is wandering oaken gay

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So, How Gay IS Disney’s Frozen?

Does Disney’s monster hit include the first same-sex couple in the studio’s history?

See also: How Christian is Disney’s Frozen ? (Not very.) Part 1

So basically everyone loves Frozen except me. I’m fine with that. I’m not a fan , but I don’t dislike it; parts of it I like very much, though other elements I found disappointing and off-putting. I’ve watched it twice now, and both times I enjoyed enough things about it to be frustrated by the elements that ultimately keep me from embracing it.

I’m not surprised that it’s such a huge hit. I am a little surprised at the sustained effort of Christian fans to spin Frozen as some sort of Christian allegory (more on this in an upcoming post).

For now, though, I want to address something I noted in passing in my review: the question of gay-culture themes in Frozen .

In my review I mentioned this issue (also noted in positive reviews by other critics ) largely to dismiss it as a point of concern—not that I wasn’t aware of the themes in question, so much as that I didn’t think they warranted getting upset over. However, a point I overlooked earlier has just been brought to my attention that I think does warrant mention.

First, let’s get the broad themes out on the table.

• With her ice powers, Elsa is notably different from other people. “Born this way or cursed?” asks the troll king, and her parents confirm that she was born that way.
• Nevertheless, her difference is an occasion of fear and secrecy. Misguidedly, her parents teach her to “conceal it, don’t feel it.” This repression of her true nature leads to isolation, anxiety and finally a meltdown at Elsa’s coronation, at which she inadvertently outs herself, revealing her ice powers for all to see.
• Regarded with fear and revulsion by others, Elsa defies the society that has rejected her as well as the unjust strictures placed on her by her parents, celebrating her acceptance of her true identity in the power ballad “Let it Go.” No more “Be the good girl you always have to be” for her; now her mantra is: “Let the storm rage on / The cold never bothered me anyway.”
• It’s worth noting that Elsa at no time shares her sister Anna’s romantic longings, nor does she show any interest in a male suitor or in being courted. (At one point a male character remarks that, as heir, Elsa would be preferable to Anna, but “no one was getting anywhere with her .”)
• Oh, and viewers who stayed through the end credits were treated to a parting gag in which Elsa’s giant, male-voiced snow monster, wandering through her abandoned ice palace, picks up her abandoned tiara and places it daintily on its own head, smiling as it discovers its true inner princess.

On another side note, there’s a double entendre about another type of relationship that is said to be “outside of nature’s laws”: The trolls, singing about Kristoff in the the “Fixer-Upper” song, suggest that he has an unnatural relationship with his reindeer Sven:

So he’s a bit of a fixer-upper So he’s got a few flaws. Like his peculiar brain, dear His thing with the reindeer That’s a little outside of nature’s laws!

Yes: a bestiality joke in a Disney cartoon.

All of this seems to me a) clearly if subtly expressive of a pro-gay culture at Disney, and b) not that big a deal, inasmuch as the themes are subtle and ambiguous enough not pose either a significant annoyance to even savvy parents or a corrupting influence on children. (I would not say that of the pro-gay themes in the likes of Madagascar 2 or the Happy Feet movies ; those are in a different category, and I do object to them. With Frozen , I’m more concerned about issues like Squelched Girl Syndrome and the subverting, in very different ways, of the two leading men.)

However, there’s another pro-gay element in Frozen worth noting that I originally missed: a fleeting but definite suggestion that a minor character has a family consisting of a same-sex partner and a bunch of children.

This was brought to my attention by an interesting article at PolicyMic.com called “ 7 Moments that Make Frozen the Most Progressive Disney Movie Ever .” The article offers a blend of insightful observations, obvious ones, and, for me, one eye-opener:

5. Oaken’s gay family Hey, did you notice the gay character? I didn’t either, until I went to see the film a second time. It turns out that giant man in “Wandering Oaken’s Trading Post and Sauna” is probably gay. When he throws in the sauna package for Kristoff, he turns to say “Hello, family!” and BAM! there they are. googletag.cmd.push(function () { googletag.display('NCR_EN_Article_B'); }); The adult in the sauna is clearly implied to be his husband. Best yet, Oaken and his partner have a family — and it’s not even a thing. In the few minutes that he’s on screen, Disney manages to make a compelling character of Oaken…

Take a close look at the image.

Is there plausible deniability? Sure. 

The adult male in the sauna, with his slim jaw and lack of facial hair, looks markedly younger than the mountain-sized, hirsute Oaken, and could be his oldest son. Next to him is a young woman who, given the conventions of animation, could be could be Oaken’s daughter or his wife — or, heck, the wife of the other guy, who could also be Oaken’s younger brother). It’s even possible that the family isn’t Oaken’s family at all; “Hoo hoo! Hi family!” could mean “Hi, random visiting family of customers.”

On the other hand…

• What’s the moment doing in the film at all? Why make a point of having Oaken call “Hoo hoo! Hi family!” and fleetingly show the family in the sauna? At the very least, the moment and the line seems intended to suggest that they are, or at least could be, Oaken’s own family.
• Why is the young man centrally positioned, with all the other figures around him? The framing of the shot, and his huge size, seems to suggest that he’s a father figure, not just an older brother.
• How often do we see such a large family in a Disney movie? Why so many, if not visual misdirection to slip the moment past most viewers?

It seems plausible the filmmakers have thrown this moment in to allow sharp-eyed homophile viewers to draw their own conclusions about just what sort of “family” this is.

And we’re going to be seeing more and more of this sort of thing in the future. Here’s why.

From the perspective of Hollywood filmmakers, while it’s not yet possible for a mainstream family film to have overtly gay characters or themes, the heteronormativity of traditional children’s entertainment has been problematized.

In Obama’s post-evolutionary America, the assumption that every protagonist in every cartoon is by default heterosexual—that every heroine gets her prince, every hero gets the girl—is no more acceptable than it would be for every protagonist to be white, or male. How are children with two mommies or two daddies meant to feel when every family in every cartoon looks like their friends’ families and not like theirs?

Yet obviously the Disney version of The Prince and the Prince is a long way off yet. The revolution is still in the early stages. Gay families and their allies must take their consolations where they can find them, and content themselves for the most part with winks and nods, hints and subtexts.

Admittedly, this may sometimes mean running the risk of overly creative interpretations and appropriations of characters and themes (a bit like Christians in the post-Christian era over-eagerly latching onto “Christ figures” anywhere they can find them) on the basis of slender evidence or even pretexts. Tinky-Winky! The Cowardly Lion! Bert and Ernie!

But it also means Hollywood filmmakers really want to throw in those winks and nods when they can. They feel good about themselves when they do, and it’s something they can talk about at parties.

It’s the civil rights issue of our time! And if you aren’t part of the solution, you’re part of the problem. If you’re making a family film and you aren’t doing something to undermine the heteronormative establishment, then by default you’re reinforcing it.

That’s why Oaken has the family he does, and makes a point of calling out to them.

And yet, in this case the filmmakers have walked that line really well: so well that the pro-gay themes have gone right over the heads of countless adult Christian viewers, many of whom have embraced Frozen as resonating powerfully with Christian themes. 

I disagree. Read more…

Deacon Steven D. Greydanus Deacon Steven D. Greydanus is film critic for the National Catholic Register, creator of Decent Films, a permanent deacon in the Archdiocese of Newark, and a member of the New York Film Critics Circle. For 10 years he co-hosted the Gabriel Award–winning cable TV show “Reel Faith” for New Evangelization Television. Steven has degrees in media arts and religious studies, and has contributed several entries to the New Catholic Encyclopedia, including “The Church and Film” and a number of filmmaker biographies. He has also written about film for the Encyclopedia of Catholic Social Thought, Social Science, and Social Policy. He has a BFA in Media Arts from the School of Visual Arts in New York, an MA in Religious Studies from St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Overbrook, PA, and an MA in Theology from Immaculate Conception Seminary at Seton Hall University in South Orange, NJ. Steven’s writing for the Register has been recognized many times by the Catholic Press Association Awards, with first-place wins in 2017 and 2016 and second-place wins in 2019 and 2015. Steven and his wife Suzanne have seven children.

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7 Moments That Made 'Frozen' the Most Progressive Disney Movie Ever

Disney's latest movie musical Frozen has been hitting high notes ever since its release over Thanksgiving. In addition to the serious cash the film has raked in , it looks like it's going to bring in a few awards as well. After winning Best Animated Film at the Golden Globes , Frozen is up for the Best Animated Picture Oscar. Its signature song "Let it Go" also earned an Oscar nod. Frozen' s monumental success can and should not be understated. The film isn't going anywhere.

Let's check out its most progressive moments:

1. Elsa and Anna's abusive parents

Let's get the sad one out of the way first. As a young child, Elsa is blessed with cryokinetic powers. After an accident with her sister, Anna, Elsa's parents isolate her, tell her that she's dangerous and demand that she emotionally castrate herself to control her powers, which inevitably leads to her controlling them less. Elsa's parents brutalize her instincts so that even as an adult, she lives in constant fear of herself. Those lessons are so ingrained that she continues hiding even after her parents die.

Image Credit:  Tumblr

What Elsa's parents did was abusive, and it is so subtle that most people, including Elsa, don't realize it until much later. Disney takes a much-needed step forward by portraying realistic parental abuse that affects many children today.

2. Elsa's self-empowerment

When Elsa's power is eventually discovered, she runs away. When she is finally on her own, she finds beauty in herself. Elsa sings the now Oscar-nominated " Let it Go " upon realizing that she is good enough for herself, and that's all that really matters.

Image Credit: Tumblr

In the reprise of "For the First Time in Forever," Elsa proclaims that her freedom and ability to be herself without compromise are more important to her than anything ("Yes I'm alone / but I'm alone and free!"). This is something Disney has never done before as the characters who have been voluntarily solitary have almost always been villains, not heroes. In fact, Elsa was originally intended to be the villain of the story . Luckily, Disney changed its mind. In reality, even when it means isolation, confidence is a worthwhile goal — and it's sexy.

3. Anna's clumsiness, awkwardness and honesty

A Disney princess is graceful, elegant and soft-spoken. Until Mulan , the idea of a clumsy Disney princess was antithetical, and even she found grace and form through her combat training. Until Merida in Brave , the idea of an outspoken princess was unheard of.

Image credit:  Disney blog

Not to mention that in the line of Disney princesses, there haven't been many, if any, with a sexual inkling or romantic forwardness — ever. Disney has made women who are timid, passive and keep to themselves. Though there have been some small rebels, Anna blows them all out of the water.

Image credit: Tumblr

She's clumsy, knocks things over all through the castle and runs into horses, which doesn't change over the course of the movie. She's aggressive and forward, tosses a snowball at a 40-foot monster and dives off a cliff. And she's not afraid to call a man "gorgeous" — even if it's awkward.

Image credit: Rotoscopers

4. Kristoff's ability to lead next to a strong woman

With all the hubbub about women stealing masculinity from men , Kristoff is a wonderful example of what a masculine, 21st century man looks like. He spends the movie surrounded by strong women, yet he is not intimidated or cowed by them.

He's not afraid to call Anna out on her poor decisions ("You got engaged to someone you just met that day?!") and attempts throughout the film to keep her from making more of them. But he is also willing to admit when she is right and values her sense of adventure and brazenness.

Image Credit: Royal Tarts on DeviantArt

Kristoff represents the kind of modern man that Disney has neglected so far: one who is partners with the women in his life. He is not a competitor, a doormat or a fool. He is an equal, and it makes him a wonderful addition to the ranks of Disney princes.

Image Credit: Disney blog

5. Oaken's gay family

Hey, did you notice the gay character? I didn't either, until I went to see the film a second time. It turns out that giant man in "Wandering Oaken's Trading Post and Sauna" is probably gay. When he throws in the sauna package for Kristoff, he turns to say "Hello, family!" and BAM! there they are.

The adult in the sauna is clearly implied to be his husband. Best yet, Oaken and his partner have a family — and it's not even a thing. In the few minutes that he's on screen, Disney manages to make a compelling character of Oaken. He is friendly to his customers and generous with his assistance. He's a savvy businessman who understands economics (supply and demand, Kristoff), and he isn't afraid to stand up for himself when Kristoff calls him a crook.

