If there’s one thing that Disney and Pixar know it’s how to reduce full-grown adults into babbling, weeping messes. The duo seems to always find ways to tug at our heart strings, while the seriousness of certain storylines go completely over children’s heads. This will surely happen again when the long-awaited sequel to Finding Nemo, Finding Dory, finally hits theaters. Now it appears that Finding Dory may also be breaking a major barrier, in addition to breaking the hearts of its audience members. Namely, that a lesbian couple may be appearing in a Disney film for the first time.
A new trailer for Finding Dory was recently released, which features all sorts of hijinks and heartfelt moments. Toward the middle of the trailer, we’re shown Tank the Octopus posing as a baby in a carriage. The couple that interacts with him in this scene is female, leading many to believe that Disney may finally be portraying a lesbian couple on the big screen.
These moments in the trailer caused the internet to blow up with speculation. Check out one of the more popular posts regarding the possible same-sex couple in Finding Dory.
The inclusion of more LBGT characters in film and TV has been one of the hot topic issues in Hollywood. While there have certainly been impressive strides been made in regards to creating interesting and dynamic characters who identify as something other than heterosexual, there are still some glaring exceptions. And those exceptions are largely owned by Disney: Star Wars, the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and Disney proper.
Those three Disney-owned properties seem to be set on only including heterosexual characters in their respective movies. As such, advocates have taken to the internet to campaign for more inclusive characters in these massively successful titles.
First, Poe Dameron and Finn have been rumored to have romantic connections in The Force Awakens. This popular fan theory began gaining momentum as soon as the newest Star Wars movie was released. The two male characters seemed to have an instantly strong connection, with Poe essentially giving Finn both his jacket and his name. J.J. Abrams has maintained that he wants LBGT characters included in the Star Wars universe, so now it’s just a matter of waiting until the next film is released.
Fans have also begun to campaign that both Captain America and Frozen’s Queen Elsa meet and fall in love with characters who share their assigned sex. Within just the past few weeks, viral hashtags #GiveCaptainAmericaaBoyfriend and #GiveElsaaGirlfriend have become massively popular, with the likes of GLAAD and Idina Menzel voicing their approval for inclusivity.
But despite all the campaigning and speculation, Finding Dory may have snuck under our noses and introduced the first lesbian couple in Disney history. Of course, we’ll have to wait for a Disney exec or the movie itself to confirm if this is true or not.
Finding Dory will swim into theaters on June 17th, 2016.
