- For legal reasons
and so Mickey Mouse doesn't blow off my kneecaps,
the following video is a joke.
I make absolutely no apologies for what you're about to see.
So, enjoy.
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Hello and welcome, everyone,
to this incredible opening ceremony
of the Disney First Gay Character Olympics.
It is truly an honour to be here
and to witness this coming together
of such iconic figures in cinematic history.
We've reached the athlete parade portion of this evening,
which, I don't know about you, Mickey,
but it's my favourite part of the whole games.
- Absolutely, Minnie.
This is what these games are all about.
Seeing them all here together,
it really cements just how far we've come.
- And how far we still have to go.
(both laugh)
- Oh, and here, look.
It looks like our first characters are coming out
to start the parade.
Now, this year, they're coming out in chronological order.
Is that right?
- Yes, it is, so you'll have to wait
to see the latest first gay character.
I know you're keen to get a glimpse
of the hugely effete, very camp,
and very funny new character from 2021's Jungle Cruise,
but you'll just have to wait.
Now, these first characters
that we can see coming out now aren't actually competitors.
- Oh, you are right!
- No, they didn't technically qualify.
These are our queer-coded characters.
- Whoa.
That is incredible.
The veterans, they really pioneered these games.
We truly have them to thank for being here tonight.
Even though they might not be competing,
it is such a display of sportsmanship
from our host nation of Tokyo Disney World
to have them lead the parade today.
- It's wall-to-wall queer-coded villains down there.
Leading the pack is Ursula the Sea Witch.
- An icon, of course.
Based her own look and vibe off the drag queen, Divine.
An absolutely classic example
of the kind of queer-coded character
we hoped to see in this veteran section.
- Oh, I see Hades.
- Flaming as always.
- And Scar is here, too.
He's waving to the crowd in his signature bent-wrist,
one claw-toe at a time,
and they are loving it.
- And along side him of course, Ratcliffe.
In a glittering golden cloak carrying his little dog, Percy.
- Now for everyone at home,
if you haven't seen the Instagram account
that Ratcliffe has made for Percy you are missing out.
- A highlight from this year for me.
It is so adorable.
- And speaking of adorable.
- Oh my goodness,
I almost didn't see them behind this main pack of villains
but that is those two lesbian geese from The AristoCats.
- Twin sisters, Abigail and Amelia.
Two cottage core lesbians if I saw them.
Lovely inclusion.
- And is that?
Yes, I think it is.
What a treat for everyone here tonight.
From the 2002 direct to video sequel
to Hunchback of Notre Dame
it is the classic tale of gargoyle meets goat.
Hugo and Charlie.
- Hm, and look they're doing their signature move.
Hugo is giving Charlie a flower and yes,
Charlie is eating it out of his hand
and giving him a big lick to the face in return.
Both of them batting their eyelashes
and swooning over each other.
The crowd is loving that and so are we.
- Oh, oh, here's our first of the competing athletes.
- Fresh from 2013's smash hit Frozen,
and their family run business in the snowy mountains,
it's Oaken and his ambiguous family members
waving from the sauna in that one frame of the movie.
- Is that his husband?
His brother?
His cousin?
His son?
- We'll never know.
- We never will.
- Now's a good time to go over
the quintessential qualifying criteria
that these athlete characters have had to fulfil
to be part of these games.
- Indeed, now the general public at home might be wondering,
how can there be more than one first gay Disney character?
- That's understandable, Mickey.
Because first in all other contexts
has a very singular meaning.
- It does.
- Okay, so,
to qualify for a first gay Disney character
there has to be some kind
of big social media ruckus around you.
Or Disney themselves or the film makers involved
need to claim that you are gay representation.
But it also has to be a bit disappointing.
So the next time such a character occurs
the process can start all over again.
- So examples might be ambiguous representation
like good old Oaken we just mentioned.
- It might also be a fleeting moment in the background.
A side character who just seems a little bit gay
but it's never confirmed in the movie itself.
An ambiguous gay-ish scene which is easily removed
for the homophobic global markets.
Not using the word gay or instead leaning heavily
on euphemism or relying on nothing
but stereotypes to suggest being gay at all.
- So for example this next athlete delegation
is jumping ahead three years to 2016.