6. Arendelle's unquestioning acceptance of a queen

Disney has produced movie after movie about princesses, but it never once tackles the responsibilities of ruling a kingdom. Why? Because all of the princesses find princes who do the actual governing of the kingdom while the princesses twirl around in their pretty ballgowns, I guess. But Disney takes a giant leap forward here with Frozen .

Image credit: Giphy

Not only is Elsa the Queen of Arendelle, but her subjects also accept her rule without question even though she's been locked in the castle since she was a girl. In the world of Frozen , characters don't bat an eye at the idea of a woman ruling them. They love Elsa and Anna, and they bow to their authority in a way unprecedented in Disney films.

7. Everyone's reaction to Anna's foolish engagement

I'm sure there's not a better way to say it than this:

Image Credit:  Facebook

Disney riffs on their own trope repeatedly in the movie. Elsa refuses to allow Anna to get married to someone she just met, thus creating an argument that causes the main conflict in the story. When Anna attempts to explain her "true love" to Kristoff, he is completely flabbergasted by her decision.

Image credit:  Tumblr

The beauty of this is that Disney is, essentially, making fun of itself for its poor plot choices. Though it attempted to address the problem in Brave with arranged marriages, in Frozen it finally tackles the painfully problematic trope it has created: getting married to someone you just met — and the notion that all women are supposed to want marriage.

Image credit:  Royal Tarts on DeviantArt

The progressive elements of this film are clearly what has made it so popular and so lauded. Hopefully, seeing that 21st century ideas are here to stay and make for a successful movie, Disney and other franchises will continue to make films with them.

15 Disney Characters Confirmed (Or Speculated) To Be Queer

Few Disney characters are explicitly declared to be gay by the studio, but viewers have picked up on "gay coding." CBR explores.

The Walt Disney Company has been one of the premier film and animation studios for almost nine decades. Its movies reinvented fairy tales and stories from legend and literature. As one of the top companies in its field, fans, critics and the public look to Disney for leadership, examine the themes in its movies and praise or criticize the company for how it reflects the world. Among the points of interest is how LGBTQ people and concerns are represented. Following the times, and in a few cases leading them, Disney has had characters in its films that audiences have perceived to be part of the queer community. Some of these depictions have been more forward than others.

Few Disney characters are explicitly declared to be gay by the studio or its filmmakers, but viewers have picked up on "gay coding," characters exhibiting traits corresponding with LGBTQ. Aud Bool on the blog Prezi describes the term: "Coded gay is when a gay stereotype, 'gay behaviors' or 'camp' are used to imply that a character is homosexual while never explicitly stating that they are." This is often not seen as a positive practice. However, in some cases, viewers have embraced Disney characters as being part of the fold, or for reflecting their own journey for acceptance. In other cases, viewers have criticized the studio for coding its villains as being gay, conflating gayness with evil or going so over the top as to be insultingly stereotypical, pigeon-holing an entire community. Here, CBR looks at 15 characters in Disney and Pixar movies who are confirmed as gay, or are believed to be by the fan community.

Scar from The Lion King (1994) is queer coded, writes Monique Jones in the "Just Add Color" blog. She notes that he contrasts with brother Mufasa in many ways: Mufasa is burly, deep-voiced and masculine; Scar is slighter and is given to effete mannerisms and phrases, like "Oh, I shall practice my curtsy." Also, Scar has no mate, which many fans have read into as a signal.

The contrast is so stark, producer Don Hahn declared the two aren't brothers, in an interview with Hello Giggles in 2017. Hahn notes that in lion prides, there typically is only one male because he's killed off the previous king and any rivals, including cubs. If there are two males, one dominates. Hahn noted that Scar said so in the movie: "When it comes to brute strength, I'm afraid I'm at the shallow end of the gene pool." Again, this is an example of potential gay coding, wherein masculinity is seen as being reserved for straight men, but not those within the queer community, exemplified in this case by Scar.

It's a brief moment in Frozen (2013). Princess Anna is searching for her sister Elsa, whose out-of-control ice powers have plunged the land of Arendelle into a perpetual winter. She is joined by ice trader Kristoff, and they stop in at "Wandering Oaken's Trading Post and Sauna" for supplies. Kristoff haggles with Oaken over the price. Oaken will not budge, but does offer to throw in free use of the sauna. Looking over, he says "Yoo hoo! Hello, family!" to a man and four children within.

Frozen writer and co-director Jennifer Lee said to The Big Issue , "We know what we made. But at the same time, I feel like once we hand the film over, it belongs to the world. so I don't like to say anything, and just let the fans talk. I think it's up to them."

Ursula, the villain in The Little Mermaid (1989), is brassy and flamboyant. Hazlitt magazine describes how Little Mermaid producer and lyricist Howard Ashman shaped Ursula. He said she evolved from various design sketches; the one of a "vampy, overweight matron who everyone agreed looked a lot like Divine" clicked. Divine was the drag queen persona of the late Harris Milstead, and was a key player in director John Waters' repertory company of actors, starring in Pink Flamingos and the original version of Hairspray as housewife Edna Turnblad.

Ashman shared roots in Baltimore's theater scene and gay scenes with Divine, and Ashman directed actress Pat Carroll in Ursula's voice, phrasings and personality. Divine died three weeks after Hairspray was released in 1988, and thus couldn't be Ursula. Documentarian Jeffery Schwarz said "he would have wanted to play the part himself," leading many fans to believe that Ursula, so influenced, must have taken on similar traits.

12 GOVERNOR RATCLIFFE AND WIGGINS

Governor Ratcliffe from Pocahontas (1995) is also tagged as a coded gay villain in Monique Jones' "Just Add Color" blog. As the representative of the crown among the group who left England to settle in what will be known as North America, Ratcliffe stands apart. Ratcliffe is foppish, dressed in a purple doublet with ruffled cuffs, and a cape. In a fantasy sequence, his outfit turns white, trimmed with gold lamé.

Furthermore, Ratcliffe has shoulder-length hair tied into pigtails with red bows. He has a pencil-thin mustache and a soul patch. And he implores the earthy sailors to dig for gold, but insists he can't join them: "I've got this crick in me spine." Ratcliffe's manservant, Wiggins, is even less masculine than the sailors. Wiggins cares for Ratcliffe's pug, Percy, carries a parasol over Ratcliffe's head to protect him from the rain, and loves making gift baskets. All of this, some fans argue, makes both outmoded caricatures of the queer community; automatically making them evil, thus amplifying the case for what some call toxic masculinity.

11 TIMON AND PUMBAA

In The Lion King (1994), self-exiled lion cub Simba falls in with meerkat Timon and warthog Pumbaa, who raise him to adulthood. Timon is voiced by Nathan Lane, who is openly gay, and Pumbaa by Ernie Sabella. In an article about the upcoming Lion King live-action remake, Jezebel refers to Timon and Pumbaa as gay lovers and "their fiercely loving and judgment-free romance," marked by the song "Hakuna Matata."

On The Late Show with Stephen Colbert , Lane described his email correspondence with Billy Eichner, who will play Timon in the remake. Lane said, "Now that gay rights have come so far, in this version Timon can finally marry Pumbaa and live openly in the Serengeti. Believe me, once you've have warthog, you never go back." A joke, certainly, but one that confirmed in many fans' minds this longstanding ship!

LeFou -- which translates as "the fool" or "madman" in French -- is the sidekick to the arrogant, macho hunter Gaston in Beauty and the Beast . In the 1991 animated film, LeFou has a goofy admiration for Gaston. But for the 2017 live-action remake, LeFou was conceived as expressly gay and played that way by actor Josh Gad.

Director Bill Condon told Attitude magazine, "LeFou is somebody who on one day wants to be Gaston and on another day wants to kiss Gaston. He's confused about what he wants. It's somebody who's just realizing that he has these feelings. And Josh makes something really subtle and delicious out of it. And that's what has its payoff at the end, which I don't want to give away. But it is a nice, exclusively gay moment in a Disney movie."

9 BUCKY AND PRONK

Zootopia (2016) tells the story of Judy Hopps, a small-town girl who fulfills her dream of becoming a police officer in the big city. The police chief, however, thinks she can't cut it and assigns her to traffic duty. But the plucky Judy uncovers a drug ring and political corruption. This being a Disney cartoon, Judy is a rabbit in an anthropomorphic world. In one scene, she introduces herself to neighbors Bucky and Pronk. Bucky, a kudu, responds, "Yeah? Well, we're loud." Pronk, an oryx, adds, "Don't expect us to apologize for it." Moments later, Judy hears them through the walls.

Viewers noticed that Bucky and Pronk have the same last name, Oryx-Antlerson. Clearing up any doubt about their relationship, Zootopia co-director Jared Bush tweeted, "They are a gay married couple. But they don't yell at each other because they're gay, they yell because they're real. ;)"

8 COGSWORTH AND LUMIERE

Also featured in Beauty and the Beast (1991) are the castle's staff, who have been transformed into household objects. The fussy majordomo, Cogsworth, was turned into a clock; the valet, Lumière, into a candlestick. The hoopla over the "exclusively gay moment" in the live-action version of Beauty and the Beast (2017) -- LeFou dancing with a man while singing Gaston's praises -- spurred several pieces pointing out there was another gay couple in the film.

At Mashable, writer Heather Dockray states that Cogsworth is "a caring, tidy clock who just so happens to be in love with a charming candelabra named Lumière. Of course, neither Lumière nor Cogsworth can go public with their relationship and risk the wrath of an insecure buffalo literally named the Beast. But just look at how they look at each other throughout the entire movie. If only we could all find animated love like this."

In his screen debut in Toy Story 3 (2010), Ken has a dream house with a closet full of sparkly outfits. Mattel launched the doll -- not action figure -- in 1961, two years after Barbie. The "Earring Magic Ken" introduced in 1993, which sported a purple mesh shirt, pleather vest and a chrome ring on a necklace, unexpectedly attracted a cult following from the queer community.

Not all were pleased with his film portrayal, though. Natalie Wilson wrote for Ms. that Ken, "is depicted as a closeted gay fashionista, with a fondness for writhing in sparkly purple ink with curly-Q flourishes. Played for adult in-jokes, Ken huffily insists, 'I am not a girl toy, I am not!' when an uber-masculine robot toy suggests so during a heated poker match. Pairing homophobia with misogyny, the jokes about Ken suggest that the worst things a boy can be are either a girl or a homosexual."

Frozen (2013) is the highest-grossing animated film of all time. Elsa's struggles with concealing and containing her growing power were perceived as an allegory for her coming to terms with being queer, and her signature song, "Let It Go," a coming-out anthem: Don't let them in, don't let them see / Be the good girl you always have to be / Conceal, don't feel, don't let them know / Well, now they know / Let it go, let it go / Don't hold it back any more .

For Frozen 2 , fan Alexis Isabel Moncada launched the #GiveElsaAGirlfriend campaign on Twitter, which drew a countervailing campaign in conservative circles. Co-director Jennifer Lee was coy to the Huffington Post : "I love everything people are saying [and] people are thinking about with our film -- that's creating dialogue, that Elsa is this wonderful character that speaks to so many people."

5 MALEFICENT

The name Maleficent stems from Latin; it loosely translates as "harmfully malicious." As the evil queen in Sleeping Beauty (1959), Maleficent is called "the Mistress of All Evil," and the failure of the king to invite Maleficent to the christening of Princess Aurora spurs her to put a curse on the child because of that insult. The live-action Maleficent from 2014 retold the story from Maleficent's perspective, and Slate's review lauded it for its "utter campiness."

As the title character, Angelina Jolie "does a fabulous job of stalking around in an outfit made for a drag queen, casting biting shade and patrician disaffection wherever she goes," J. Bryan Lowder wrote, adding that Maleficent is "subject to prejudice and even physical violence once she wanders beyond the borders of her 'safe space' in the faerie moors." Not to mention, the "true love's kiss" that frees Aurora from the curse comes from Maleficent herself.

4 KRONK AND YZMA

In The Emperor's New Groove (2000), one of the most popular characters is the over-muscled Kronk. He is kind to animals, able to talk to squirrels, and dumb as a bag of hammers. He also is a wizard in the kitchen. Most of all, Kronk is deeply loyal to his mistress, Yzma, royal adviser to Emperor Kuzco. The only inkling of dissension between Yzma and Kronk is the moment when she declares she never liked his spinach puffs; the insult sparks the devil and the angel on Kronk's shoulders to take Yzma out.

