The newest addition to the animation shows on Disney Channel shows a new level of diversity for the company. The confirmation of “The Owl House Series” as Its first show with a bisexual lead character.
The series focuses on a 14-year-old Dominican-American girl named Luz Noceda. She’s a normal human girl that discovers a magical world.
“The Owl House” character is not Disney’s first LGBTQ+ character. The company has a short film on Disney Plus, which features a gay main character.
Furthermore, Dana Terrace (the creator), said that originally the series was not given the go sign by Disney.
In dev 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. 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.
In dev 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. 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.
— Dana Terrace (@DanaTerrace) August 9, 2020
Terrace had more to say:
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.
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. (Thank you @NashRiskin and team!) Not to mention the amazingness of this crew.
— Dana Terrace (@DanaTerrace) August 9, 2020
The episode “Enchanting Grom Fright,” which aired on Aug. 8 showed the potential romantic relationship between two female characters, Noceda and Amity her classmate.
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
Alex Hirsch, creator of Gravity Falls responded to Terrence’s comments on Twitter. Hirsch explained that when Gravity Falls ran on Disney, any explicit representation of LGBTQ+ was forbidden.
In 2012, the Disney censor note on this image (below) would have been: ‘inappropriate for channel, please revise, call to discuss’ (to avoid a paper trail).
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