Queering the Mouse: Disney's Owl House confirms the bi character

Family media supporter Disney Channel has reached a new milestone in LGBTQ + representation, with The house of the owl creator and executive producer Dana Terrace sharing confirm on Twitter This weekend the show featured the outlet's first openly bisexual character in Amity, one of protagonist Luz's primary schoolmates in her new magical home in an alternate dimension.

"I'm bisexual! I want to write a bisexual character, damn it!" Wrote Terrace, whose credits also include directing. Tales of goslings and storyboard for Gravity Falls. "Luckily my stubbornness paid off and I'm now VERY supported by the current Disney leadership."

Terrace added in a second post: “In dev I was very open about my intention to include queer guys in the main cast. I'm a bad liar, so sneaking him would have been difficult… When we got the green light, I was told by some Disney leadership that I could NOT represent any form of bisexual or gay relationships on the Channel. "

The revelation comes in a storyline where the school is set to celebrate / endure the "Grom" - an ancient monster that must be defeated by Queen Grom. Amity wins the crown but is replaced by Luz, and it is eventually revealed that she wanted to ask the girl from another world to be her date with Grom.

The tweet elicited many responses, including Alex Hirsch, creator of the acclaimed Disney Channel series Gravity Falls, who compared channel acceptance today with his experience from several years ago. The anti-definition media monitor GLAAD also expressed support for the episode's depiction of "an inclusive, fair, accurate and age-appropriate world through the portrayal of its characters".

Earlier this year, Disney XD drew the ire of anti-LGBTQ hate group + One Million Moms for a lightning-fast depiction of Violet's dads in an episode of Tales of goslings. About a month later, the first Pixar project with a gay lead: Steven Hunter's SparkShorts movie Su - debuted on Disney + to a much more receptive audience.

The house of the owl follows Luz, a self-confident teenager who stumbles upon a portal to a magical kingdom where she befriends a rebellious witch, Eda, and a little warrior, King. Despite having no magical abilities, Luz pursues her dream of becoming a witch by serving as Eda's apprentice at the Owl House and eventually finds a new family in an unlikely environment. The show received an order for a second season before its January premiere.

Read more about the show in Ramin Zahed's interview with Terrace for the February '20 issue of Animation magazine Here.

[H / T Gizmodo]