'Strange World' Disney's 2022 Animated Film

[TP2000]

You’re shifting the topic. My point was only that the information isn’t, as you claimed, “inherently sexual”.

No, I'm not shifting the topic. I'm being honest and forthright with you.

When I, as a grown adult gay man, interact with young boys the last thing I would introduce into casual conversation is sex and sexuality or why two men would live together as a couple. It's just not my place to discuss such things with other people's children, even within my own family. It's just not right or appropriate, in my humble opinion.

 

[LittleBuford]

Okay. Thank you for the background info, I honestly had no idea what this movie was or who it was aimed at.

An improvised line in a 2014 film (non-Disney, apparently?) and a Viking butt joke makes this... the first gay animated character? I thought that belonged to the Lesbian in Lightyear? Or was it Ethan in Strange World? I've lost track.

Was the 2014 release of this animated gay Viking a big deal back then? I don't remember that, but I might have just forgotten. And not only am I from Swedish stock, I even still read The Advocate on occasion! So you'd think I would know.

It's late, and I've had caramel covered popcorn and a bottle of champagne while watching Guess Who's Coming To Dinner. But I do thank you for the background info on this 2014 gay Viking supporting character.

You clearly didn’t read the whole thing. There’s a 2019 sequel in which the character’s homosexuality is further explored. And that film did very well at the box office.

 

[TP2000]

You clearly didn’t read the whole thing. There’s a 2019 sequel in which the character’s homosexuality is made clearer. And that film did very well.

I did read it. But the 2019 film did well? And the world still revolves on its axis around our sun?

So the Lesbian in Lightyear and Ethan in Strange World aren't groundbreaking? Then why did they fail in the marketplace, I wonder?

If there were gay Viking butt jokes in 2019, why was Karey Burke crying on Zoom in 2021 like she'd freed the enslaved?

My opinion: Disney does a really bad job at trying to be hip and cool and cutting edge. From Disco Duck in 1978 to the X Games at DCA in 2002 to Strange World in 2022, it always just comes off as fake and forced and faux. Or cringey, as the kids say.

 

[LittleBuford]

My opinion: Disney does a really bad job at trying to be hip and cool and cutting edge. From the X Games at DCA in 2002 to Strange World in 2022, it always just comes off as fake and forced and faux. Or cringey, as the kids say.

It’s impossible to hold such an opinion about a film you’ve never seen.

 

[TP2000]

It’s impossible to hold such an opinion about a film you’ve never seen.

To be fair, I only have a hazy memory of Disco Duck from 1978, and only sat through about 20 minutes of the trashy X Games show in that dusty amphitheater where Mater's Junkyard Jamboree now sits.

But I know they were a failure in the marketplace.

 

[TP2000]

Strange World is mediocre IMHO and I don’t think anything would have helped the box office, even a robust and quality advertising campaign. The audience scores were just too subpar to expect it to get good word of mouth....

That's a review sentiment we've seen here a few times.

It also apparently didn't test well, especially with its target audience of males.

How will Disney approach Elemental and Wish? I’m not sure there’s a great way forward but it has to start with holding titles from D+ for a lot longer. As I’ve said before, I’d actually wait 4-6 months after theatrical release to drop onto D+. Make Elemental the “movie we put on there around Christmas” title. Start breaking people if the learned habit to just wait for it at home.

I couldn't agree more! You would think when Bob Iger returned in the corporate coup six weeks ago that things would change. But they seem to have doubled down on their failing Disney+ strategy instead of rethinking, pausing, stepping back to regroup.

Which makes me wonder if Bob Iger, who started the whole Disney+ messiness, isn't behind the bad decision making himself?

They'd already lost huge financially on Strange World, and thus they had nothing to lose. So don't send it to streaming after only 30 days! Hold it! Make people wait for it. Retrain your dragon audience!

But instead they made it worse by sending $180 Million films to Disney+ for free a month later? Are they trying to sabotage all their future releases? What's the mid-term strategy here? I simply don't get it. They can't be this stupid. They just can't.

 

[Rich T]

Okay. Thank you for the background info, I honestly had no idea what this movie was or who it was aimed at.

An improvised line in a 2014 film (non-Disney, apparently?) and a Viking butt joke makes this... the first gay animated character? I thought that belonged to the Lesbian in Lightyear? Or was it Ethan in Strange World? I've lost track.

