What I remember in my neck of the woods was this boycott everyone talked about but no one actually did.
The only kids who didn’t get to watch Disney stuff were the ones whose parents already heavily restricted tbem, to Christian TV or something.
I did not know that.
My respect for the company’s leadership increases.
Disney hasn’t been “conservative” in decades, nor has Big Business in general.
Can you tell me what couple in Gravity Falls is gay? Cuz I’m drawing a blank. It did have satire of a revival tent show, which became a story arc. Anyway, this seems like a tempest in a teapot. Only two of them? Disney must have a thousand series and movies. It ought to be a scandal if none of them had gay characters.
Sheriff Blubs and Deputy Durland would be my guess.
The 2nd to last episode of Good Luck Charlie had a lesbian couple. Amy & Bob spend the whole episode unable to remember which name went with which mother. Also the toddler who played Charlie received death threats over it.
Although I’m sure you’re aware, it’s worth pointing out that the Disneyland “Gay Days” weren’t, at least originally, an officially sanctioned event. It was just a lot of gay people getting organized and attending on the same day in matching shirts. The boycott wasn’t because Disney was “gay friendly,” it was because they weren’t actively throwing gay people out of their parks.
Just something to remember the next time a bigoted shitpile trots out that “love the sinner, hate the sin,” bullshit.
I stated it in a way that was ambiguous, but I did know they weren’t official at that time. 
The issue isn’t having gay characters - as others have pointed out, several Disney shows have had gay characters. In Gravity Falls, it was the two cops.
The issue is that they have taken the next step in normalization, and have gay characters actually kissing on-screen. Having gays visibly exist was the first step: now gay couples are being treated as - just another set of romantic couples.
I agree it is no big deal. If straight characters can kiss in a cartoon show, why not gay characters? That’s the whole point: that it is no big deal, and wasn’t treated as such in the show.
Edit: I guess you could say that … the fact that it isn’t a big deal, is a big deal. Ha!
Well now, a theater in Alabama is refusing to show it because of the gay character.
Apparently it would have been all right to show a young woman kidnapped, held against her will, and then fall in love with her kidnapper – who happens to be a literal animal – but showing a gay character, just no!
A drive in no less.
So for your first gay movie character you give us Josh Gad (Big-Lots store brand version of Jonah Hill) as a pathetic weakling in love with an obnoxious straight guy. Thanks Disney!
Of course I’ve argued that Beauty and the Beast is atrociously classist. Gaston is really no worse than the Beast and in fact must be handed some props: while he kills lots of animals and “use[s] antlers in all [his] decorating” at least that’s a skill he has developed himself. While he’s boorish, The Beast is a total bastard who got cursed when he was going to let an old woman freeze to death. Unlike Gaston, the Beast has an army of servants to advise him and play him up to Belle and push them together (though they’re acting less out of love, like, or respect for him than because they’re all about to be made inanimate forever)- Gaston just has LePou, BUT LePou is at least loyal because of Gaston, not because he’s a rich aristocrat who is vital to removing a curse. Beast has a castle and a huge library and a ballroom, Gaston just has an antler festooned cottage somewhere. While Gaston comes to kill the Beast later- he’s trying to kill the inhuman creature who jailed Belle’s father and only released him when Belle took his place and to whom for all the villagers know is doing unspeakable things to Belle.
Belle falls in love with him strictly because he’s rich and his servants are good manipulators and propagandists. I feel kind of sorry for Gaston, and the only character I like is the old crone who is really a witch and turned the aristocrat into a Beast (though even she could have spared his servants).
Also, I think that the makers of Zootopia mentioned that the oryx neighbors of Judy were gay.
[searches]
Yup.
Yeah, this rubs me the wrong way also. The notion that for a guy to idolise another man there has to be a homosexual attraction involved seems more bigoted than if he wasn’t gay at all. The old movie established his motivation well enough; a weakling sycophant who’s sucking up (no pun intended) to the strongest man in town.