The New "Beauty And The Beast" Features Disney’s First Gay Character

[k8Davies]

On all the major outlets but here's the link to the Buzzfeed article https://www.buzzfeed.com/eleanorbat...-gay-character?utm_term=.kr8NLp00a#.bopad5MM3

Good move by Disney but they've taken their time, only took them till 2017

 

[Irish_Mike]

LeFou is the perfect choice for that sort of plot.

But seriously, good on Disney for finally making that leap into the 21st century.

 

[wnwardii]

Actually LeFou isn't the first gay character in a Disney property. Last year with Season 5, Episode 18 of Once Upon A Time, there was the Lesbian "True Love" Kiss between Ruby and Dorothy. In fact this caused a petition to be started to remove the show from the air.

While I didn't see this until an online article appeared earlier this week, but Disney featured another same-sex kiss on an episode of its hit TV show Star Vs. The Forces of Evil. The smooch was slipped into a scene with other couples. I am guessing that this show is on one of the Disney Channel stations. I had never heard of this cartoon.

As to LeFou, when I watched the recent clip of his song, I noticed the subtext and had wondered if LeFou was going to be gay. I didn't necessarily expect the movie to be as outright about it. I guess we will have to wait and see how LeFou's character is portrayed in the movie.

 

[k8Davies]

Actually LeFou isn't the first gay character in a Disney property. Last year with Season 5, Episode 18 of Once Upon A Time, there was the Lesbian "True Love" Kiss between Ruby and Dorothy. In fact this caused a petition to be started to remove the show from the air.

Aw I loved that series but they stopped showing on the TV in the UK and been too lazy to get the box set

Although this is probably not as new as the press release wants us to think, I'm just glad Disney is putting it out there along with saying they are doing it; non of this implied rubbish.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

I am glad they are going with a way that seems natural and fits the expanded back story for a character rather than just forcing it in to say they have done it or whatever

Personally, I wasn't a fan of the rumor that they were going to give Elsa a female love interest in Frozen 2 as it felt forced and changing the overarching theme of the film/franchise (that it is about familial love rather than romantic love)

 

[TheMaxRebo]

On all the major outlets but here's the link to the Buzzfeed article https://www.buzzfeed.com/eleanorbat...-gay-character?utm_term=.kr8NLp00a#.bopad5MM3

Good move by Disney but they've taken their time, only took them till 2017

I know there is that view to it but there are also still a lot of people that aren't super comfortable with this topic especially when it comes to explaining it to their children and when a lot of what Disney does is aimed at children

Now, one can argue if that is right or wrong for them to feel the way they do but Disney is still a business and wants to alienate as few a people as possible and society is evolving but not fully there so I am not surprised it is taking them a while to feel comfortable with this topic

 

[Mattimation]

I want to be excited by this, but as a gay man I know how often the "promise of representation" is either broken or under-delivered. The Once Upon a Time romance is a perfect example. The episode was sold as not being "a very special episode of OUaT," but that's exactly what we got - a gay love story shoe-horned into one episode, and that couple never being heard from again, their romance having no bearing on the overall plot. Yes, it was a step in the right direction, but would have been so much more powerful if the two women in question actually stuck around and had their relationship showcased, like is currently happening in Supergirl.

I also know some LGBT people are upset that the first gay character in a Disney movie is the villain's sidekick, because that means he almost assuredly won't have his affections returned, and is also just poor representation, having a dumb, daffy bad guy be our first bit of cinematic representation. That's not to say gay characters can't be the villains, but it feels a bit too easy to have their first gay character be one the audience is not supposed to like. I'll have to wait to see this "exclusively gay scene," which I think is a terrible way of selling it, but I'm not expecting much more than leFou looking on longingly as Gaston runs off to fight the beast, no words being said.

 

[DLgal]

LeFou was gay back in 1991. The animated film just didn't come right out and say so, but the subtext was always there.

 

[wnwardii]

I also know some LGBT people are upset that the first gay character in a Disney movie is the villain's sidekick, because that means he almost assuredly won't have his affections returned, and is also just poor representation, having a dumb, daffy bad guy be our first bit of cinematic representation. That's not to say gay characters can't be the villains, but it feels a bit too easy to have their first gay character be one the audience is not supposed to like. I'll have to wait to see this "exclusively gay scene," which I think is a terrible way of selling it, but I'm not expecting much more than leFou looking on longingly as Gaston runs off to fight the beast, no words being said.

Thank you! You were able to express exactly what I wanted to say, but didn't know how to say it with out sounding really snarky.

In my previous post I failed to mention all of the LGBT representation on Freeform (formerly known as ABC Family). You have Emily from Pretty Little Liars as well as the entire series The Fosters. While these aren't necessarily mainstream movies, both of these shows have a fairly big fan base.

