Disney Pixar's first openly LGBTQ character to be voiced by Lena Waithe in new animated movie, 'Onward'
Disney Pixar; Taylor Hill/Contributor via Getty Images
"Onward" is a forthcoming animated movie that's the first Disney-Pixar film to feature a self-identifying LGBTQ character.
In the film, the character Officer Specter, a policewoman voiced by screenwriter and actress Lena Waithe, appears in one scene where she references her girlfriend.
While Disney has included other snippets of LGBTQ-identifying characters in its movies, "Onward" is historic because Officer Specter is the first character to vocalize her identity, Yahoo! Entertainment reports.
The movie opens in theaters March 6.
"Onward," which opens in theaters March 6, is the first Disney-Pixar movie to feature a character who self-identifies as LGBTQ, reports Yahoo! Entertainment Senior Writer Ethan Alter.
The new animated film, set in a mystical land of Cyclops-like creatures, elves, and dragons, includes a policewoman named Officer Specter who appears in one scene in the movie in which she references her girlfriend, according to Yahoo! Entertainment.
Officer Specter is voiced by Emmy award-winning screenwriter and actress Lena Waithe, who is openly gay.
Taylor Hill / Contributor via Getty Images
There have been snippets of LGBTQ representation in Disney films in the past, such as same-sex couples spotted in the backgrounds of scenes in animated movies like "Finding Dory," and when Disney's "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker" featured a historic same-sex kiss. However, Officer Specter represents a historic moment for Disney, as she's the first animated character who, through dialogue, identifies as LGBTQ.
Disney Pixar
The director of "Onward," Dan Scanlon, told Alter for Yahoo! Entertainment that the scene where Specter references her relationship is important because it's representative of modern society.
"It's a modern fantasy world and we want to represent the modern world," Scanlon said.
Watch the trailer for "Onward" on YouTube.
Read the original article on Insider