Queer Love in Film and Television: Critical Essays states, "it cannot be denied that Kronk reflects a queer sensibility." For her part, Yzma, who plots to destroy Kuzco, is described in Mic magazine as "another charismatic, campy caricature of an aging diva."

Hercules (1997) follows the title character as he tries to become a "true hero." Working to undermine him and overthrow Olympus is Hades. In the magazine Little White Lies , Henry Bevan writes, "If James Woods' Hades wasn't busy taking over the world, he'd be the gay best friend in a romantic comedy. He drinks Cosmopolitans and reminds Meg that Hercules will leave her because 'He's a GUY!'"

Woods tells Den of Geek that the directors gave him license to be funny: "Almost every line I did in that over the next year and a half was ad-libbed. I came up with the idea of the hair being on fire. I said, 'Hey, he's got this fire-y hair. Wouldn't it be kind of of cool ... you remember John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever , where he goes, 'Not the hair! woah, woah?' 'Is my hair out?' -- they loved that."

The name "Jafar" translates from Arabic as "rivulet" or "stream." Jafar, the grand vizier to the sultan in Aladdin (1992) is stately and refined, with a pencil-thin Van Dyke beard, prehensile eyebrows and dark lids that hint of eye shadow. Unlike the other men in the film, he wears a robe, not pants, and has a cape, and he prefers to use magic rather than get his hands dirty. Many folks, for better or worse, associate this with his sexuality.

The lead animator on Jafar was Andreas Deja, who is openly gay, and has worked on Hercules , Lilo and Stitch , Gaston in Beauty and the Beast and Scar in The Lion King . In Tinker Belles and Evil Queens: The Walt Disney Company from the Inside Out , author Sean Griffin notes that Deja "admits to conceiving of the [Jafar] character as a gay man 'to give him his theatrical quality, his elegance.'"

Merida, the heroine of Brave (2012) is the first female lead in a Pixar film. Set in medieval Scotland, the film has the princess refusing her mother's insistence that she participate in an arranged marriage that would unite her clan with another. Merida is a master archer, and competes -- and wins -- against the would-be suitors for her hand.

In Entertainment Weekly , Adam Markovitz asks, "Could Merida be gay? Absolutely. She bristles at the traditional gender roles that she's expected to play: the demure daughter, the obedient fiancée. Her love of unprincess-like hobbies, including archery and rock-climbing, is sure to strike a chord with gay viewers who felt similarly 'not like the other kids' growing up." On the other hand, Andrew O'Hehir writes in Salon, that the Brave co-directors "created an autonomous, independent-minded and indeed pre-sexual or nonsexual character, whose principal relationship is with her mother."

Home Culture Culture Film & TV

27 September 2021 12:12 PM

17 gay and LGBTQ Disney characters – from coded to canon to catastrophe

Oaken from frozen, we see you.

By Jamie Tabberer

Words: Jamie Tabberer; picture: Disney

Almost a century ago, a company was founded in a tiny Hollywood office; 98 years on, the Walt Disney Company – and daughter companies Pixar and Marvel Cinematic Universe – is the world’s biggest cultural force.

So why, despite decades of power, did it take 97 years for its lack of queer representation to be addressed?

Better late than never, we suppose: in March 2020, Disney boss Bob Chapek promised “increased commitment” to LGBTQ characters. Eyebrows were raised, and rightly so: some subsequent attempts have been major disappointments. But unprecedented change is afoot: in April, it emerged Pixar will feature its first trans character in a new project .

Ahead of what is hopefully a watershed moment for the entertainment industry, here is Disney’s chequered LGBTQ history in a nutshell.

Ken from  Toy Story 3 (2010)

What were they thinking? This perma-tanned lover of garish prints – depicted as deeply insecure in his femininity (“I’m not a girl toy, I’m not!”) – is the fly in the ointment of the most critically-acclaimed animated movie ever.

As  one critic said  at the time of “closeted gay fashionista” Ken: “Pairing homophobia with misogyny, the jokes about Ken suggest that the worst things a boy can be are either a girl or a homosexual.”

McGregor from  Jungle Cruise (2021)

Disney faced more flak in 2018 when Jack Whitehall, a straight man, was revealed as playing the “hugely effete, very camp” gay man McGregor in Jungle Cruise . But when the film was released this year McGregor proved ineffectual and barely caused a ripple, positive or negative. ( Unlike James Corden in The Prom ! )

That said, the one blink-or-you’ll-miss-it reference to McGregor’s sexuality (he says he broke up with his female fiancée as his interests “lie elsewhere”) is pitifully vague anyway. 

Loki from  Loki (2021)

Much like Jungle Cruise , preliminary coverage of Disney+/MCU TV series Loki seized on the titular hero’s bisexuality. This created too-high expectations – in the end, the lone mention was a Twitter visual, attracting the ire of viewers like  It’s A Sin  creator Russell T Davies, who called the move “ pathetic .”

Still, the character is  canonically bi – and gender-fluid, to boot. 

Artie from  Cruella (2021)

Disney faced new gay-baiting accusations over the genderfluid-fashion-loving Artie in this year’s  Cruella . But when the gay actor playing Artie (John McCrea) took ownership of the character (telling Attitude in an interview “ to me it’s official: he’s queer “) the criticism didn’t really stick. The biggest problem, perhaps, is his lack of screentime. 

Is Artie gay? Bisexual? Pan? Non-binary? Or does he eschew labels, à la Harry Styles? In which case, is it only right no assurances are given? Thanks largely to McCrea’s performance, Artie’s ambiguity feels authentic rather than a cop-out. Which, let’s face it, wouldn’t have been the case had a straight actor played him.

Hugo and Djali from The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996)

We’ve had Lady and the Tramp – why not The Gargoyle and the Goat ? Once again, this is an example of Disney turning to anthropomorphism (the attribution of human traits to an animal or object) to test waters. Faced with criticism, the line would have been: a talking rock and an earring-wearing billy can’t be gay!

In Ken’s case, this playfulness was unsubtle. Here, it’s near-imperceptible – but it’s there. No mean feat in 1996.

Li Shang from Mulan (1998)

Two years later, Mulan explored sexuality and gender in impressively daring ways – and one imagines it would cause more controversy if released for the first time today.   

In the film, a young woman disguises herself as a man to serve in the Imperial Army and battle northern invaders in China. Mulan’s eventual love interest – the military general Li Shang – appears to develop feelings for her long before he finds out the truth about her womanhood.

In the very least, the plot beautifully illustrates how you fall for who, not what, a person is. For some, though, Li Shang is a fully-fledged “ bisexual icon ” who should never have been cut from the 2020 live-action film. 

The San Franciscan bear from  Inside/Out (2015)

“There are no bears in San Francisco,” says one character in Inside/Out , as one replies: “I saw a really hairy guy. He looked like a bear.” Cue to a strapping pizza deliverer in the City who would no doubt frequent SF’s Lone Star Saloon – if he weren’t, you know, a literal bear. 

Again, there’s a lightness of touch here – or should that be lack of commitment? – that verges on frustrating. Did the most rugged of gay subcultures deserve better? Then again, Pixar is nothing if not a safe pair of hands and pitches things just right. (Look at how they handle the afterlife in Coco and Soul !).

As such, we’re glad it’s this studio overseeing Disney’s first trans character… We just hope their identity is more than a hint this time.

Victor from  Love, Victor (2020)

There was debate around Disney+ relegating the gay-centric TV version of hit film Love, Simon to its adult-focused ‘Star’ section. (And, as this gentle and emotive teen show premiered on Hulu last year, we’re not sure how much credit Disney deserves for its existence in the first place). There was more debate still when a straight actor (Michael Cimino) took on the titular gay role.

On the latter point, though,  Love, Victor demonstrates how such casting choices are about context. In this context, Cimino turns in a nuanced and winning performance across two seasons, just as his predecessor Nick Robinson did in the trailblazing film. And the same goes for Cimino’s castmate and on-screen love interest George Sear, who plays Benji. 

Specter from  Onward (2020)

Last year marked a real milestone in Pixar’s LGBTQ journey, as it introduced its first officially, canonically queer character. Even better, kindly unicorn Specter is voiced by out and proud Hollywood heavyweight Lena Waithe. 

The cyclops cop, who patrols the city of New Mushroomton, is also a mum, at one point saying: “It’s not easy being a new parent – my girlfriend’s daughter got me pulling my hair out, okay?” It’s another easily missed reference, but it’s resolute. And, apparently, enough to see the film banned in multiple Middle Eastern markets .

Elsa from  Frozen (2013)

Rewind seven years from Onward and we’re back to the world of inference; a very different ballgame we hope we’re finally leaving behind. But of all Disney characters widely interpreted as LGBTQ, none have had the impact of Elsa.

The lead character in the third highest-grossing animated film of all time (2019’s Frozen 2 is at number two), Elsa is the rare Disney princess to avoid handsome princes altogether. Some say this carries no special significance, others that it implies asexuality or aromanticism. But a very, very large section of  Frozen ‘s fandom agrees: Elsa’s a lesbian.

Certainly, supposed coming out anthem Let It Go is lyrically direct   (“I don’t care what they’re going to say, let the storm rage on, the cold never bothered me anyway”) and  Frozen co-director Jennifer Lee has fuelled the fire by saying she “ loves ” the conversations around Elsa’s sexuality.

It’s been reported Elsa may have a girlfriend in Frozen 3.  If so, it could prove as landscape-changing as a premiership footballer coming out.

Oaken from  Frozen (2013)

While it’s strongly insinuated Elsa’s a lesbian, a minor character from the same film is demonstrably shown to head up a same-sex parent family: Oaken.

We meet the towering shopkeeper when Elsa’s sister Anna wanders in to escape the cold. He later introduces his family (“Hoo hoo! Hi family!”) warming up in a sauna. The family is comprised of another blonde man and their four kids. In the grand scheme of things, this was a big step for Disney, and one obscured by the hoo-ha around Elsa.

Tracing the dots between this,  Inside/Out ,  Onward,  and so on, you see how Pixar has continually pushed for change… and probably changed the world in the process.

Jafar from Aladdin  (1992)

We know, we know, it has never been confirmed that Jafar is gay. But taken with the several other charismatic villains of the era (Scar from The Lion King, Governor Ratcliffe from Pocahontas) some 90s viewers – this writer included – sensed strong subliminal messaging. At the time, that mattered.

Jafar is arch, sophisticated, camper than a row of tents… but he’s powerful (and some might say sexy?) in his flamboyance; it’s not a characteristic that’s played for laughs. Was his imprisonment of Jasmine about power, rather than desire? And was his fixation with Aladdin really an attraction? One he, understandably, needed to repress centuries ago in the Arabian city of Agrabah? 

Ursula from  The Little Mermaid (1989)

Glamorous sea witch Ursula is so fully realised a character, she simply oozes the essence of queer. Or, more specifically, the essence of outrageous and iconic drag queen Divine, who inspired the character. (Yes, the one Eureka recently impersonated on RuPaul’s Drag Race ).

Is Ursula a drag queen? A lesbian with a compelling mix of butch and femme touches? A pansexual half-octopus open to all? It’s logical to assume the character is queer-coded, for the film carries the DNA of the late lyricist Howard Ashman, who was gay, and whose magical songs, including A Whole New World , were credited with reversing Disney’s waning fortunes in the 80s/90s.

We would have loved to see an LGBTQ star in the role in the upcoming remake – but we’re open to what Melissa McCarthy does with the character.

Lefou from  Beauty and the Beast  (2017)

Beauty and the Beast  director Bill Condon confirmed Disney’s first “exclusively gay moment” in a 2017 Attitude interview, generating global headlines. “LeFou is somebody who on one day wants to be Gaston and on another day wants to kiss Gaston,” he said of the character.

The moment – Lefou dancing with another man at the film’s end – was fleeting, albeit enough to warrant censorship in Malaysia. Still, the film brings representation in other ways, from out gay actor Luke Evans’ casting as Gaston to Sir Ian McKellen as a  Vicious -esque Cogsworth.

Plus, LeFou is back for a Disney+ TV show, and a second chance to get things right.

Luca and Alberto from Luca (2021)

Forget Call Me By Your Name ‘s Elio and Oliver; it’s all about Luca and Alberto. In this heartwarming tale released this year, two teen boys come of age over one crazy summer in a sun-kissed coastal village in Italy. All the while hiding the fact from judgemental townsfolk that they’re actually sea monsters.