Was the 2014 release of this animated gay Viking a big deal back then? I don't remember that, but I might have just forgotten. And not only am I from Swedish stock, I even still read The Advocate on occasion! So you'd think I would know.

It's late, and I've had caramel covered popcorn and a bottle of champagne while watching Guess Who's Coming To Dinner. But I do thank you for the background info on this 2014 gay Viking supporting character.

The fact that you have never heard of my favorite movie of all time (live or animated) breaks my heart.

The first HTTYD is a masterpiece, and word of mouth turned it into Dreamworks’ most successful film. Looks like it’s going to be an entire land in Epic Universe. In the first movie, there is no obvious mention that Gobber the blacksmith (one of the main characters) is gay. In the second film, he reveals it through a casual line that’s charming and perfectly in character, and in the final movie he openly voices his attraction to another single Viking. So, director Dean DeBlois (who is gay) did wait until after the first film’s success to make Gobber’s orientation an official part of an already much-loved (thanks to great writing and Craig Ferguson’s wonderful voice acting) character.

Audiences kept going, reviewers usually casually mentioned the new character factoid, and I never heard anyone, in or out of the media, object to anything.

What I love about the situation is how casual it is, in and out of the film’s world. Gobber is not defined by his orientation. And the way it’s handled, it’s clear that in this Viking village everyone knows Gobber’s gay, and it’s every bit a non-issue as it is in the universe of Strange World. What matters is that he’s an incredible blacksmith, a great teacher, a fierce warrior who’s lost two limbs defending the island, and a great friend to most of the village. He’s the mentor to the film’s young main character, and the best friend of the Chief.

The things that fans and reviewers DID occasionally object to or point out were:

1) The adult Vikings have Scottish accents and the teenage Vikings have American accents. Somehow it works.

2) The Dragon who gets trained kind of resembles Stitch from Lilo and Stitch (also a Dean DeBlois film… which also features a major gay character no one objected to).

I think the thing to be learned from Dean DeBlois movies is that it’s the quality of the movie that matters most in box office races, not whether or not a major character happens to be gay.

 

[LittleBuford]

Lilo and Stitch (also a Chris Sanders film… which also features a major gay character no one objected to).

Wait, who?!

 

[Rich T]

Wait, who?!

Pleakly— though that’s not really played up until the animated series.

 

[LittleBuford]

Pleakly— though that’s not really played up until the animated series.

I didn't realise! Haven't watched the series.

 

[Californian Elitist]

Pleakly— though that’s not really played up until the animated series.

When I saw Lilo and Stitch as a kid (saw it at Michael Jackson’s Never Land Ranch, fun fact), I picked up that Pleakley was not only gay, but a cross-dresser immediately. Pretty sure the other kids in the theater did, too. That was 20+ years ago.

 

[LittleBuford]

Huh. Then how come in the HTTYD TV series, Gobber says that his first love was a woman named Greta?

I haven’t watched the films or the series. I’m just relaying what the actor and director have said.

 

[Rich T]

Huh. Then how come in the HTTYD TV series, Gobber says that his first love was a woman named Greta?

The series was kind of its own thing, not written or directed by Dean DeBlois, and done between the first two films. Many things mentioned in the series had to be later retro-adjusted in later seasons (such as the breed of dragon Chief Stoick winds up bonding with). Also, Gobber is known for spinning tales of questionable accuracy. But Gobber is definitely a gay character in the movies.

 

[Magenta Panther]

The series was kind of its own thing, not written or directed by Chris Sanders, and done between the first two films. Many things mentioned in the series had to be later retro-adjusted in later seasons (such as the breed of dragon Chief Stoick winds up bonding with). Also, Gobber is known for spinning tales of questionable accuracy. But Gobber is definitely a gay character in the movies.

In other words, there are 2 versions of Gobber, so it's up to the viewer which one they prefer (if they have a preference). Also, the producers of the films used hints, not out-and-out proclamations. Might be significant...

And as for the assertions about Pleakley, you could place those same assertions on Bugs Bunny. Which would be false, in his case.

 

[Heppenheimer]

To be fair, I only have a hazy memory of Disco Duck from 1978, and only sat through about 20 minutes of the trashy X Games show in that dusty amphitheater where Mater's Junkyard Jamboree now sits.