 

[k8Davies]

I also know some LGBT people are upset that the first gay character in a Disney movie is the villain's sidekick, because that means he almost assuredly won't have his affections returned, and is also just poor representation, having a dumb, daffy bad guy be our first bit of cinematic representation.

Well hopefully the make him a more rounded character than the first one.

I agree if he's exactly like the original character that would be awful, but I hope Disney has given the character real depth and maybe a glimpse into why he help Gaston do evil things.

So not necessarily a villain just make bad choices.

 

[Sean91]

Well hopefully the make him a more rounded character than the first one.

I agree if he's exactly like the original character that would be awful, but I hope Disney has given the character real depth and maybe a glimpse into why he help Gaston do evil things.

So not necessarily a villain just make bad choices.

They have a great opportunity to do this with him being infatuated with Gaston. It's really the only way they could go with the character to have it make sense without LeFou being "evil". Blinded by love kind of scenario.

 

[SorcererHeidi]

They have a great opportunity to do this with him being infatuated with Gaston. It's really the only way they could go with the character to have it make sense without LeFou being "evil". Blinded by love kind of scenario.

Extremely well put, and I totally agree, @Sean91 !

 

[Hunterr]

Oh dear. I knew this would get (certain) people riled up.
Some mom & pop drive in theater in Alabama said they weren't gonna screen the movie. Luckily, this doesn't hurt real business.

However, because I have an affliction that causes me to seek out opposing view points to get myself upset, I went to the theaters facebook page and was surprised that the comments were mostly people shaming them for not screening it, just on principle.
And of course, there were a few people with nonsense about how it goes against the lords teachings....

Yes...because you wanna learn the lords teachings when you go see..beauty and the beast.... That's what you're going for...
And because a single gay character, who is apparently just a minor character, it's actually getting parents in these places to go "well, i cant take my kids now!"

Meanwhile, this same theater has no problem showing 50 Shades of Gray, whatever the latest horror movie is, and so on.

/rant

 

[pjweaver]

Oh dear. I knew this would get (certain) people riled up.
Some mom & pop drive in theater in Alabama said they weren't gonna screen the movie. Luckily, this doesn't hurt real business.

However, because I have an affliction that causes me to seek out opposing view points to get myself upset, I went to the theaters facebook page and was surprised that the comments were mostly people shaming them for not screening it, just on principle.
And of course, there were a few people with nonsense about how it goes against the lords teachings....

Yes...because you wanna learn the lords teachings when you go see..beauty and the beast.... That's what you're going for...
And because a single gay character, who is apparently just a minor character, it's actually getting parents in these places to go "well, i cant take my kids now!"

Meanwhile, this same theater has no problem showing 50 Shades of Gray, whatever the latest horror movie is, and so on.

/rant

Yes Hunterr, a movie about a young girl being scorned for wanting an education and held captive by a beast until she loves him would have been fine in Alabama, but add a man in love with another man and it is just too much to handle.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Yes Hunterr, a movie about a young girl being scorned for wanting an education and held captive by a beast until she loves him would have been fine in Alabama, but add a man in love with another man and it is just too much to handle.

I don't want to put words into the mouths/minds of the people that think that way, but I wonder if it is that the main plot of Beauty and the Beast is so fanciful that you don't need to worry about it because it isn't "real" .... but two men in love is "real" and therefor a real threat we must protect the children from

 

[pjweaver]

I think after a teapot sings me a song I wouldn't be worrying about who loves who.

 

[Mattimation]

I can't help but laugh at the negative reactions people are having because of just how perfectly it fits into the overarching narrative of the movie as a whole. The line "We don't like what we don't understand, in fact it scares us" echoes threw my head every time I see someone react with vitriol. While that line can mean a lot of things in the movie, the lyrics were certainly written in regards to homophobia, considering the man who wrote them.

 

[pjweaver]

Yes Hunterr, a movie about a young girl being scorned for wanting an education and held captive by a beast until she loves him would have been fine in Alabama, but add a man in love with another man and it is just too much to handle.

Yay, @DisneyKevin had the same thought I did on today's show. Johns list of other characters should be published somewhere more prominent.

 

[DisneyKevin]

Yay, @DisneyKevin had the same thought I did on today's show. Johns list of other characters should be published somewhere more prominent.

I actually flat out stole your quote, but during the show couldn't remember who posted it or I would have given you credit.

I came here to appologize for being forgetful.

Thank you!

 

[theme_park_mom]

Johns list of other characters should be published somewhere more prominent.

is John's list posted somewhere? it is too good not to share around great show on Tuesday!