The film’s gay subtext is similarly disguised – but Disney and Pixar arguably break through the inference looking glass with Luca . Granted, the boys’ sexualities are never implicitly stated, but this works to the film’s advantage. The subject was barely talked up beforehand, so its existence came as a pleasant surprise. And in a nice bit of casting synchronicity, Alberto is voiced by recent Attitude cover star Joshua Bassett, who this year came out as a member of the LGBTQ community.

The filmmakers maybe missed a trick by not having the boys at least kiss – but perhaps that’s unnecessary. Watch the film: there’s absolutely no doubting what it’s really about and that its intentions are pure.

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The Gay Surprise In Disney's "Frozen," Esquire Pans "Looking": Today In Gay

Disney's new animated fairy tale Frozen is breaking all kinds of box-office records, but the $300-million-plus blockbuster is also breaking new ground for LGBT depictions: We watched the movie again last night (whattyawant, we're fans!) and noticed that when Oaken refers to his family at "Wandering Oaken's Trading Post and Sauna," he points to four kids and a burly man. The inference being, of course, that the blond bohunk is Oaken's husband.

We suppose it's not too surprising, since the film is based on Hans Christian Andersen's Danish fairy tale  The Snow Queen,  and Denmark has been on the forefront of LGBT equality for decades. (They've had civil unions since 1989 and finalized marriage equality in 2012.)

With out actor Jonathan Groff playing Kristoff ,  Frozen  could be Disney's gayest movie ever. (Well, except for maybe  Aladdin. )

The reviews for HBO's new gay dramedy, Looking, have been mixed—some critics praise the show's relatable characters, while others bemoan it's lack of drama. In it's Straight Man's Guide to "Looking," Esquire.com definitely fell into the latter category: "Instead of, say, funny, mincing guys with witty one-liners and put-downs," writes Mick Stingley , " Looking introduces three ho-hum characters you wouldn't hang around with if they were on SportsCenter ."

Why don't you tell us how you really feel?

In his verdict, Judge Stephen Reinhardt  referred to Windsor vs. United States, the groundbreaking 2013 Supreme Court case that helped dismantle the Defense of Marriage Act.

In its words and its deed,  Windsor  established a level of scrutiny for classifications based on sexual orientation that is unquestionably higher than rational basis review. In other words, Windsor requires that heightened scrutiny be applied to equal protection claims involving sexual orientation.

Precedents already exist to prevent lawyers from barring jurors based on race, gender and other immutable factors.

On Sunday, a spacey-looking Matalin told host George Stephanopoulos "I know I’m going to get in trouble for this, but all of my gay friends think [Putin] looks so buff in his shirtless photos.”

In the same discussion, Stephanopoulous revealed that Putin told him off-camera that he had "a lot of gay friends." Hmm, are these the same ones that are friends with Matalin, Sarah Palin and Michelle Bachmann ? We'd love to meet this crew.

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Animated LGBTQIA+ Characters That You May Have Missed

From childhood favorites to modern classics, queer representation is everywhere

Spongebob, Oaken from 'Frozen,' Spink and Forcible from 'Coraline' and Gobber from 'How To Train Your Dragon.'

With Pride month on the edge of culminating, we cannot bid it goodbye without an appropriate farewell. Anyone who watches animated films knows the magnitude of their impact on not just children but also adults. Over the years, they’ve been key in incorporating all the colors and combinations of the rainbow. We compiled a list of some of the characters belonging to the LGBTQIA+ community who are queer with no fear. 

Spongebob (Asexual)  – Spongebob Squarepants

The eponymous happy-go-lucky wide-grinned and highly absorbent teenager was confirmed to be asexual by Stephen Hillenburg , the creator of Nickelodeon’s Spongebob Squarepants. Although Hillenburg reminded everyone that real sea sponges reproduce asexually through ‘budding,’ the almost human-like Spongebob is much more relatable than any ordinary sea sponge. His identity is important for not just the queer community but also for asexual children who may need a helping hand in understanding their identity. Spongebob is independent and has a great group of friends. What else could one possibly want? 

Gobber the Belch (Gay) – How To Train Your Dragon

One of the main supporting characters in the How to Train Your Dragon franchise, the adorable and humorous mustached Viking Gobber, has been a part of all three films. The speculations of him being gay began in the second movie when the creators stated that he did not get married for an “undisclosed reason.” However, by the end of the third film, How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World [2019], the creators confirmed his sexuality by making him fall in love with Eret, another minor character. 

 April Spink and Miriam Forcible (Lesbian couple)  – Coraline

Based on the 2002 Neil Gaiman novel, the surrealist horror film Coraline shows an elderly couple. Often mistaken as friends and spinsters living together, Gaiman confirmed their sexuality on Tumblr. Miss Spink, a retired burlesque performer, and Miss Forcible, a retired burlesque actor, were lovers since the beginning but had many male suitors in their youth. Still, their relationship status is not disclosed in the movie. 

Bucky and Pronk Oryx-Antlerson (Gay couple) – Zootopia

This loud and cross-specied gay couple made an appearance in the 2016 movie Zootopia. Their relationship status is not referred to in the movie at all and thus raised suspicions from the fans as they share the same last name but are from two different species — Bucky, a kudu and Pronk, a gemsbok . Later, co-director Jared Bush confirmed their relationship. 

Oaken (Gay)  – Frozen

Disney’s Frozen (2013) is the most popular animated film of all time. Oaken appears, for an extremely brief moment, where he is shown waving to a man and four children and saying “Hello, family!” but his sexuality remained ambiguous, leaving an open-ended assumption for the viewers. Writer and co-director Jennifer Lee later said that it was a deliberate choice to incorporate the ambiguity to have the audience perceive Oaken as they will. Thus, the viewers voted queer!

• How To Train Your Dragon
• Spongebob Squarepants

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Disney, Say Yes to Queer Characters

It’s time for Disney to stop tiptoeing around inclusion.

Bob D'Amico/Disney

Over the weekend, Girl Meets World actress—and self-avowed intersectional feminist—Rowan Blanchard came out on Twitter.

The 14-year-old Disney Channel star responded to the #RileyMatthewsBisexual2K16 campaign, which called on the network to allow its protagonist to explore her sexuality this season. The show—a spinoff of the late-’90s TGIF favorite, Boy Meets World —follows Corey and Topanga’s daughter, Riley, as she navigates what it means to be a teenager in 2016. As Twitter users argued, tackling sexual orientation is a major part of that discussion.

Rowan Blanchard responded that she welcomes LGBT storylines on Girl Meets World , tweeting that “it’s vvv important to me, being queer, that there is representation on our show.” She explained that while she’s never had a same-sex relationship, she’s “open to liking any gender” in the future. “[B]eing queer to me just means not putting a label on sexuality—just existing,” Blanchard said.

Ms. Blanchard is right: Queer inclusion is incredibly crucial for shows like Girl Meets World and companies like Disney, in order to represent the lived experiences of the queerest generation in history. After all, Blanchard came out on Twitter just days after Hunger Games actress Amandla Sternberg disclosed her sexuality in a series of Snapchats for Teen Vogue .

“It’s a really, really hard thing to be silenced and it’s deeply bruising to fight against your identity and to mold yourself into shapes that you just shouldn’t be in,” she said . “As someone who identifies as a black, bisexual woman I’ve been through it.”

Historically, Disney isn’t known for being particularly forward-thinking when it comes to queer issues. As I wrote in an op-ed for the Guardian last year, Disney frequently codes its villains as queer. In creating the character of Ursula for The Little Mermaid , animators based the voluptuous sea-witch on Divine, the famed ’70s drag queen who was a frequent star in John Waters’s films.

In the case of The Lion King’s Scar, it’s not that the character actually sleeps with men but, as documentarian David Thrope argued, that his effete mannerisms signify that he’s an Other. “Films need villains,” Thorpe told Vice , “and for a very long time, the effete, aristocratic, effeminate man was the villain.”

However, the company has been tiptoeing toward inclusion in recent years, as the rest of the animation industry becomes more queer friendly . While the Disney Channel’s Good Luck Charlie introduced a storyline featuring two lesbian moms in 2014, the smash hit Frozen also winked at gay audiences. When Anna and Kristoff stop at “Wandering Oaken's Trading Post and Sauna,” the shopkeeper is seen briefly waving to his family—Oaken’s husband and two kids.

Last year, news broke that Disney was developing Princes —a royal romance that would feature its first same-sex couple. (The film was rumored be an adaptation of Jeffrey A. Miles’s children's book, The Princes and the Treasure. ) That turned out to be a hoax, but as Sally Kohn wrote in the New Republic , there’s a reason the report went viral.

“It was shared on Facebook more than 60,000 times,” she said. “No doubt many of these shares came from villagers from Glenbeckistan, but many others were probably elated, eager for a Disney film to finally reflect modern America.” Six months after the Supreme Court made marriage equality the law of the land, a recent survey from Gallup showed that “acceptance of gays is at an all-time high.”

But certain populations particularly need this group of support. In addition to trans people, who face high risks of violence, young queer people are disproportionately likely to be homeless. Statistics from UCLA’s Williams Institute show that around 4 in 10 homeless youths identify as LGBT. Many of these young people are ejected from their homes after coming out. Most teenage girls are worried about juggling friends and schoolwork, but according to NBC, 19-year-old Diamond Marks—a trans woman of color—is most concerned about where she’ll sleep next, whether it’s at a friend’s apartment, a shelter, or a public park.

Disney’s first queer protagonist isn’t the only solution to these issues. LGBT youth need greater support networks across the country—whether that’s from schools, advocacy organizations, or local service providers—but media representation is absolutely a part of the movement for acceptance. Programs like Girl Meets World can open up a space for conversations in American households between parents and their children, normalizing queer sexuality for those who continue to lack crucial understanding.

Given that Blanchard is just 14 and the show’s target audience is comprised of very young adults, many parents might be uncomfortable with having teen programming broach these subjects. After airing the lesbian-themed episode, the conservative backlash against Good Luck Charlie was so vitriolic that the show’s star, then five-year-old Mia Talerico, received death deaths from angry fans.

In a statement, One Million Moms urged the network to “avoid controversial topics that children are far too young to comprehend.” The group continued, “Mature issues of this nature are being introduced too early and too soon, and it is extremely unnecessary.”

That might dissuade Disney from further wading into those waters, but it shouldn’t: Queer youth are coming out at increasingly early ages—even as young as middle and elementary school. “While studies in the 1970s documented LGBT people coming out, on average, in their early twenties, the latest research demonstrates that the average age has dropped to anywhere between 14 and 16,” BuzzFeed’s Shannon Keating writes .

Other estimates suggest that the average age is even lower than that—as young as 13. Parents might think kids “aren’t old enough” to get it, but if Riley Matthews were to come out, they would be more likely than ever to know a student like her. They might even be a kid like her.

Shows like ABC Family’s boundary-pushing drama The Fosters are already recognizing that reality. While previous storylines featuring queer teens—like Rickie Vasquez on My So-Called Life and Jack McPhee on Dawson’s Creek —centered on high school students, the show’s Jude and Connor were just 13 when they shared their first onscreen kiss . That might make the pair the youngest same-sex couple in television history, but for the teens watching, it wasn’t just groundbreaking. It was a chance for television to finally catch up to reality.

It’s incredibly exciting that Rowan Blanchard came out—and that the inspiring young actress will be putting pressure on Disney to have her character follow suit. But what’s most inspiring is that gay teens are doing the same every day, coming out on their Twitter and Facebook accounts to their friends and family.

Those courageous youth deserve to see a girl like them on every TV in America.

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What's in a Name

After ‘Frozen,’ a Baby Boomlet of Elsas

By Justin Wolfers

• July 2, 2015

For the first time in forever — or at least in over a century — Elsa has become a popular name in the United States.

There were more than a thousand baby Elsas born last year, making it the 286th most common girl’s name. The name had not cracked the top 500 since 1917. The timing of this Elsa boom aligns closely, of course, with the late-2013 release of the hit Disney movie “Frozen.”

Somewhat surprisingly, Elsa’s sister, Anna, the true heroine of that story, has not seen a similar surge in popularity. While Anna has always been a relatively popular name, the movie did not provide much of a boost, and her name rose one spot in the rankings last year, to become the 34th most common girl’s name.

