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Do you know who Maui is? Only the greatest demi-god of all the Pacific Islands, with his magical fish hook he slowed down the sun, pulled islands out of the sea, battled monsters! And I should know, because I’m Maui

Dwayne Johnson as Maui in Moana (2016)

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Lord Dominator’s To-Do List: 1) Sing about destroying galaxy 2) Destroy galaxy. Presenting “I’m the Bad Guy” from “My Fair Hatey: The Wander Over Yonder Musical”!!!

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How Disney’s Cartoons Are Changing the Game

The cartoon game, to be specific.

Disney is widely known for their animated feature films, and particularly for their princess movies. These movies are seen by thousands of children and adults alike. Disney’s films can greatly influence children, including how they think, dress, talk, and interact with one another, but it is common for children to see a movie in the theater once or twice, and move on to another popular media. While children may see a specific Disney film less than a handful of times, they are far more exposed to and influenced by the cartoons that they watch everyday. While I was growing up, this meant watching Kim Possible, Lilo & Stitch, and American Dragon: Jake Long. While these shows promoted racial and neurological diversity (to an extent), I never saw my LGBT identity represented in animation. Recently, though, Disney has been working toward stepping out of its comfort zone–both in its style of animation and storytelling, and in representation. Disney’s modern cartoons, including Star vs. the Forces of Evil, Gravity Falls, and Wander Over Yonder, are breaking the mold that years of Disney animation have set before them. For this essay, though, I will be focusing on Star vs. the Forces of Evil and its representation of women and LGBT characters.

“Star vs. the Forces of Evil”

“Star vs. the Forces of Evil” is a currently-running Disney Channel cartoon, which is my personal favorite of the recent generation of Disney cartoons. The show follows Star Butterly, a princess from another dimension who has been banished to Earth to practice her magical abilities, and her friends.

The show covers topics, including friendship, rebellion, living up to your family name, jealousy, and many other heavy topics that are not often covered in other cartoons.

Star vs. the Forces of LGBT Representation

In one scene, when the main cast is at a concert for the fictional band Love Sentence, the camera pans along the audience, and it is possible to see many same-sex relationships, as seen in the pictures below.

While the show does not have any canonically LGBT characters, it has mentioned that Star’s best friend, Marco, struggles with body dysphoria, and in multiple episodes, he is shown to have a princess persona that he acts as occasionally. Surprisingly, the show manages to handle this topic very maturely, as you can see in the clip below.

In this clip, the audience can tell that Marco is entirely comfortable presenting as a girl, and he refers to himself with feminine titles and pronouns very naturally. Also, while it is quiet, at 1:58, it is possible to hear Marco say, “Can I stay in this dress?” This furthers the point that Marco is comfortable presenting as a girl, and possibly prefers to present that way. As you can see, Marco also uses the popularity of his princess persona to encourage rebellion against oppressors, and following one’s individuality. 

For these reasons, Marco has stood out significantly to LGBTQ+ viewers of “Star vs. the Forces of Evil.” In fact, many people have interpreted Marco’s body dysphoria, desire to wear a dress, and comfort using feminine pronouns as being a nod to the fact that, later in the show, Marco may come out and become Disney’s first open trans character. This theory has become increasingly popular, with fans even creating a collection of clips (below) that they believe hint at transgender identities, and, more specifically, Marco being trans.

There is also a very concise post explaining the theory behind Marco possibly being trans.

While Marco being trans is entirely theory, he still shines through as positive representation for people who do not often fit society’s rigid gender roles. It is not often that a heroic male character is allowed to wear a dress or ballet shoes without being belittled by friends or being the butt of an uncomfortable joke. Many of the show’s fans have expressed their gratitude, both for the theory and for the blatant representation discussed above.

Unfortunately, much of LGBT representation can only be found in adult media, which focuses heavily on sex and/or death, and children are left to grow up without seeing that aspect of their identity on television. In fact, a personal account by a transgender woman shows just how important representation can be.

