans, queer or etc., I'd say "That's cool. I'm very happy for you"... and nothing more. It's not that I'm being dismissive. It just does not affect me personally, and I wouldn't care more or less than I'm supposed to. I really don't mean this in a disrespectful, insulting or demeaning manner; I just won't throw a party for you if you came out to me. I'll give you a hug and a nice pep talk, and that's it. If you say you don't care, at least explain why you don't care. Or else... you do care.

This news does not affect me like it does some other people make it affect them, who at this point just love to make a mountain over a molehill over every little change in society that they think will negatively affect them. Seriously, just yesterday, I saw a video on YouTube by a popular superhero media news website reacting like the genre of animated movies has been forever besmirched and tarnished, because a side character in one of them just so happens to have a girlfriend. The host elaborated that Disney has their balls squeezed by social justice warriors to make this happen, and that children will think they will be gay later on life too - and some comments mirror this. For God's sake, it's not like Ian will end up in an orgy with mermaids and gnomes, or Barley winds up in a coke-fueled cult worshiping a golden idol likeness of Slash. The overreactions and overreaching were so gross, that I stopped the video about halfway and didn't bother commenting, as those whose opinions I agreed with got destroyed by the commentators who think Disney is forever ruined by a gay background character we'll forget about in one movie after seeing it anyway. Y'all know Disney and Pixar films have featured some dark and depressing morals, topics and scenes in their movies through their histories and no one got pissed over them (mostly because the staff never announced them beforehand). If African Americans, Hispanics, Asians, women and straights can be positively portrayed in movies, non-straights can too.
It just took way too long to do that for all involved.

One gay character is not going to hurt, it's not going to brainwash children (and if you think that's the case, you need to check their social media and streaming service accounts for all that) and it won't tarnish animated movies forever. If no one has a problem with straight people shown kissing, then no one should be grossed out by people of the same sex kissing. Kissing is kissing. And if children are repulsed by a boy and girl kissing, then that's one thing. They're children. You grown ass people are not. Grow up.

If you think that children are brainwashed by Disney and Pixar movies, then realize that they can believe that they could be replicating the toxic masculinity of Gaston (Beauty and the Beast) and Clayton (Tarzan); act like a far off world exists for them to stay a kid (Peter Pan); that toys live, breathe and move when you're not around (Toy Story franchise); superheroes live among us (Incredibles); talking rats can cook at night (Ratatouille); it's possible a meteor didn't wipe out the dinosaurs (The Lost Dinosaur); tiny colorful creatures control our emotions (Inside Out); the characters of video games have personal lives (Wreck-It-Ralph movies); the dead can celebrate Dia de Los Muertos like the living (Coco); it's totally cool to act and live an evil, egomaniacal, extremely-judgmental priest (The Hunchback of Notre Dame); monsters can magically access and scare our sleeping children through their closets (Monsters Inc.); boys can smoke cigars and drink beer before turning into donkeys [plus puppets can become real boys via fairy godmothers] (Pinocchio); elephants can fly (Dumbo); and Simba and Nala can be siblings [and the stars say "SEX"] (The Lion King). Long story short, if you think that children are so stupid to believe anything in a cartoon show or film to do such things or act like such characters, congrats. You assholes are just as dumb as you think they are - if not more.

Making a big deal about it will not make it go away; it just makes it bigger. If you say you aren't going to see the film because if one character whom is gay, too bad. It looks like a great, fun, exciting movie on par with Pixar. And you're just going to ruin it for everyone else with your mindless whining. But remember: It's not about you and it won't ruin you. It helps to be aware about it, but if you don't care, cool. Just don't make it an even bigger deal out of it than the people who make it happen. If they want to scream from the rooftops that the societal norms of the 2010s are cruelly shunning them away, they might as well should. I'll just stand aside and let them fight instead of roadblocking them from just living their lives in silence. 

So in conclusion: I'm happy that Disney and Pixar are featuring representation of the LGBT community in one of their movies. It's long overdue and shows they're finally more open to people who aren't white or straight. It's not a major reason I want to to see it (again, everything else at the top is) because I don't fully care, and I'll still support it even if the character isn't a lesbian. And since she will appear in one or two scenes and she mentions a girlfriend briefly, there's really nothing to worry about. To those crying and piddling their pants about this, stop it. You don't know what you know more than what you've seen before that leads up to nothing big and brash. You are not a gatekeeper to the best and pure of animated film. Nothing is changing for the worst. That came when most films of the past decade plus are exclusively CGI and all of The Emoji Movie. Shut the hell up and enjoy the film for what it could be. I'm not saying you shouldn't speak on this; everyone has a right to speak their opinion, no matter what. But if this is what you need to say on a movie made mostly for kids, you shouldn't. Everyone else who wants to see it wants to see it for every other reason before this one; don't be mad at them for wanting to see another Pixar piece that'll do doubt get nominated for an Oscar - or even win (mark my words on either) and be another expected grand slam that'll be a hot moneymaker for LuxoCo and FrozenHead Studios.

Me, I'm going to cosplay as Ian when Onward comes on March 6 and enjoy it.
You? Whatever you want.
i DoN't CaRe!!!1!!11!!1