If the popularity of these two names had remained frozen at their 2013 levels, we would be looking at 559 fewer Elsas and 215 fewer Annas in classrooms about five years from now.

This data comes from a complete count of the first names of newborns getting Social Security cards, a data set that has recently been updated to include the numbers for 2014 .

The male characters of “Frozen” all bear quite unusual names, but they’ve also all become more popular. Olaf, the lovable snowman who likes warm hugs , now has 22 baby namesakes, up from only nine the previous year. The rugged and roguish Kristoff shared a name with 32 baby boys last year, up from seven a year earlier.

And perhaps Kristoff was right to sing that reindeers are better than people , as the name he gave his trusty steed Sven has proved to be even more popular than his own, with 55 baby Svens born last year, up from 33 in 2013.

Even Oaken, the burly gay proprietor of the eponymous “ Wandering Oaken’s Trading Post and Sauna, ” has seen an uptick in popularity; the only two years in which at least five babies were given this name were 2013 and 2014.

Providing nearly unimpeachable proof that all publicity is good publicity, the evil Prince Hans has also found that his name is rising in popularity. Last year 132 baby boys were named Hans, up from 98 in 2013. (Parents, what were you thinking?)

Disney’s influence on naming patterns is not unique to “Frozen.” In each of the two years since the 2012 release of the film “Brave,” more than 100 baby girls have been called Merida, up from only a few in previous years.

By contrast, the movie “Cars” caused no observable boon in children called Lightning or Mater, although the entertainment business has proved successful at boosting even quite unusual names. In fact, 1943 — the year after Disney released “Bambi” — was the first year in American history in which at least five baby Bambis were born. (Bambi reached peak popularity in 1979 after the release of the song “ Who Killed Bambi? ” in a movie about the Sex Pistols, an influential punk rock band.)

In light of this data, it bears noting that Disney has recently released a new take on Cinderella .

While that name might strike you as an unlikely appellation for a modern American woman, Disney’s previous film of this fairy tale, released in 1950, is largely to blame for the fact that there are around 100 women in their mid-60s — who I like to imagine are trying hard to keep track of their shoes — named Cinderella.

Justin Wolfers is a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics and professor of economics and public policy at the University of Michigan. Follow him on Twitter at @justinwolfers

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Employment Discrimination: Researchers sent 80,000 fake résumés to some of the largest companies in the United States. They found that some discriminated against Black applicants much more than others .

Pandemic School Closures: ​A variety of data about children’s academic outcomes and about the spread of Covid-19 has accumulated since the start of the pandemic. Here is what we learned from it .

Affirmative Action: The Supreme Court effectively ended race-based preferences in admissions. But will selective schools still be able to achieve diverse student bodies? Here is how they might try .

N.Y.C. Neighborhoods: We asked New Yorkers to map their neighborhoods and to tell us what they call them . The result, while imperfect, is an extremely detailed map of the city .

Dialect Quiz:  What does the way you speak say about where you’re from? Answer these questions to find out .

10 LGBTQ Disney Characters Who Paved The Way For 'Lightyear's Hawthorne

Disney LGBTQ+ is sparse but it exists!

The evolution of LGBTQ+ Disney characters has always been agonizingly slow and unsteady. The company has taken baby steps over the years to start including queer representation in its films and TV shows, usually by allowing Pixar to keep the two moms hidden in the back or okaying the idea of LeFou being gay after all.

RELATED: 'Lightyear': Disney Restores Scrapped Gay Kiss Following Backlash

Whether it's two moms at the aquarium with Dory, a teenage coming out story on Disney Channel, or the blink-and-you'll-miss-it gay moment in Frozen, every one of these characters paved the way for Hawthorne, a queer character in Pixar's Lightyear who will have Disney's first-ever animated same-sex kiss.

Oaken And His Family ( Frozen, 2013)

When Anna and Kristoff meet Oaken at Wandering Oaken's Trading Post and Sauna, he says hi to his family who are in the sauna. The two-second-long scene shows another man surrounded by four children through the steamy window of the sauna.

While the Frozen filmmakers have never addressed this scene, it's an accurate assumption to assume the man in the sauna is Oaken's partner with their four children, thus becoming one of the earliest known queer characters in Disney history.

Susan And Cheryl ( Good Luck Charlie, 2014)

In a Season 4 episode of Disney Channel's Good Luck Charlie , a sitcom-esque misunderstanding occurs when Charlie's parents each interact with Charlie's friend's mom on separate occasions, just to inevitably find out that Charlie's friend has two moms.

The couple was Disney Channel's first clear shot at LGBTQ+ representation and was met with backlash from several parenting groups. The backlash didn't stop Disney for long, eventually showing two moms in the background of Pixar's Finding Dory in 2016, and another two moms at Bonnie's new school in Toy Story 4 in 2019.

Bucky And Pronk ( Zootopia, 2016)

While Bucky and Pronk aren't seen long in Zootopia , their legacy as a queer couple is long-lasting. The two male mammals are Judy Hopps' next-door neighbors who grunt and grumble over Judy's nonsense.

RELATED: 'Zootopia+,' a Short-Form Series From World of Animal-tastic Disney Movie, Reveals First Image

The characters were confirmed to be a married couple by the film's directors, Jared Bush and openly gay Byron Howard , who each lend their voices to Bucky and Pronk.

LeFou ( Beauty And The Beast, 2017)

While Gaston's right-hand man LeFou never came out in the 1990 animated version of Beauty and the Beast , in the 2017 live-action adaption, the character is all but confirmed to be LGBTQ. The film alludes on several occasions that LeFou is attracted to Gaston, and during the movie's final scene when the characters dance in the ballroom, LeFou is seen dancing with another man.

Not only were viewers left disappointed by the lackluster queer representation, but so was LeFou's portrayer Josh Gad , stating in an interview, "Frankly, I don’t think we did justice to what a real gay character in a Disney film should be."

Cyrus Goodman ( Andi Mack, 2019)

Andi Mack broke barriers by showcasing the first-ever coming-out storyline on Disney Channel. Cyrus Goodman was the first character to utter the words "I'm gay" before starting a relationship with another boy, going as far as holding hands to depict their feelings to the viewers.

While the show's storyline was met with a mixture of backlash and acclaim, it caused a surge in ratings and received praise from LGBTQ organizations GLAAD, PFLAG, and Stonewall.

Larma And Wrobie ( Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, 2019)

After three years of director J.J. Abrams teasing queer representation in the galaxy far, far away, fans finally got it in the form of a same-sex kiss between Larma and Wrobie in the background of a scene from 2019's Stars Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.

While Wrobie was not named in the film, she was given the name Wrobie Tyce in The Rise of Skywalker: The Visual Dictionary , where it's stated that she's the wife of Larma D'Acy.

Officer Specter ( Onward, 2020)

Pixar started including LGBTQ representation in their films in small doses as background characters with no lines. Officer Specter from 2020's Onward marks the first openly LGBTQ character in a Pixar film to utter a line.

RELATED: Ways 'Turning Red' Stands Out From Other Pixar Films (& One Way It Didn't Get To)

“My girlfriend’s daughter got me pulling my hair out," the female officer says, not-so-subtly hinting at her lesbian relationship to the viewers. The character is voiced by openly lesbian actress Lena Waithe , who was said to have improvised the queer line.

Artie ( Cruella, 2021)

In the 2020 live-action 101 Dalmatians spin-off titled Cruella , a character named Artie appears, owner of a vintage clothing shop and admirer of Cruella's fashion. The character was created specifically for the film, and seemingly for the sake of LGBTQ representation.

RELATED: Queer-Coded Villains in Movies Are a Problem. Why the Solution Can't Be Queer Erasure

Despite being played by an openly gay actor and the film heads confirming that Artie is indeed gay, the character never outright says so, leaving his queer-coded personality traits up to interpretation.

Phastos ( Eternals, 2021)

While Marvel is full of eccentric characters who fly, have super strength, and spidey senses, this cinematic universe never featured an openly LGBTQ superhero until its 2021 film Eternals. Phastos appears as an openly gay man with a husband and a son and has the first same-sex kiss in the MCU franchise.

RELATED: ‘Eternals’ Director Chloé Zhao on Having the First Love Scene and LGBTQ Relationship in the MCU

The only other hint at queer representation in the MCU was between Loki and Sylvie in the Disney+ series Loki, where the two allude to their bi-curious pasts while catching up with one another.

Cami Rivera ( Raven's Home, 2022)

It's been rare to see Disney Channel offer everyday queer representation that isn't the center of the story, but with Raven's Home , that's all changing. In the Season 5 episode titled "A Streetcar Named Conspire," the episode subtly threw in three nods to LGBTQ representation.

Aside from a pride sticker on the door of the nostalgic restaurant The Chill Grill to represent inclusion, there are also two queer characters featured in the episode. The first is a girl named Cami, who Booker's friends say only dates cool guys and girls, to which Neil responds, "There's a name for people like that... popular!" The other is the streetcar driver who briefly mentions the love of his life being a "him."

NEXT: Why Disney Is Failing At LGBTQ+ Representation

• View history

Oaken is the owner of Wandering Oaken's Trading Post and Sauna . In addition to operating the store, he also lives there with his family. [1]

• 1.1 Frozen summer
• 1.2 Christmas
• 1.3 Anna's birthday
• 2 Personality
• 3 Abilities
• 7 References

History [ ]

Frozen summer [ ].

Oaken was unsympathetic towards Kristoff 's lack of funds.

After Elsa cast an eternal winter over Arendelle, Oaken found himself needing to find a way to sell his summer wares. When Anna stumbled into his store, Oaken wasted no time in trying to pressure her to purchase his discounted summer goods, albeit good-naturedly. However, Anna asked instead for winter items, prompting Oaken to gesture to his poorly-stocked winter department, consisting of a winter dress, boots, a pickax, and some rope. As Anna headed over to fetch the dress and boots, she questioned Oaken about Elsa's whereabouts, though he claimed that only she was crazy enough to be out in the current weather.

At that moment, Kristoff entered the store, covered head-to-toe in snow. Amending his previous statement to include the ice harvester, Oaken attempted to coerce Kristoff into buying some summer products; however, the ice harvester was interested only in carrots, the pickax, and a length of rope. Cutting his losses, Oaken charged Kristoff for the items, but the ice harvester insisted on paying only a quarter of the price. Citing "supply and demand" problems, Oaken refused to lower his prices, despite Kristoff's insistence that his ice business was suffering due to the sudden winter as well.

Trying for a bargain, Oaken informed Kristoff that he would include a visit to the sauna if he paid the full price, waving to a family sitting inside as he did so. Desperate, Kristoff pleaded again for Oaken to lower the prices, but the store owner was not moved and told the ice harvester that his funds would only get him the carrots. Seething, Kristoff called Oaken a "crook"; riled at the insult, the store owner stood up to his full height of seven feet [2] and promptly threw the ice harvester from his establishment and into the snow outside.

Returning to Anna, Oaken returned to a cheery disposition and apologized for his violence, offering to add in a quart of lutefisk to Anna's order so that there were no hard feelings.

Christmas [ ]

During Arendelle's holiday celebrations, Oaken showed Olaf his family tradition. While inside the sauna, Olaf melted; Oaken resolved the problem by taking him outside, where he refroze. Oaken also gave Olaf a portable sauna for Elsa and Anna, and when Olaf asked if he could also have a tasteful traditional towel, Oaken happily gave him the one he was wearing.

Later, Oaken skated on a frozen lake alongside Anna and Elsa.

Anna's birthday [ ]

Oaken offered Elsa a cold remedy.

Months later, Oaken visited Arendelle , inhabiting a small shop called "Oaken's Cloakens". When he was visited by Elsa and Anna, he noticed Elsa's cold and offered her a cold remedy that he had made himself. Elsa politely rejected the offering, only for Anna to accept it.

Personality [ ]

Always looking to sell his goods, Oaken is enthusiastic and greets his customers by offering them deals on his products. However, the store owner's cheerful demeanor belies his intolerance towards difficult customers. When angered, he does not hesitate to use force, though he is quick to return to his jolly disposition.

Abilities [ ]

Oaken is incredibly strong, having had no trouble removing Kristoff, a strong man in his own right, from his store. He also threw Kristoff a considerable distance out into the snow without displaying any signs of strain.

