For years now, Disney has been accused of purposefully excluding the LGBTQ community from its lineup of characters. Within the last six months alone, the studio faced criticisms for not making Elsa gay in Frozen 2, and more recently, for choosing not to air the highly-anticipated show Love, Victor on Disney+, claiming the show wasn’t “family-friendly.”
Now, the streaming platform Disney+ just released the Pixar short film Out, which follows the story of a young man about to move away from his hometown with his boyfriend. His parents don’t know he’s gay, and he prefers it that way. However, when his parents make a surprise visit on moving day, his plans for secrecy come crashing down.
The nine-minute film is heartwarming, and at times, even makes you laugh out loud. Disney and Pixar put their signature magical touch on the film, which should be applauded, even if it did take the studio decades to get to this point. Hopefully, audiences will enjoy the short film and this can pave the way for more LGBTQ characters in Disney productions.
A few months back, Disney dipped its toe in the kiddie pool with Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, where a brief same-sex kiss is seen at a glance towards the end of the movie. Some criticized Disney for being so timid about the move, while others (per usual) slammed the studio, saying that it no longer had Christian values.
Their new film Out is another baby step for one of the largest media conglomerates in the world. Hopefully, as more and more LGBTQ characters are seen in mainstream media, the tides will continue to shift in favor of equality and acceptance.
