Queers are taking over animation — and we don’t just mean TV!
While shows like Steven Universe, She-Ra, The Owl House, and Q-Force are busy bringing LGBTQ+ representation to our TVs, others are hard at work making animated films that push representation forward as well. Here are some of our favorite new and upcoming queer animated shorts and films to watch out for!
Tig Notaro: Drawn
Army of the Dead star Tig Notaro's newest hour-long comedy special is also animated! Tig Notaro: Drawn features Notaro's voice telling stories from her life that are animated so we can relive them with her and see her world brought to colorful life. The special premieres on July 24 at 10pm on HBO and HBO Max.
The Stranger By The Shore
This upcoming anime film "follows the love story of Shun Hashimoto, an aspiring novelist, and Mio Chibana, a grieving young man, who both find more than they bargained for during a time of transition. As each day passes, both young men find themselves in an ever-unique, undisturbed voyage of friendship and romance. But self-doubt, family, acceptance, and fear will challenge these young men, as nothing worth fighting for goes without taking chances." It will be available to stream July 9 on Funimation.
Pritty
Directed by poet and filmmaker Terrance Daye and based on the novel by Keith F. Miller Jr, Pritty tells the coming-of-age story of a teen named Jay who "learns to step out of his comfort zone, and with the help of a charming neighborhood boy named Justin, overcomes his fear of the deep end." The film was funded on Kickstarter, and will come out soon.
Cariño
This Colombian short film is a sweet story about two queer boys of color as one of them tries to find the perfect flower to deliver to his crush.
Nimona
Unfortunately, what would have been Disney's first feature animated movie with queer leads has been shelved. But we still are holding out hope that this film, based on a book by She-Ra creator Noelle Stevenson, will find its way back to life somehow. The film, about a chaotic shapshifter who teams up with a super villain to fight a hero who also happens to be the former lover of said villain, was cancelled when Disney shut down Blue Sky Studios. People working on the film said it was about 75% complete.
Cupcake
YouTube released this adorable short about magical cake toppers who change a baker's heart as a part of their Pride celebration. You can check it out at the 12 minute mark of this video.
Luca
While this latest Disney and Pixar's director says it's about a "pre-romance" time in a boy's life, Luca is one of the gayest movies we've seen in a while. The gorgeous film follows a young Italian sea monster who meets fellow teen Alberto, and soon is following him on a transformative journey where they grow closer to each other and find out more about themselves. If that's not gay, we don't know what is.
How Life Is: Queer Youth Animated
The Future Perfect Project launched this series of ten short films this year to celebrate Pride and cover the challenges that LGBTQ+ youth face daily. You can watch all ten shorts now.
The Mitchells vs. The Machines
Queer actress Abbi Jacobson starred in this recent family film as Katie Mitchell, the tech-savy daughter of a family fighting to save the world from evil robots. Just like the actress, Katie herself is queer, although we don't get to see much of that in the actual film.