Appearances [ ]

• Frozen: Book of the Film
• Olaf & Sven on Thin Ice
• A New Reindeer Friend
• Oaken's store is the only one for miles around, so the store owner never worries about competition. [1]
• Despite their dispute, Kristoff still delivered ice to Oaken's trading post. [3]
• Oaken makes a minor appearance in the fourth season of the ABC show, Once Upon a Time , and is portrayed by Darcey Johnson.
• Oaken comes from a long line of inventors. His great-uncle Jarl invented the Heifersling – a cow-carrying device. [4]
• Oaken used to think about becoming a designer before figuring out how much he loved taking care of people and making sure they could get what they needed from him for a fair price. [5]

Gallery [ ]

References [ ]

• ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Frozen: The Essential Guide , page 36.
• ↑ Lee, Jennifer (September 23, 2013). " Frozen Final Shooting Draft", page 42.
• ↑ Frozen: Stories from Arendelle , page 139.
• ↑ The Great Ice Engine , page 15 (E-book version) .
• ↑ Frozen II: Forest of Shadows , page 164
• 3 For the First Time in Forever

• International edition
• Australia edition
• Europe edition

Why don't we see LGBT parents portrayed in children's films?

I recently read a post on a Swedish parenting website from an irate mother complaining that, when she took her young son to see a children's film, an ad was shown featuring a gay couple telling each other: "I love you." Irate Mother says: "This is not something kids should be subjected to." I, on the other hand, am extremely grateful for the inclusive nature of Swedish advertising – thanks to it this boy now has some hope of growing up less bigoted than his mum. Sadly, however, he's unlikely to see any representations of LGBT relationships in the children's movies he watches.

The Disney Channel recently made headlines by featuring a lesbian family in kids' show Good Luck Charlie , but the closest Disney have got to an LGBT feature-film family is Frozen's brief cutaway to a father and kids in a sauna. In case you blinked and missed the tableau, this takes place at Wandering Oaken's Trading Post and Sauna. Many viewers feel it's implied that the sauna man is Oaken's gay partner , as Oaken calls, "Hello, family!" and waves at them. That's sweet, but surely it's time for some clear and open portrayals of LGBT parents in children's films, rather than ambiguous hints aimed at pacifying liberal-minded adults?

Last year I interviewed Kori Rae, Pixar producer and lesbian, and asked when we'll see a gay Pixar character. She replied: "The answer is, I don't know if there'll be a gay character. I hope so, I really hope we get to a place were we can do that."

With growing numbers of LGBT families across the world, aren't we are already at that place? The children interviewed for the Team Angelica short film Kids of Gay Parents Speak Out don't think their families are strange for being LGBT; but in order for other kids to realise that non-heteronormative families are as "normal" as any other, gay parents need to be given cultural and social visibility. Which means we need LGBT families to feature in ads, kids' books, Disney/Pixar movies – everywhere we see heterosexual parents.

When searching for gay parenting in kids' movies, I found the short film Family Restaurant , about a picky toothpick dispenser who thinks ketchup bottles shouldn't be allowed to date; he changes his tune after learning a valuable lesson from a little boy with two dads. It's a good film, but billed as "a media project for young children whose parents are lesbian or gay". I'm not saying these children don't need or deserve media made specifically for them, but it's straight parents and their children (like Irate Mother and son) who really need to see Family Restaurant. And they won't, because it's only shown at LGBT film festivals.

There is hope, however: Patrick Ness's Chaos Walking trilogy – featuring gay parents Ben and Cillian – is being adapted for the screen . Provided screenwriter Charlie Kaufman leaves the relationship intact, it looks like Hollywood will have its first family-film franchise featuring gay dads. Hopefully, this will prove we are in the right place for more LGBT representations in kids' movies, so that when Ellen DeGeneres stars in Finding Dory (Pixar's sequel to Finding Nemo, slated for release in 2016), maybe Dory will have a girlfriend? Or, at the very least, please can we have some gay seahorse parents as supporting characters? Flippers crossed.

• Film industry

More on this story

Frozen to become Disney ice-dancing show

Frozen-mania: how Elsa, Anna and Olaf conquered the world

Why Frozen's Let It Go is more than a Disney hit – it's an adolescent aperitif

Frozen: watch the trailer for Disney's new animated film - video

Frozen: a deleted scene from the Oscar-winning Disney animation – video

Frozen: parental panic as unexpected Disney hit leads to merchandise sellout

Frozen: the prim princess in an orgy of box office odd.

'God' is banned from Disney films, say Frozen songwriters

Animated 'message' movies strike box-office gold

Frozen wins best animated film Oscar

Comments (…), most viewed.

• Once Upon a Time locations
• Disney Magic Kingdoms
• Português do Brasil

Wandering Oaken's Trading Post and Sauna

• View history

Wandering Oaken's Trading Post and Sauna is a shop in the film Frozen . It is here where Anna goes to get winter clothing and meets Kristoff . It is owned by Oaken .

• 2.2 Frozen II
• 2.3 Olaf's Frozen Adventure
• 2.4 Once Upon a Snowman
• 5 External links

Background [ ]

The trading post is a little log cabin located in the mountains. There are two signs that say "Wandering Oaken's Trading Post" and "And Sauna."

Appearances [ ]

As Anna journeys out in the mountains searching for Elsa , she finds the trading post and goes inside to buy some comfortable winter clothing. Inside, Kristoff enters and the two eventually meet. The seemingly happy and calm Oaken is angered at Kristoff after he calls him a "crook," and kicks Kristoff out of the store before returning to his usual self. Anna then gets the idea to have him guide her to the North Mountain in finding Elsa .

Frozen II [ ]

The trading post appears in a flashblack scene of events from the first film during the song " Lost In The Woods ". In the flashback part of the song, Kristoff sings about his love for Anna and questions who he would truly be if he wasn't meant for her by asking himself, "Who am I, if I'm not your guy?".

Olaf's Frozen Adventure [ ]

The trading post is the last place Olaf visits after gathering holiday traditions from all of the Arendellian citizens. Oaken invites Olaf to join his and his family's holiday tradition, which is relaxing in the sauna. As keepsakes, Oaken gives Olaf a sauna and his own festive waist towel.

Once Upon a Snowman [ ]

Taking place during the events of Frozen , the evening following his coming to life, Olaf approaches Wandering Oaken's. Once he gets to the door, Anna opens it, hitting Olaf and all without noticing him. Olaf walks inside and approaches Oaken, who does not appear shocked by the sight of a living snowman. Olaf notices his lack of a nose, and asks Oaken if he has any carrots. Oaken explains that he is out of carrots, so he gives Olaf various objects to try for his nose, including a stereoscope with images of summertime. Taking notice of Olaf's fascination with summer, Oaken offers him a summer sausage for his nose.

Gallery [ ]

• There is a plush Mickey Mouse on one of the shelves in Wandering Oaken's Trading Post and Sauna.
• It's unknown as to how Anna paid for the items she bought, since it's unlikely that she had carried money with her. However, it's possible that she sold off her green dress to pay for the items she bought, which is supported by the fact that her ballroom dress hasn't been seen since. She may also have sold her greenish-gold pendant that has the Arendelle 's symbol, which is expensive because it's a jewelry worn by a princess. Another possibility is that she promised that she would pay for everything, supported by the fact that she likely didn't bring any money to pay for even the winter gear. Or, she could have told him she was the Arendelle princess and convinced Oaken that Elsa would reimburse him later, and barring that, it's entirely possible Anna did suggest Oaken send a messenger down to Arendelle to collect money. In Once Upon a Snowman , it is shown that Anna did in fact pay with her dress.
• There are carved trolls on the front porch, like the ones in the film.
• The shop has a smaller counterpart named "Oaken's Cloakens" in the Arendelle village. The smaller shop appeared in Frozen Fever .
• Olaf mentions the fact about the anagram to Oaken himself in Once Upon a Snowman .

External links [ ]

• 1 Lyn Rakish
• 2 Johnny Worthington III
• 3 Randall Boggs

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Five Details You May Have Missed During Olaf’s “Once Upon A Snowman” Short

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Five Details You May Have Missed During Olaf's "Once Upon A Snowman" Short

The FCU (Frozen Cinematic Universe) keeps expanding, and we’re here for it. In the Disney+ exclusive short, Once Upon A Snowman ,  we get to see the untold story of Olaf’s search for a nose and a name. The short cleverly interweaves around the events of 2013’s Frozen , from when Elsa creates our favorite snowman, to him meeting up with Anna, Kristoff, and Sven in the Winter Wonderland ( one of Josh Gad’s favorite visuals from the film ).

We watched the short a few times and picked up on these five hidden details that we felt were worth sharing! Let us know if you found any more by leaving a comment below! …and CAUTION: MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD!

Table of Contents

Recycled Animation

Clips from the original Frozen aren’t the only form of recycled animation we see in this short film. As Oaken shows Olaf scenes of summer in the stereoscope, we see flashes of the obvious callbacks to the gazebo, bees, and the picnic scene from In Summer – but there are a few other slides that you may have seen before if you’re a fan of Disney animation.

The first is a lush hillside meadow – it’s the same one that Rapunzel rolls down shouting “I am never going back!” in 2010’s Tangled .

If you’ve been paying attention to the FCU, you’ll know that Rapunzel and Flynn already make an appearance in Arendelle,  towards the end of the original Frozen , during the reprise of For The First Time In Forever .

There’s one more slide that also should trigger a memory for you: the mountains and beaches that we see flash by are those of Montuniu, the island featured in 2016’s Moana .

Coronation Dress

We all remember Anna’s big wardrobe change in the original film, swapping her rosemåling accented dress for a more winter-appropriate one at Oaken’s, but did you ever wonder what happened to that coronation day dress? Now we know! After swatting off the ice and snow, Oaken proudly displays the dress for sale as part of his “big summer blowout” – only 55 kroner (about $200 USD given inflation and conversion rates)!

Anna Be Shoppin’!

Take a look at the clock on the wall behind Oaken in both Frozen , and Once Upon A Snowman , and we find that Anna spends a whopping 8 minutes shopping for supplies (or is it 1 hour and 8 minutes? We honestly don’t know how to read that fancy-schmancy clock 😂 ).

Anagram Fun

In this short, we learn that there’s more to the Wandering Oaken ‘s name than we once first thought. Although Olaf is admittedly illiterate, he somehow figures out that if you scramble up the letters of “ Wandering Oaken’s” , you can spell “ Naked Norwegians”! 

This fact doesn’t actually surprise us since we know that Oaken’s Trading Post actually includes a sauna. Fans of the Broadway version of Frozen will also recall the memorable new song,  Hygge , in which a slew of tastefully nude Norwegians form an awkward kickline. You can read more about that new song in our review of Frozen The Musical . Though it is no longer playing on Broadway, it is still running in international and touring versions .

Skill, Flaw, or Hidden Mickey?

Keep an eye peeled for Olaf’s parts forming a near-perfect Hidden Mickey as tumbles down the mountain, questioning if his wildly detachable limbs are a skill or a flaw.

In true Disney film fashion, we get a quick post-credits stinger too. Don’t forget to stick around to find out if Olaf has finally answered that age-old question, “Is this a skill or a flaw?”

Did you also spot these details? Know of any others that we’d enjoy? Let us know in the comments below or feel free to contact us ! If you liked this post, check out more Frozen details in Our Favorite Easter Eggs From Frozen 2 .

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Attraction Reviews: Frozen Ever After and Wandering Oaken’s Sliding Sleighs at Hong Kong Disneyland

Yesterday, I had the great fortune to preview the new World of Frozen land coming to Hong Kong Disneyland. In addition to getting to check out the food , merchandise , and more of what  the Arendelle area had to offer , the highlight was always going to be the attractions. World of Frozen is home to two rides: Frozen Ever After and Wandering Oaken’s Sliding Sleighs.

So, now that I’ve had a chance to experience both, what are my thoughts on the rides? I’m glad you asked.

Frozen Ever After

We’ll start with the attraction that many Disney fans already have some familiarity with: Frozen Ever After. As you might expect, this new version of the EPCOT ride (which utilized the previous Maelstrom layout) bears a strong resemblance to the domestic attraction. However, there are some subtle differences.