This article expresses that representation has been a great influence on Davies’ identity and transition. 

“’I was 60 when it all came pouring out to my wife, she was very sympathetic and helped me all the way, but we agreed to keep it quiet,’ said Davies, who first learned about transgender identity from a TV show sometime in the 1970s.”

And later, the article goes on to say...

“Patricia was inspired to make the big change from male to female after seeing the romantic comedy film Boy Meets Girl, which features transgender characters.”

This is a sentiment shared by many trans people, who grow up knowing that they are different, but not having the words to describe it, and without being able to see a similar experience represented in their peers or on television, spend a great amount of time confused and wrestling with their identity. I recall Glee being the first piece of media I watched with a blatantly open gay character, but, because it is targeted towards toward specifically older teenagers, even that would be inappropriate to show your average child.

A Princess Song: Star vs. the Forces of Evil’s Use of Music in Storytelling and Female Representation

Disney’s princess films often use music as an aspect of story telling, and while Star vs. the Forces of Evil follows this tradition, it also diverts from the stereotypical Disney soundtrack. Many of the show’s songs sound like they either came off the radio or out of a rock opera, and it takes advantage of the moods these songs set in order to further their story and express the experiences and emotions of the characters. Many of these songs often come at the height of action and/or conflict, as another way to express intense emotions that might be more difficult to express naturally through speech. However, one of the most iconic example of use of song in Star vs. the Forces of Evil is during the episode “Face the Music,” when Star is forced to help write a Princess Song for herself for her Song Day Celebration.

Star vs. the Forces of Evil briefly mocks how women are often represented in media through Queen Moon’s “Princess Song.” The song expresses that women are often written without conflict or development, and many female characters (particularly princess) are idealized caricature version of what women are actually like.

Star points out, “That song didn’t say anything about the real you! You could plug any name into that song, and it wouldn’t make a lick of difference.” This quote points out precisely what is wrong with many female characters in the media. While male characters may be allowed conflict and interesting development and traits, female character traits often include things like, “her hair is silky soft,” “her favorite color’s pink,” and “[she] smells like lavender.” This perfectly mimics how female character’s are often one-dimensional, in comparison to the complex male characters that appear in the same piece of media.

Star clearly expresses her distaste over this type of song and characterization, as she feels it is basically nondescript and doesn’t fit her. Star feels guilty writing a “puff piece” about herself, when she knows that she isn’t the princess that the kingdom wants, and that she and her parents have betrayed and lied to their citizens and High Commission. Do to this, she helps her Ruberiot, the Official Songstrel of Mewni, write a song that explicitly confesses to her and her parents’ actions.

The contrast between this song and Queen Moon’s song also helps to highlight precisely how different Star is from past Disney princesses. While the stereotypical Disney princess may sit on the sidelines in order to remain soft, while their prince is allowed to be strong and hard to save them, Star does not fit that mold. It would be inappropriate to say that she is a polar opposite of the princess stereotype, though, and that is what makes her such good representation.

Often times, fictional women are expressed as either “feminine” or “strong.” Writers give their strong female characters lines expressing distaste for fellow women and their femininity, a trope often referred to as “Not Like Other Girls.” Star, on the other hand, breaks this strong vs. feminine dichotomy, as she is both strong and confident in her femininity. While Star’s wardrobe in the show almost entirely consists of dresses, she also has an affinity for weapons and both physical and magical combat. Star goes out of her way to fight villains and charge into battles headfirst, because she is confident in her abilities to hold her own. And, while Star’s reckless behavior leads to harm and her downfall in some situations, it is always presented as a “think before doing” issue, rather than a “girls shouldn’t fight” type issue. Star expresses a clear distaste when other characters don’t let her think for herself, as seen in the episode “Blood Moon Ball.”

