“Onward,” as you might expect from a Pixar film released by Disney, isn’t a hard-R bloodfest with nudity, cursing, and gore. However, “Onward” joins a variety of envelope-pushing material that is being censored as it is released around the world. Why would Pixar’s wholesome family film about two brothers going on an adventure to spend one more day with their dead father find itself in hot water and facing censorship? Well, simply put, “Onward” is the first Disney film to feature an openly gay character and some countries are not happy about it.
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If you haven’t seen “Onward,” don’t worry—no spoilers are going to be discussed. It’s not like the openly gay character, a police officer named Specter, is some sort of major character that you might expect, considering all the issues with the film being banned for release in Middle Eastern countries such as Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia, as well as being censored in Russia (via Deadline). Much like the LGBTQ representation in Disney-released films such as “Avengers: Endgame” and “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker,” the lesbian police officer is featured briefly and has one throwaway line that alludes to her sexuality.
In a scene about halfway through the film, Specter (voiced by Lena Waithe) turns to her co-worker and says, “It’s not easy being a new parent – my girlfriend’s daughter got me pulling my hair out, okay?”
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That’s it. That’s the whole controversy.
But apparently, that’s enough. In the Middle Eastern countries, the reference to a lesbian relationship is enough for the PG film to not get a release date. And in Russia, the film is being altered, with the line replacing the word “girlfriend” with “partner” and no mention of gender.
Obviously, this isn’t the first film to be banned in certain conservative Muslim countries and edited so that it can play in other territories, such as Russia. Disney’s own “Beauty and the Beast” live-action remake faced similar issues for its gay character, LeFou—another example of the Mouse House dipping its toes into representation without diving headfirst.
However, this year, Disney is going to test this in a much bigger way with its upcoming Marvel film, “Eternals.” Not only does the film feature a lead character that is gay (reportedly played by Brian Tyree Henry), but the superhero film is expected to feature a kiss between him and his husband, as well as showing the character’s family life. Marvel Studios films are big business all around the world, so it’ll be interesting to see how the world reacts to a Disney-released film that actually has significant representation and if the studio will be willing to cut the film to eliminate scenes if it becomes an issue.
“Onward” is in theaters now.