For one, the track layout and the placement of some show scenes is slightly different. Most notably, the track switches move in the opposite direction of the Maelstrom’s. Of course, another notable change is that Olaf speaks Cantonese in addition to English. Comparing videos of the two, Hong Kong’s show scenes also seem to have more lighting.

However, easily the biggest difference between the Hong Kong Disneyland Frozen Ever After and the EPCOT original is the upgrade to the Audio-Animatronics. While the latter’s characters are presented with projection-based faces, the new version features characters in an AA form that feels more familiar and classic. To me, this is a huge improvement as the projection faces in Frozen Ever After never worked for me. While I could appreciate what they were attempting, the mismatched skin tone and odd glow were always a drawback for me. In turn, I doubt I’m alone in hoping that these new AAs make their way to Walt Disney World eventually.

Overall, Frozen Ever After is a nice addition to Hong Kong Disneyland and a perfectly logical choice for the land. While it is a bit weird to clone a ride that was shoehorned into a previous attraction, the truth is that the ride does have a nice mix of family-friendly dark ride with just a bit of thrill thanks to the drop. Plus, the updated Audio-Animatronics make this one a win for me.

Wandering Oaken’s Sliding Sleighs

When Wandering Oaken’s Sliding Sleighs was announced, it seemed just about everyone assumed that it would be a Frozen version of the uber-popular Seven Dwarfs Mine Train at Magic Kingdom. Alas, that is far from the case. Instead, the ride is more akin to the likes of Chip 'n' Dale's GADGETcoaster at Disneyland — although the intensity is definitely ratcheted up.

I’ll admit that I initially wasn’t sure I’d want to partake in this ride seeing as my thrill tolerance has decreased over the years (and was never very high to begin with). However, when my wife’s ride vehicle entered the station shortly after departure, I had my first clue that this ride wasn’t quite what I was thinking. Watching the GoPro video she took of the experience confirmed that, from dispatch to return, the entire experience was less than a minute. In other words, it was something I should totally be able to handle. Sure enough, I did end up taking a ride and was absolutely fine.

What’s kind of funny about the attraction is that, as it turns out, you can see most of it from the exterior. Sadly, there aren’t any major dark ride portions hiding inside — just a short segment in the beginning where we see Olaf powering the ride by dangling a carrot on a string in front of Sven. Other than that, it’s just a quick coaster.

In terms of what that coaster experience is like, the turns and their force reminded me most of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. To my mind, there were two “intense” parts of the journey while some short dips and lesser turns fleshed out what there was of the track. Also, contrary to the name, the sleighs don’t really slide, which is to say that there’s no side-to-side motion as you get with Mine Train.

Thematically, Wandering Oaken’s Sliding Sleighs is a win. The queue has some fun touches while the Cast is amazing — constantly putting their hands together and saying “hoo-hoo” like Oaken himself. Unfortunately, though, I have to believe that this ride will prove to be a letdown for many. While I viewed the short duration as merciful, depending on how wait times look for the ride, I can imagine guests feeling underwhelmed. So, although the ride looks great in the land and is fun to watch from across the water, one can’t help but wish they did more with the concept.

For more from World of Frozen, be sure to check out our tag page .

So, how ga​y is Disney’s Frozen ?

So basically everyone loves Frozen except me. I’m fine with that. I’m not a fan , but I don’t dislike it; parts of it I like very much, though other elements I found disappointing and off-putting. I’ve watched it twice now, and both times I enjoyed enough things about it to be frustrated by the elements that ultimately keep me from embracing it.

I’m not surprised that it’s such a huge hit. I am a little surprised at the sustained effort of Christian fans to spin Frozen as some sort of Christian allegory (more on this in an upcoming post).

For now, though, I want to address something I noted in passing in my review: the question of gay-culture themes in Frozen .

In my review I mentioned this issue (also noted in positive reviews by other critics ) largely to dismiss it as a point of concern — not that I wasn’t aware of the themes in question, so much as that I didn’t think they warranted getting upset over. However, a point I overlooked earlier has just been brought to my attention that I think does warrant mention.

First, let’s get the broad themes out on the table.

• With her ice powers, Elsa is notably different from other people. “Born this way or cursed?” asks the troll king, and her parents confirm that she was born that way.
• Nevertheless, her difference is an occasion of fear and secrecy. Misguidedly, her parents teach her to “conceal it, don’t feel it.” This repression of her true nature leads to isolation, anxiety and finally a meltdown at Elsa’s coronation, at which she inadvertently outs herself, revealing her ice powers for all to see.
• Regarded with fear and revulsion by others, Elsa defies the society that has rejected her as well as the unjust strictures placed on her by her parents, celebrating her acceptance of her true identity in the power ballad “Let it Go.” No more “Be the good girl you always have to be” for her; now her mantra is: “Let the storm rage on / The cold never bothered me anyway.”
• It’s worth noting that Elsa at no time shares her sister Anna’s romantic longings, nor does she show any interest in a male suitor or in being courted. (At one point a male character remarks that, as heir, Elsa would be preferable to Anna, but “no one was getting anywhere with her .”)
• Oh, and viewers who stayed through the end credits were treated to a parting gag in which Elsa’s giant, male-voiced snow monster, wandering through her abandoned ice palace, picks up her abandoned tiara and places it daintily on its own head, smiling as it discovers its true inner princess.

On another side note, there’s a double entendre about another type of relationship that is said to be “outside of nature’s laws”: The trolls, singing about Kristoff in the the “Fixer-Upper” song, suggest that he has an unnatural relationship with his reindeer Sven:

So he’s a bit of a fixer-upper So he’s got a few flaws. Like his peculiar brain, dear His thing with the reindeer That’s a little outside of nature’s laws!

Yes: a bestiality joke in a Disney cartoon.

All of this seems to me a) clearly if subtly expressive of a pro-gay culture at Disney, and b) not that big a deal, inasmuch as the themes are subtle and ambiguous enough not pose either a significant annoyance to even savvy parents or a corrupting influence on children. (I would not say that of the pro-gay themes in the likes of Madagascar 2 or the Happy Feet movies ; those are in a different category, and I do object to them. With Frozen , I’m more concerned about issues like Squelched Girl Syndrome and the subverting, in very different ways, of the two leading men.)

However, there’s another pro-gay element in Frozen worth noting that I originally missed: a fleeting but definite suggestion that a minor character has a family consisting of a same-sex partner and a bunch of children.

This was brought to my attention by an interesting article at PolicyMic.com called “ 7 Moments that Make Frozen the Most Progressive Disney Movie Ever .” The article offers a blend of insightful observations, obvious ones, and, for me, one eye-opener:

5. Oaken’s gay family Hey, did you notice the gay character? I didn’t either, until I went to see the film a second time. It turns out that giant man in “Wandering Oaken’s Trading Post and Sauna” is probably gay. When he throws in the sauna package for Kristoff, he turns to say “Hello, family!” and BAM! there they are. The adult in the sauna is clearly implied to be his husband. Best yet, Oaken and his partner have a family — and it’s not even a thing. In the few minutes that he’s on screen, Disney manages to make a compelling character of Oaken…

Take a close look at the image.

Is there plausible deniability? Sure.

The adult male in the sauna, with his slim jaw and lack of facial hair, looks markedly younger than the mountain-sized, hirsute Oaken, and could be his oldest son. Next to him is a young woman who, given the conventions of animation, could be could be Oaken’s daughter or his wife — or, heck, the wife of the other guy, who could also be Oaken’s younger brother). It’s even possible that the family isn’t Oaken’s family at all; “Hoo hoo! Hi family!” could mean “Hi, random visiting family of customers.”

On the other hand…

• What’s the moment doing in the film at all? Why make a point of having Oaken call “Hoo hoo! Hi family!” and fleetingly show the family in the sauna? At the very least, the moment and the line seems intended to suggest that they are, or at least could be, Oaken’s own family.
• Why is the young man centrally positioned, with all the other figures around him? The framing of the shot, and his huge size, seems to suggest that he’s a father figure, not just an older brother.
• How often do we see such a large family in a Disney movie? Why so many, if not visual misdirection to slip the moment past most viewers?

It seems plausible the filmmakers have thrown this moment in to allow sharp-eyed homophile viewers to draw their own conclusions about just what sort of “family” this is.

And we’re going to be seeing more and more of this sort of thing in the future. Here’s why.

From the perspective of Hollywood filmmakers, while it’s not yet possible for a mainstream family film to have overtly gay characters or themes, the heteronormativity of traditional children’s entertainment has been problematized.

In Obama’s post-evolutionary America, the assumption that every protagonist in every cartoon is by default heterosexual — that every heroine gets her prince, every hero gets the girl — is no more acceptable than it would be for every protagonist to be white, or male. How are children with two mommies or two daddies meant to feel when every family in every cartoon looks like their friends’ families and not like theirs?

Yet obviously the Disney version of The Prince and the Prince is a long way off yet. The revolution is still in the early stages. Gay families and their allies must take their consolations where they can find them, and content themselves for the most part with winks and nods, hints and subtexts.

Admittedly, this may sometimes mean running the risk of overly creative interpretations and appropriations of characters and themes (a bit like Christians in the post-Christian era over-eagerly latching onto “Christ figures” anywhere they can find them) on the basis of slender evidence or even pretexts. Tinky-Winky! The Cowardly Lion! Bert and Ernie!

But it also means Hollywood filmmakers really want to throw in those winks and nods when they can. They feel good about themselves when they do, and it’s something they can talk about at parties.

It’s the civil rights issue of our time! And if you aren’t part of the solution, you’re part of the problem. If you’re making a family film and you aren’t doing something to undermine the heteronormative establishment, then by default you’re reinforcing it.

That’s why Oaken has the family he does, and makes a point of calling out to them.

And yet, in this case the filmmakers have walked that line really well: so well that the pro-gay themes have gone right over the heads of countless adult Christian viewers, many of whom have embraced Frozen as resonating powerfully with Christian themes.

I disagree. Read more…

So, how gay is How to Train Your Dragon ?

“ How to Train Your Dragon ’s Gobber the Belch Comes Out As Gay,” headlines screamed in the weeks prior to the release of DreamWorks’ animated sequel How to Train Your Dragon 2 .

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• Hong Kong Disneyland / News

Imagineering Gives A First Look At The Wandering Oaken’s Sliding Sleighs Queue

by Justin Hermes · June 30, 2023

We are getting closer and closer to the official opening of the World of Frozen at Hong Kong Disneyland!

Disney’s first land dedicated solely to Frozen will transport guests to the kingdom of Arendelle, where Anna and Elsa are holding a Summer Snow Day!

Photo: Disney

When the World of Frozen opens in November, the land will feature two new Frozen attractions. The highlight will be the first-ever Frozen roller coaster, Wandering Oaken’s Sliding Sleighs !

Wandering Oaken’s Sliding Sleighs

The new coaster was built by Oaken himself for the Summer Snow Day. With Olaf and Sven helping to pull the coaster up the lift, visitors to Arendelle will traverse the kingdom’s natural landscapes in style!

Photo: Also Disney

While we are still a few months away from the opening of Wandering Oaken’s Sliding Sleighs, in a new Instagram video, Alfred Lee, the attraction’s creative designer, gave fans a sneak peek at the ride’s queue!

First Look At The Queue

While waiting to board the coaster, guests enter Wandering Oaken’s Trading Post and Sauna.

Here, they can find sketches for the coaster on Oaken’s desk!

Nearby, a totem pole of Frozen trolls can be found, as can a statue of Olaf and Sven!

Just like in EPCOT’s Frozen Ever After, guests will actually be able to see Oaken himself in the queue. The jovial entrepreneur can be seen peering out from his sauna!

While we have yet to see what the Wandering Oaken’s Sliding Sleighs attraction itself looks like, based on the level of details in the queue, I am excited!

See The Full Tour

            View this post on Instagram                         A post shared by Walt Disney Imagineering (@waltdisneyimagineering)

As always, be sure to check back with MickeyBlog. We will continue to bring you updates on all of the news surrounding the World of Frozen at Hong Kong Disneyland!

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First Look at Oaken's OK Foods in Fantasy Springs in Tokyo DisneySea

T okyo Disney Resort shared a first look at the quick-service Oaken’s OK Foods kiosk in the Frozen Kingdom area of Fantasy Springs, which opens at Tokyo DisneySea this summer.

