Disney debuted its first bisexual lead character in its animated series “The Owl House” on the Disney Channel, just three months after Disney’s Pixar Studios introduced its first gay character in the short film, “Out.”
The debut involves the show’s main character, Luz Noceda, who has displayed affection for male characters in past episodes, but begins to explore a relationship with another female character in the past two episodes, which includes sharing a dance together during the show’s version of Prom, called “Grom.”
“In [development] I was very open about my intention to put queer kids in the main cast. I’m a horrible liar so sneaking it in would’ve been hard,” wrote “The Owl House” creator Dana Terrace on Twitter. “When we were greenlit I was told by certain Disney leadership that I could not represent any form of bi or gay relationship on the channel.”
“When I was first developing Owl House I always wanted to do a prom episode to make up for my own experiences. Back then PROM was an anagram for ‘Perennial Ritual Offering Maiden’. I’m so INCREDIBLY grateful for the crew working to make this episode so badass,” Terrace added.
Pixar released “Out,” a 10-minute short film written and directed by Steven Clay Hunter of “Toy Story” and “Finding Dory” fame, on May 22 as part of Pixar’s SparkShorts series.
The film focuses on a teenager named Greg, who is afraid to inform his parents he’s gay.