It's those two lesbians from the background
of the Finding Dory movie.
- Yes the film makers have actually commented
on this question of if they are gay
and they said, "There is no right or wrong answer."
- A beautiful cop-out answer that these two lesbians-
- Or straight friends.
- Yes, or straight friends.
They qualified in a very strong position with
that kind of endorsement from their creators.
- And oh, right behind them Bucky and Prong.
- Prong, was that?
- Yes, it's the two random Gazelles from 2016's Zootopia.
Or Zootropolis depending on where you're from.
The film itself really gives no indication that they're gay.
But it was eventually confirmed
that the two are in fact a married couple.
Uh, so the disney.fandom.com does now say
that they are the first LGBT characters
in Disney animated history.
- Of course, of course.
Pucky and- - Bucky.
- Sorry, yes, Bucky and Pronk.
- Oh, and as a little nod to the role
that made them first Disney gay royalty.
They've brought along brown paper bags full of groceries.
Very in the spirit of these celebrations.
- Sorry to interrupt, Minnie.
But following behind them
is someone I'm personally very excited to see.
Entering the dance category which is new this year,
it's Lefou from the 2017 live action Beauty and the Beast.
- Yes, there he is with his dance partner now.
We don't actually have a name for his partner but, um,
I am told that we do have an image
of them from a training session.
That, yup, there they are.
I would say that they're a wonderful couple
but unfortunately I don't actually know
if that's true or not.
- But they won't let that stop them.
- Absolutely not, Mickey.
These competitors never let things like a lack of name,
plot, or meaningful representation stop them.
- Now in genius move from the film makers
that really made us pay attention to these two
in the lead up to their big reveal,
there was reported to be
an exclusively gay moment in the movie.
- Now one of the key aspects of these characters
is leaving the audience confused and, or, disappointed.
So the team behind the characters
really went the extra mile here.
- This I believe brings us on to the 2019 athletes.
- 2019, a particularly good year for the spot.
- You know what they say, "2019, year of the queen."
- They do, they do!
Uh, and at the front of this group are those lesbians
from the background of Toy Story 4.
- Not to be mistaken for those lesbians
from the background of Finding Dory.
- Exactly.
Now, these are different background lesbian moms.
We're still waiting to hear anything about them.
Except that they made angry conservatives boycott
the movie over a blink and you'll miss it scene
that I actually struggled
to find high quality images of for this coverage.
- Oh and they brought their little one along
for the celebration.
'Cause if there's one thing we know
about these lesbian moms,
it's that they have a child.
- Now second to last in our 2019 section,
is a character I have listed as unnamed Joe Russo cameo
from Avengers: Endgame.
- Now, correct me if I'm wrong,
but this is a controversial addition
to the lineup is it not?
- Yes, unnamed Joe Russo cameo from Avengers: Endgame
is here on a technicality because he wasn't part
of a Walt Disney pictures, Disney animation,
or Pixar animation movie.
But Disney does own Marvel so he has been allowed
to attend as a reserve team member.
- He does tick a lot of boxes.
Such a shame about it being a Marvel movie.
- Oh, absolutely.
He's unnamed,
he's only in one scene that could easily be cut.
So, everything lining up so well
for him in all other aspects.
- Still there's no shame in being a reserve team member.
- Well we don't wish ill on any other competitors.
But if the worst should happen,
unnamed Joe Russo cameo from Avengers: Endgame
is I'm told, ready to step in.
- Now the same must be true for these next two athletes.
- Oh, indeed.
It's the same thing as
unnamed Joe Russo cameo from Avengers: Endgame.
These next two are the lesbian couple in the background
of the last Star Wars movie.
Again, Disney owns Star Wars
so they just slipped in there as reserves.
- Now, the director JJ Abrams,
he really pushed for their inclusion
as major athletes in these games.
He said in an interview,
"In the case of the LGBTQ+ community
it was important to me that people who went
to see this movie felt like they were
being represented in the film.
I will say, I'm giving away nothing
about what happens in the movie,
but I did just say what I just said."
- Oh, a brilliant hype man
for those two background lesbians.
The best a gay Disney character could ask for.
Just a shame again, it's a Star Wars movie instead.
- Woop, woop!
It's the sound of the police everyone!