But I know they were a failure in the marketplace.

I don't think Disco Duck was Disney, although they included a rip-off song called "Macho Duck" on that overall ghastly Mickey Mouse Disco album from the late disco era. But that cringe-worthy album probably illustrates your overall point.

 

[BrianLo]

I do think much of this boils down to a lack of understanding/comfort of how to frame things in a developmentally appropriate manner for children. Aka how to talk to children. Or internal bias from a social era one grew up in.

The good news is we’re 10 years out from the majority of 6 year olds being born to generation Z parents. Of whom 20% identify as LGBTQ+. So a lot of this discussion will officially be moot.

 

[Rich T]

In other words, there are 2 versions of Gobber, so it's up to the viewer which one they prefer (if they have a preference). Also, the producers of the films used hints, not out-and-out proclamations. Might be significant...

And as for the assertions about Pleakley, you could place those same assertions on Bugs Bunny. Which would be false, in his case.

View attachment 689610 View attachment 689611

Agree about Bugs. Also agree that Gobber’s gay orientation can be easily ignored by viewers. That’s part of the message about the character: It doesn’t matter. That doesn’t define who he is. It’s not important to the story. It’s more of a neat detail about the village of Berk itself; that these Vikings couldn’t care less about whether or not Gobber’s gay. They love and respect him because he’s a great person, period. In a remote village in the age of Vikings where every day’s work is vital to their survival, they stick together. They even tolerate the main character, Hiccup, even though he’s (at the saga’s beginning) a walking disaster area (although him being the Chief’s son is probably the main reason Hiccup hasn’t been set adrift on an ice slab).

 

[Californian Elitist]

Bugs Bunny and Pleakley are not comparable at all.

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

The fact that you have never heard of my favorite movie of all time (live or animated) breaks my heart.

The first HTTYD is a masterpiece, and word of mouth turned it into Dreamworks’ most successful film. Looks like it’s going to be an entire land in Epic Universe. In the first movie, there is no obvious mention that Gobber the blacksmith (one of the main characters) is gay. In the second film, he reveals it through a casual line that’s charming and perfectly in character, and in the final movie he openly voices his attraction to another single Viking. So, director Chris Sanders (who is gay) did wait until after the first film’s success to make Gobber’s orientation an official part of an already much-loved (thanks to great writing and Craig Ferguson’s wonderful voice acting) character.

Audiences kept going, reviewers usually casually mentioned the new character factoid, and I never heard anyone, in or out of the media, object to anything.

What I love about the situation is how casual it is, in and out the the film’s world. Gobber is not defined by his orientation. And the way it’s handled, it’s clear that in this Viking village everyone knows Gobber’s gay, and it’s every bit a non-issue as it is in the universe of Strange World. What matters is that he’s an incredible blacksmith, a great teacher, a fierce warrior who’s lost two limbs defending the island, and a great friend to most of the village. He’s the mentor to the film’s young main character, and the best friend of the Chief.

The things that fans and reviewers DID occasionally object to or point out were:

1) The adult Vikings have Scottish accents and the teenage Vikings have American accents. Somehow it works.

2) The Dragon who gets trained kind of resembles Stitch from Lilo and Stitch (also a Chris Sanders film… which also features a major gay character no one objected to).

I think the thing to be learned from Chris Sanders movies is that it’s the quality of the movie that matters most in box office races, not whether or not a major character happens to be gay.

When I saw Lilo and Stitch as a kid (saw it at Michael Jackson’s Never Land Ranch, fun fact), I picked up that Pleakley was not only gay, but a cross-dresser immediately. Pretty sure the other kids in the theater did, too. That was 20+ years ago.

I love both of those movies and can honestly say I never noticed they were gay characters (or could be, still not sold on Pleakley but ), just goes to show when it’s done well it becomes such a natural part of the story it’s unnoticeable.

Makes me wonder if the gay characters in Lightyear and Strange World would have simply slipped under the radar too if we didn’t live in a social media world. For all the controversy both were pretty innocent inclusions.

 

[Rich T]

Bugs Bunny and Pleakley are not comparable at all.

Exactly. Bugs dresses in drag only to fool his foes. Pleakly wears women’s clothes every chance he gets, just because he loves it.