Oaken’s OK Foods

The kiosk is inspired by Wandering Oaken’s Trading Post. Oaken has ostensibly opened the kiosk as a branch of his retail shop. It has large wooden columns descending from a mossy slanted roof.

Oaken is pictured on the sign.

Behind the counter are various carvings and kitchen supplies one might see at Wandering Oaken’s Trading Post, too.

Oaken’s OK Foods will serve Oaken’s Yoo-Hoo Bread, a variation on the cardamom roll with Scandinavian-style spiced meat and lingonberry jam.

Frozen Kingdom will also be home to the Royal Banquet of Arendelle restaurant inside Arendelle Castle .

Fantasy Springs opens on June 6, 2024.

For the latest Disney Parks news and info, follow WDW News Today on  Twitter ,  Facebook , and  Instagram .

The post First Look at Oaken’s OK Foods in Fantasy Springs in Tokyo DisneySea appeared first on WDW News Today .

Tokyo Disney Resort

The Ultimate Guide to Fantasy Springs

by Andi Sakowski , Communications Manager, Disney Experiences

While we wait in anticipation for the opening of Fantasy Springs at Tokyo DisneySea on June 6, we’ve put our excitement into writing a complete guide just for you that includes where to eat, shop, and ride.  It’s your official Fantasy Springs list to plan the ultimate visit!

• Attractions
• Merchandise

Where can you find everything in Fantasy Springs?

Fantasy Springs is located between the Arabian Coast and Lost River Delta in Tokyo DisneySea! This eighth port is themed to a magical spring leading to a world of fantasy and consists of three areas: Frozen Kingdom, Rapunzel’s Forest, Peter Pan’s Never Land, inspired by the Walt Disney Animation Studios films “Frozen,” “Tangled” and “Peter Pan.” The biggest land expansion yet at Tokyo Disney Resort, it’s home to four new attractions, three quick service dining locations, a merchandise shop and a new hotel.

Does Fantasy Springs have its own Hotel?

Yes! Tokyo DisneySea Fantasy Springs Hotel is the resort’s newest park-integrated hotel located inside Fantasy Springs and offers guests with park tickets access to Tokyo DisneySea through Fantasy Springs.

What attractions can you ride at Fantasy Springs?

Anna and Elsa’s Frozen Journey

Set out on a voyage by boat on Anna and Elsa’s Frozen Journey located in Frozen Kingdom! This family-friendly attraction features the heartwarming tale of two sisters from childhood memories with Grand Pabbie to Anna turning to ice to save Elsa. The adventure is accompanied by songs from the film including, “Do You Want to Build a Snowman?,” “For the First Time in Forever,” “Love Is an Open Door” and “Let It Go.”

Rapunzel’s Lantern Festival

For the first time ever, be transported to where the glowing lanterns gleam on Rapunzel’s Lantern Festival over in Rapunzel’s Forest. This romantic gondola journey retells the tale of Disney Animation’s “Tangled,” from Rapunzel’s tower to the moment we’ve all been waiting for, watching the sky envelope with countless lanterns to the tune of “I See the Light.”

Peter Pan’s Never Land Adventure

An all-new adventure, this 3D escapade joins Peter Pan, Tinker Bell and the Lost Kids as they rescue John from Captain Hook and his band of pirates.

Fairy Tinker Bell’s Busy Buggies

Shrink down to the size of a fairy and board a busy buggie to help Tinker Bell deliver packages throughout the changing seasons of Pixie Hollow. This attraction is perfect for those of all ages!

Where to eat at Fantasy Springs?

Royal Banquet of Arendelle

For the first time in forever, Anna and Elsa have opened the gates of Arendelle Castle to dine inside! Immerse yourself in the world of “Frozen” and discover eats like “Arendelle’s Royal Set.”

Oaken’s OK Foods

Oaken, the shop keeper of Wandering Oaken’s Trading Post and Sauna, has opened his doors to the hungry visitors of Frozen Kingdom! The perfect spot to grab a quick snack, you’ll find his signature offering, “Oaken’s Yoo-Hoo Bread,” here.

The Snuggly Duckling

Hidden among the foliage of a massive tree that’s partially growing into the building, dine among the happily-ever-after story of the tavern’s ruffians and paintings created by Rapunzel herself. Here you can find a variety of offerings from savory dishes such as “Duckling’s Dream Cheeseburger” and those on the sweeter side like the “Sweet Ever After Dessert.”

Lookout Cookout

The hideout of the Lost Kids, Lookout Cookout in Peter Pan’s Never Land was made from parts of a shipwreck that had washed ashore. Not only will you find menu items inspired by the Lost Kids, keep an eye out for what they’ve left around such as pajamas and hammocks.

Popcorn Wagon

No trip to Tokyo Disney Resort is complete without trying as many popcorn flavors as possible! You won’t want to miss the ALL-NEW roast beef popcorn flavor found only in Fantasy Springs.

Where can you find “Frozen,” “Tangled” and “Peter Pan”-themed merchandise at Fantasy Springs?

Fantasy Springs Gifts

Located inside the lower level of Fantasy Springs Hotel and only accessible from Fantasy Springs, this shop is where you find “Frozen,” “Tangled” and “Peter Pan”-themed merchandise! You can even find collections themed to the world of Fantasy Springs here.

Springs Treasures

This wagon-style kiosk is located outside the port along the pathway leading from Arabian Coast to Fantasy Springs. Offering a variety of merchandise, this is the perfect spot to stop before or after visiting Fantasy Springs!

For a look at exclusive Fantasy Springs merch, visit our merchandise guide .

We’re watching the hours tick by, a little under a month to be exact, for the opening of Fantasy Springs. Stay tuned as we share everything you need to know, reporting directly from Tokyo Disney Resort!

Destinations: Tokyo Disney Resort , Disney Sea

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Disneyland's $2 billion reno: Here's what new rides and lands may be coming

Disneyland is getting ready for its biggest redesign of the Southern California theme park in three decades.

The multidecade project will cost Disney $1.9 billion over its first 10 years. It would add new attractions, restaurants, shops and hotels without expanding its existing footprint.

And a new third park could be built west of the two existing parks. It's described in plan documents as a "possible immersive theme park."

With this project, known as DisneylandForward, Disney aims to expand the offerings at Disneyland Park and Disney’s California Adventure in Anaheim without the need for more land than they already have approved for development.

If you're planning a visit to Disneyland, here's where you can fly for cheap in May 2024 , including Southern California airports. Also, learn how Glendale, AZ's upcoming VAI Resort is aiming to compete to attract families.

What is the Disney Forward project?

Disneyland has proposed a plan that would lead to at least $1.9 billion in new rides, hotels, restaurants and shops on land Disney already owns, such as land adjacent to parking lots. Development would take "years and decades," according to Anaheim officials.

The plan also proposes new theme park attractions alongside existing hotels on land west of Disneyland Park and Disney's California Adventure (land referred to in documents as a "possible immersive theme park") and new attractions alongside hotels, restaurants and shops on the southeast corner of Katella Avenue and Harbor Boulevard, where a parking area exists today.

The DisneylandForward project does not encompass new acreage, square footage or hotel rooms; what it does is shift already-approved development amounts across Disney’s existing land.

The goal is to expand the resort's offerings on its limited space without closing existing attractions or encroaching on staging and support areas for cast members.

Disneyland Resort covers about 500 acres. In contrast, Walt Disney World Resort in central Florida covers more than 43 square miles (that's more than 27,500 acres).

Disneyland Resort President Ken Potrock told the Anaheim City Council at a recent meeting that the plan will contribute to “an immensely bright future for both the resort and the city of Anaheim.”

“Guests today want more immersive and integrated experiences, like the popular Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge right here in Anaheim,” he said. “We are ready to bring the next level of immersive entertainment here to Anaheim, where lands, attractions, retail, dining, entertainment and lodging are no longer separated, but can be integrated together in very exciting ways.”

Did DisneylandForward get approved?

Yes. The Anaheim City Council unanimously gave final approval to the plan at its meeting on Tuesday, May 7.

Disneyland's economic impact on Southern California

Disneyland is a major contributor to Southern California’s tourism economy.

A study last year from Cal State Fullerton’s Woods Center for Economic Analysis and Forecasting showed Disneyland had a total economic impact of $8.5 billion in Southern California in 2018 and generated more than 78,000 jobs, mostly in Orange County. The report showed Disneyland's annual job growth rate of 7.2% since 2013 was more than triple the 2.3% growth in Southern California.

Disney commissioned the Woods Center to provide an economic analysis of DisneylandForward. Its director, Anil Puri, projected that a $1 billion expansion of Disneyland could lead to nearly 2,300 new jobs at the theme park and generate more than $15 million in annual taxes and $253 million in economic impact. He based his estimates on private data and information Disney provided.

What Disney is proposing now is nearly twice what Puri forecasted, suggesting greater benefits for Anaheim's and California's economies. He told The Arizona Republic that Disneyland remains an economic powerhouse because of its appeal to people who live outside of California, from Arizonans to international travelers.

"Its expansion is very important and significant for the city of Anaheim, Orange County and the Southwest U.S. in general," Puri said.

"Snowbirds come down to Arizona, go to the Grand Canyon, and then they'll go to Disneyland, Hollywood and maybe Dodger Stadium. People are spending more and more of their discretionary dollars on these activities, entertainment and vacations. Going forward, this will be very meaningful for the region and for Disneyland, of course.”

What is the 10-year plan for Disneyland?

So far, no new rides have been confirmed as part of the DisneylandForward project. But plans raise several possibilities to develop new themed lands and attractions inspired by lands and attractions at other Disney parks. These include:

• An Avatar themed land , which Potrock said “is at the top of the list for Disneyland Resort.” It would be inspired by Pandora – The World of Avatar, which opened at Disney’s Animal Kingdom at Disney World in 2017 and won rave reviews in part for its Avatar Flight of Passage attraction, where guests can ride a banshee on a 3-D flight over Pandora. The Avatar land at Disney World was so popular that Animal Kingdom went from being Disney World’s fourth-most visited park before its opening to its second-most visited park each year from 2017 to 2020, with visits peaking around 14 million in 2019, according to the Themed Entertainment Association.
• A Frozen themed land inspired by the World of Frozen at Hong Kong Disneyland. The land is designed to resemble Arendelle, the home of the film’s main characters Anna and Elsa, and features Frozen Ever After, a ride that takes guests through Elsa’s ice palace, and Wandering Oaken’s Sliding Sleighs, a family-friendly roller coaster.
• A Zootopia themed land inspired by Zootopia at Shanghai Disneyland. The land immerses visitors in the titular place populated by animals in the 2016 film, with attractions that include Zootopia: Hot Pursuit, where guests can join the rabbit Judy and the fox Nick on a chase in one of their police cruisers.

Potrock also told Anaheim officials that he envisions redesigning and expanding existing lands to improve their experiences, such as Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, Avengers Campus and Cars Land.

Any new projects would need to undergo city planning review. On average, it takes about three to five years for Disney's theme park projects to come to fruition, Potrock said.

It’s possible that Disney could confirm new attractions at the D23 Expo, Disney’s annual fan event, scheduled for Aug. 9-11 in Anaheim. D23 is where staff announced Disneyland attractions such as an upcoming “epic family adventure” at Avengers Campus where guests can team up with the Avengers to battle villains from the multiverse, and reimagining Pacific Wharf at Disney’s California Adventure as San Fransokyo Square from “Big Hero 6,” which opened last summer; and the Paradise Pier Hotel as Pixar Place Hotel , which opened in January.

What Disneyland rides will be closed?

No rides are expected to permanently close as part of DisneylandForward, though some attractions will close temporarily to make way for renovation and construction work. Visitors can find out what’s closed by checking Disneyland's daily schedule at disneyland.disney.go.com .

According to the website, these attractions are closed as of early May:

• Disneyland Park: Pooh Corner, The Briar Patch, Haunted Mansion, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh and The Disneyland Story presenting Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln.
• Disney’s California Adventure: Cocina Cucamonga Mexican Grill, Redwood Creek Challenge Trail, The Bakery Tour.

Michael Salerno is an award-winning journalist who’s covered travel and tourism since 2014. His work as The Arizona Republic’s consumer travel reporter aims to help readers navigate the stresses of traveling and get the best value for their money on their vacations. He can be reached at  [email protected] . Follow him on X, formerly Twitter:  @salerno_phx .

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