She expresses to Marco her ability to take care of herself, as well as her desire to be trusted. These feelings are met with thought and understanding, which helps to express particularly how poignant Star vs. the Forces of Evil can be. Many teenagers struggle with the ability to come into their own abilities as they grow up, and often times, when they express that desire to others, they are met with misunderstanding and/or a lack of trust. This conversation between Marco and Star, though, is incredibly touching, due entirely to the fact that Marco makes an attempt to understand Star’s point of view, and he gives a genuine apology for upsetting her.

The New Modern Disney Cartoon

Star vs. the Forces of Evil has proven itself time and time again to be the type of cartoon that stands out among the crowd. It provides positive representation of LGBT identities and stereotypically queer traits, including body dysphoria and a male character having comfort in feminine clothing. Star vs. the Forces of Evil also presents a positive female role model that breaks away from many harmful traits that are often applied to Disney’s princesses. This show provides deeper themes, while still managing to stay child-appropriate and relatively light hearted, and I hope it is a sign for the direction Disney will keep going with their cartoons.

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The Emperor’s New Groove color keys by Colin Stimpson (x)

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I am Moana of Motunui. You will board my boat and restore the heart to Te Fiti.

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Wreck It Ralph

Yay! One of my favorite Disney movies!

I just watched this movie recently, as I wrote my first paper on its portrayals of villainy, but I was looking forward to watching it again!

The movie continues to be witty and funny, and the animation and scenery are gorgeous!

However, it is difficult to not notice the heavy handed queer coding going on in the movie. 

King Candy is like the epitome of gay male stereotypes. He flitters around like a lightweight, gravity defying fairy, lives in a pink castle, and speaks in a thick lisp. By falling into the sissy, queer coded villain trope that the cartoon industry has normalized, it helps in undermining Wreck It Ralph’s message about villainy. 

Wreck It Ralph tries to show that villainy cannot be easily understood, and that people cannot be judged by their appearance. However, by casting King Candy/Turbo as the villain of this story, it falls guilty to exactly what it is trying to argue against. Many feminine men are already looked down upon in society, viewed as “villains” for being different. 

Wreck It Ralph comes across as progressive for telling a story that Disney had yet to tell, and it also breaks the Disney mold of having the main character in a cheesy love plot. However, the movie fails to be progressive by falling guilty to the same offensive tropes that Disney has used time and time again.

Despite the fact that I acknowledge how Wreck It Ralph negatively portrays stereotypically queer characters, it is still very easy to have a good time watching this movie! 

Ralph, Vanellope, Felix, and Calhoun are all wonderful characters, and it’s so much fun watching how their characters and relationships develop throughout the movie!

My personal favorite character is Calhoun. She is such a strong character, and I adore the story of her struggling to open up to Fix it Felix Jr. due to her past trauma. Not only do we, the viewers, get to follow her through her journey to find and destroy the cybug(s), we also get to see how her relationship with Felix progresses. Calhoun and Felix’s relationship is also just sickeningly sweet. I often find myself disliking Disney’s couples, but I positively adore these two. 

Overall, this movie is fantastic. It does have some problematic aspects to it, but putting the queer coding aside, Wreck It Ralph is a wonderful movie. I would give it two strong thumbs up, and I will definitely be watching it again soon!

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disney meme [10/10] quotes ➞ aladdin (1992)

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Frozen, and its accidental allegory for homosexuality

Now, hold on, hold on. Stop looking at me that. Just hear me out.

This was my second time watching Frozen. The first time I watched Frozen was in theaters with my mother. It came out in November 2013, which was in the middle of my sophomore year of high school. Around this time, I had known that I wasn’t cishet for about a year, and I was still struggling with my own identity and how I wanted to express it. So, something about Elsa’s own struggle with her identity (i.e. ice powers) particularly spoke to me.

The movie immediately introduces ice powers as something beautiful, but, when misunderstood and feared, can lead to chaos and harm. Also, we see that Elsa’s ice powers are an integral part of her identity, as attempting to hide them causes harm to herself and those around her. It is also shown that it is not especially possible for Elsa to hide them, as she has to wear magical gloves, and even while wearing those gloves, her powers end up bubbling over anyway. This particularly speaks for the difficulty in hiding one’s sexuality, and how hiding it can be detrimental to one’s mental health.