I see our first 2020 contender.
It's the cop from Onward.
- Oh, if I know anything about gay people, Mickey,
it is that they have a long and loving relationship
with law enforcement.
- That's true, Minnie.
We have a whole line from the officer
about her girlfriend's kid.
- Is her girlfriend here tonight?
- I couldn't tell you, Minnie.
None of us know anything about her.
Including what she looks like.
- Well if looks are your thing,
swing your eyeballs over to our second to last competitor.
It's Artie from Cruella.
- I have another quote here from the actor who plays Artie.
"It depends on who you're asking I suppose,
but for me, yes, it's official he's queer.
But we don't see him falling in love.
There's no social aspect to the character.
It's not beating you on the head with a stick."
- Depends who you're asking, I love it.
Giving us something and also technically giving us nothing.
- Oh, and he's waving at Cruella
who's joined her villain compatriots.
That is lovely to see.
- And finally,
oh, it's the moment we've all been waiting for.
2021's entry into the gay Disney games.
Straight comedian Jack Whitehall
as very camp gay character McGregor
from the Jungle Cruise movie.
- Like so many of our competitors tonight,
he's brought a little nod to the role that got him here.
A comically large number of trunks full of wardrobe changes.
- If there's one thing I know about gay men,
it's that they're all foppish snobs
who can't go anywhere without their pretty clothes.
- And this really is a fantastic way
to round up the ceremony.
He has it all.
Tragic homophobic backstory that's a side note
to the straight lead characters,
no love interest or on screen gayness,
they never use the word gay
or even say he's interested in men specifically.
Instead going with the inspired phrasing,
his interests lie elsewhere
and his family didn't approve of who he loved.
And all of that in one easy removable scene
for the homophobic global markets
that were shocked in a way that makes it seem
like it was designed entirely for that purpose.
- And of course the slight irony
in so many people calling him
the first openly gay Disney character,
while he apparently has to hide it
and be ashamed that he's gay at all.
- Wow, an incredible line up this year.
- Absolutely brilliant.
Well, thank you for joining us
for what will almost certainly not be the last,
First Gay Disney Character Celebration.
- Well thanks once again to returning sponsor Skillshare.
And what is now a tradition in these videos,
I will be telling you what Skillshare classes I think
the gay characters that I talked about in this video
would take if they had a membership.
Or, you know,
a free one month trial linked in the description.
So this month I took Umber Ahmad's class,
Baking Basics: Make Perfect Pastries Every Time,
Which showed me how to make this delicious Focaccia
that is in front of our very eyes.
It was the perfect mix of practical instructions
and creative ideas for future baking projects.
And it's not just baking.
There are classes on everything from poetry and music,
to photography and animation.
Whatever your experience or creative interests,
they'll have classes to suit your skill level.
For example, Artie from Cruella might want
to take an advanced class on fashion
like this one on nailing your brand packaging.
Bucky and Pronk would do well in a, um,
A cooking class I guess?
Based on the fact that they had groceries
in that one scene they were in.
Oaken might find a class on knitting useful
with how cold it is where he is.
And I guess the multiple background nameless lesbians
could take this class on building believable characters
and like apply it to themselves I guess?
Skillshare's designed to give you
the best learning experience so there are no ads,
you can watch on the go with the app,
and they are always launching new premium classes.
They also now offer live classes with popular teachers
that you can watch in real time
so you can get inspired alongside other members.
If you're looking to try new things
or dig deeper into your current interests,
then Skillshare is a great place
to connect with the support of fellow creatives
and find a community of encouragement,
communication, and inspiration.
Uh, and as a special treat for finishing this whole video,
you get some focaccia ASMR with my new microphone.
(tapping) (scraping)
Can you tell I don't understand ASMR?
I wonder if you can hear bread tearing?
Hang on.
(bread tearing)
- So the reason I'm wearing sunglasses in this video
is two fold.
One, is I accidentally broke my second pair
of glasses that I was going to wear for this video.
Um, and two, this shirt and these glasses
is what I wore for the unhinged Luca video
and I am really keen on creating
a chaotic Rowan unhinged lesbian cinematic universe.
Um, so, we'll see if I continue with that.
- Gosh, focaccia is so good.
Okay, I think that's everything.