There have always been conspiracy theories around gay characters in Disney films. Though the films were never open about the sexual preferences of these characters, viewers managed to find enough breadcrumbs to come to their own conclusions—from the 'obvious ones' like Oaken in Frozen, and Bucky Oryx-Antlerson and Pronk Oryx-Antlerson in Zootopia, to the 'usual suspects' like Elsa in Frozen, Timon and Pumba in The Lion King and Genie in Aladdin.
However, for the first time in its history, Disney will be introducing an openly gay character. In the live-action rendition of Beauty and the Beast, LeFou—the 'villain' Gaston's sidekick—will have “a nice, exclusively gay moment in a Disney movie”, as the director, Bill Condon, who himself is openly gay, put it in an interview. Actor Josh Gad will be portraying the character, who has a major crush on Gaston. Gad, who is best known for voicing the adorable snowman Olaf in Frozen, expressed his joy on being part of 'history', on Twitter.
Beyond proud of this https://t.co/5wG1KfKqVZ
— Josh Gad (@joshgad) March 1, 2017
In fact, it is believed that LeFou's character is a tribute to lyricist Howard Ashman, who co-wrote the song Kill the Beast in the 1991 animated version. Ashman was gay and he died of AIDS before the film released in theatres. The stigma associated with the disease and his general sickness influenced him a lot while penning the lyrics of the famous song. Sample this: We don't like what we don’t understand... In fact it scares us... and this monster is mysterious at least....
The pain of being afflicted with the deadly disease and ostracised by the society stands out in Ashman's lyrics.
Disney's 'watershed moment' has got its share of brickbats and bouquets. While many are ecstatic about the entertainment giant's progressive step, there are others who have criticised Disney for the character chosen to represent the gay community. The French words 'le fou' literally translate to 'the fool'.
The film, which stars Emma Watson as Belle, Dan Stevens as The Beast and Luke Evans as Gaston, will hit theatres on March 17.