The movie also touches on how difficult it is for Elsa to communicate with her non-magical (or, for the sake of this allegory, straight) sister Anna. When Anna fails to understand her, Elsa reacts poorly and lashes out, mainly out of fear for herself.

As someone who is LGBT himself, it tends to be second nature for me to interpret characters as queer, so Elsa particularly stood out to me. However, no matter how much Elsa reads to me as an allegory for homosexuality, I do not believe it was intentional on Disney’s part. I believe the parallels are simply accidental and coincidental.

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Maleficent

I was so happy to watch this movie! The last time I saw this movie was two years ago, so I had forgotten some key plot points to the film. Still, it definitely stood up to how I remembered it. The visuals were stunning and the performances were very moving.

I particularly found it interesting with how this movie played with our preconceived ideas of gender and villainy. While the previous movie had portrayed Maleficent as the villain without any hint at her point of view or thoughts, this movie was all about her. While it doesn’t excuse her actions, it does give them reason, and I found that very interesting and enjoyable.

It’s also notable that, while many Disney movies tend to have a majority of male characters, and male characters are given the strongest roles, Maleficent had a majority of female characters. We had Maleficent, Aurora, and Aurora’s fairy caretakers.

However, those fairies are where I have some complaints. While I acknowledge that this is a movie all about Maleficent (she is the titular character after all), the movie refuses to give an inch of meaningful characterization to the fairies. They helped to raise Aurora for the majority of her life, and the only things we seem to know about them is the fact that they’re stupid and love arguing. I would have appreciated more depth or reality to their characters, but asides from that, I only have minimal complaints. 

This movie also did a wonderful job at manipulating the old idea of “true love’s kiss.” While it is framed like Prince Philip will be responsible for the life saving kiss, the movie provides a riveting twist by having Maleficent be responsible for saving Aurora’s life. (Let’s forget that she’s also the one who cursed her in the first place, but still...)

Do I think this movie is perfect? No. Did I love it, and do I think it is a step in the right direction? Yes, and yes.

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So, this may be unrelated to the movies we’re watching right now, but I just want to talk about how much I love Maui.

It is very common for family-oriented movies to give us characters that are flat and easy to understand, and Maui is anything but that. At the beginning of the film, it is very clear that we are supposed to view him negatively. He has doomed the entire human race, tricks Moana, and expresses no guilt for his actions. He has low empathy, and doesn’t make an effort to understand how his actions have affected everyone. Still, he gets a beautiful redemption arc.

We learn more about his past; the fact that he was abandoned by his parents, chosen by the gods, and promptly tossed into the world. It can also be argued that the gods abandoned him afterwards. While this doesn’t excuse his actions, it helps to explain them and build sympathy. While the viewers were led to believe that Maui stole the stone out of selfishness, he actually stole it for the human race. So not only was Maui rejected by his own parents, he was rejected by the entire human race. No matter what he did for them, he never did enough, and got himself exiled trying to gain their love.

I’ll admit that Moana made me cry multiple times, and at least one of those was over Maui. I was particularly emotional towards the end when he redeemed himself by returning to Moana. 

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The greatest gift and honour… is having you for a daughter.

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Hey, crab cakes!

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Each flavor was totally unique. But combine one flavor with another, and something new was created.

Ratatouille (2007) dir. Brad Bird

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Aladdin Response

Yay! Another movie I was excited to watch! I always loved Aladdin as a kid, it’s such a fun and lively movie. 

Immediately, when I started the movie, I was waiting for Genie. I definitely feel like Robin Williams’ performance is a good chunk of what makes Aladdin so fun to watch. When he finally came on and started singing, I was practically bouncing in my seat! He’s just such an entertaining and classic character, with the funniest lines in the whole movie. Also, Genie is notably one of the few Disney characters that’s coded to be queer and isn’t a villain. But, enough high praise for my favorite character. I know nobody wants to read 500 words of me gushing about Genie… But Genie’s story of being freed from servitude is one of the most touching stories that Disney has ever and possibly will ever tell. Okay, I’m moving on, I swear.

