‘The Owl House’ introduces Disney’s first bisexual lead character

Disney has made no less than 58 animated feature films, pumped out dozens of notable stars and kept youngsters, and the young at heart, entertained for years with its array of live and animated TV shows. Yet it’s The Owl House that has made Disney history by featuring the Mouse House’s first bisexual lead character.When the animated series launched in January 202,0 it introduced 14-year-old lead character Luz Noceda (Sarah-Nicole Robles), a teen who journeys to another world and battles evil forces alongside a witch. In the past she’s been attracted to the male characters but over the last two episodes, her romantic focus has shifted towards the female character Amity (Mae Whitman). Not only that, but Amity wanted to ask Luz to “Grom” (aka the show’s version of prom) and the two shared a sweet dance.[video_embed id='1980387']RELATED: Devery Jacobs, Emily Hampshire and Ellen Page are moving the queer community into the spotlight[/video_embed]After fans went online to speculate whether the dance was indeed the start of an LGBTQ+ relationship, the series creator jumped in to clarify.“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 haha,” Dana Terrace wrote 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.”Terrace revealed that in the end, her creative vision won out. “I'm bi! I want to write a bi character, dammit! Luckily my stubbornness paid off and now I am VERY supported by current Disney leadership,” she wrote.

Representation matters! Always fight to make what YOU want to see! As OH continues I can't wait to explore things that are important to me and my crew. Looking forward to the next chapter. ??

...Which is next week in WING IT LIKE WITCHES!Thank you for watching! #TheOwlHouse pic.twitter.com/U8PHHT2g91— Dana Terrace (@DanaTerrace) August 9, 2020

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. pic.twitter.com/Ak8dNVMAdo

— Dana Terrace (@DanaTerrace) August 9, 2020

Speaking of the crew, it seems like they were equally as excited for the chance to work on this particular storyline. In a separate post, Owl House animation supervisor Spencer Wan shared the original dance storyboard with fans, adding to the excitement about the inclusive plot and characters.

The storyboards for the dance. This was a collaboration between Hayley Foster and myself. At some point I got carried away and timed it to Veo Lu Sluice by Kumi Tanioka.

This was my first time getting to do anything even remotely queer, and I've never been prouder of any board. pic.twitter.com/r0ljIGRxTV— Spencer Wan (@SpencerWan) August 9, 2020

Disney has been slow to introduce any openly LGBTQ+ characters in the past, but in the March release of Onward, the Officer Spector character (Lena Waithe) identified as a lesbian. Previously, Andi Mack became the first show on the Disney Channel to have a gay character when Cyrus Goodman (Joshua Rush) came out; in May the short Pixar film Out featured a gay main character; and in 2017 Josh Gad’s version of Beauty and the Beast's LeFou was gay.Looking towards the future, there will be a transgender character in an upcoming Marvel film (Marvel is owned by Disney), and the superhero movie The Eternals will feature the MCU’s first openly gay lead, Phastos (Brian Tyree Henry).Earlier this year while on a shareholder call, Disney’s boss Bob Chapek responded to a question about LGBTQ+ characters in their films by promising to continue representing its audience. “We want to tell stories that our audience wants to hear, that reflects their lives,” he said.Last November, Disney announced an early second-season renewal for The Owl House ahead of its premiere. In addition to Robles and Whitman, the series stars the voice talents of Wendie Malick, Alex Hirsch, Eden Riegel, Tati Gabrielle, Issac Ryan Brown and Grey Griffin. In the meantime there are two more planned episodes to go in the first season, which air August 22 and August 29.[video_embed id='1985284']BEFORE YOU GO: How is COVID-19 affecting the LGBTQ+ community?[/video_embed]