So, I know I always, always, always comment on this, but Jasmine’s waist is genuinely concerning, seeing how it’s about the same size as her neck…But, aside from that concern, I genuinely like Jasmine’s character! She’s feisty and sarcastic, and I can relate to her feeling claustrophobic being forced to live in the castle.

This movie is also one of the few Disney films where I genuinely enjoy the male love interest. Something about Aladdin is just really endearing. Personally, I blame the scene where he gives his bread to the other street urchins. It’s cavity-inducing-ly sweet, really. Also, how can you not love a man with a tiny monkey?

An important thing to remember about Aladdin is that it takes place in a fictional land. While The Princess and the Frog is explicitly stated to take place in New Orleans, a very real city, Aladdin takes place in Agrabah, which is a fictional city. However, the Sultan’s palace is clearly based off of India’s Taj Mahal, and the location is clearly inspired by the Middle East and South Asia. The movie seems to perpetuate stereotypes of these areas, and this is evident in the market place scenes. One of the most common stereotypes (at least that I’ve heard) is that, in the Middle East, thieves will get their hands chopped off, or they will be murdered… This is, coincidentally, what almost happens to Aladdin and Jasmine.

All in all, there are definitely problematic aspects of the movie. However, I find it very enjoyable to watch. The music is fun and lively, and the characters are all enjoyable and well thought out! Heck, I even enjoyed watching Jafar and Iago squabble back and forth. Out of ten stars, I give the movie eleven genie lamps.

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The Princess and the Frog Response

Alright, so! I was really excited to watch The Princess and the Frog! It came out when I was in middle school, and I still remember the first time I watched it and fell in love with it. It’s so colorful and lively, and it has a style of music that’s unique from any other Disney film. I’ve been looking forward to rewatching it.

One thing that stood out to me, from a gender standpoint, is how Tiana differs from the other Disney princesses. Many of the earlier princesses’ actions were motivated out of a desire to meet a man or marry a man, and they were not allowed their own autonomy. This is when it is necessary to acknowledge the difference between motivation and inspiration. While Tiana’s dad inspires her, she does not rely on him for motivation, and she motivates herself to achieve her dreams. We see that, even after he’s passed, she still has the same dream, and a strong motivation to achieve it. We also saw that she works two jobs…So, a real quick tangent, I just realized that she missed work for a few days without calling in and that stresses me out…That’s nothing on the movie, just my own stress.

One thing I found interesting is how the movie shows both positive and negative sides of voodoo magic. While I am aware that voodoo magic was brought to America from Africa by the slaves, I am unaware of the actual aspects of it in real life, so I cannot speak to whether or not the movie properly showed this magic or appropriated it in an offensive way. Also, the movie seems to have voodoo as an othering identity. Both characters that we see using magic are characters that are separate from society. Facilier is the main antagonist and a con man that is looked down upon by every other character. Then, while Mama Odie is an ally to the protagonists, she also lives in the swamps, entirely isolated from human society. The movie seems to forget that voodoo is a genuine and important part of a real life culture.

But, more into racial issues…It was an interesting choice to have the movie take place in the 20s, considering the Jim Crow Laws were very real and enforced back then. This is not to say that I think they should have highlighted the racial issues of the time, as that would make for a depressing movie. I do believe that some issues of racism were implied with the white real estate owners mentioning Tiana’s “background,” and the fact that Tiana’s impoverished neighborhood was shown to be predominantly African American.

Overall, I love the movie. I love Tiana and Naveen’s relationship and how it grows, I love the music, I love the characters, I just love everything… Also, I think I forgot how attractive Naveen is? I would argue that he is he is the most attractive out of all of the Disney princes. I mean, look at him.