Owl House has just made history by announcing the Disney channel's first leading bisexual character - an important move toward increased representation in children's television.
The news was confirmed by series creator Dana Terrace, who revealed that 14-year-old lead character Luz Noceda is bisexual.
Luz's bisexuality will be the subject of two episodes 'Enchanting Grom Fright' and 'Wing It Like Witches', which show her developing a relationship with another female character, Amity Blight.
Noceda had previously expressed an interest in male characters in the show and later asked out Blight to the "grom" - the witch world’s version of prom - where they danced together.
"In [development] I was very open about my intention to put queer kids in the main cast. I'm a horrible liar so sneaking it in would've been hard," Terrace, 29, wrote on Twitter. "When we were greenlit I was told by certain Disney leadership that I could not represent any form of bi or gay relationship on the channel."
She added: "I'm bi! I want to write a bi character, dammit!"
"Luckily my stubbornness paid off and now I am very supported by current Disney leadership," Terrace revealed.
The Owl House creator continued: "Representation matters! Always fight to make what YOU want to see!"
"As 'OH' continues I can't wait to explore things that are important to me and my crew," Terrace concluded. "Looking forward to the next chapter."
The creator admitted that will she "will never be fully aligned with Disney as a company", she wouldn't "fully blast" who became her allies.
Until now, Disney has had a few openly LGBTQ+ characters, however, they have only ever occupied minor roles.
This comes after Disney recently made another move towards a better future by reimagining the iconic Splash Mountain attraction in response to backlash over the ride's "racist" origins.
Splash Mountain first opened in Disneyland back in 1989, and subsequent Splash Mountain rides then opened at the Magic Kingdom and Tokyo Disneyland in October 1992.
Now, the rides at both Disneyland in California and the Magic Kingdom in Florida will be stripped of their Song of the South theming and reimagined to a Princess and the Frog story.
Writing on the official Walt Disney Imagineering Instagram account, officials wrote:
"As Imagineers, we have a deep passion for evolving our parks with new ideas and relevant stories that guests from all over the world can enjoy. And we want these stories to reflect and celebrate the diversity of our world infused with Disney magic.
"We’re thrilled to share that Splash Mountain – at both @Disneyland Resort in California and @WaltDisneyWorld Resort in Florida – will soon be completely reimagined with a new story inspired by an all-time favorite @DisneyAnimation film 'The Princess and The Frog.'"
And writing on the official Disney Parks website, the company provided more information regarding the ride's new story, writing:
"We pick up this story after the final kiss, and join Princess Tiana and Louis on a musical adventure – featuring some of the powerful music from the film – as they prepare for their first-ever Mardi Gras performance."
Explaining why Princess Tiana is the perfect character to have a ride themed after her, Disney officials said:
"Tiana is a modern, courageous, and empowered woman, who pursues her dreams and never loses sight of what’s really important. It’s a great story with a strong lead character, set against the backdrop of New Orleans and the Louisiana bayou."
Currently, Splash Mountain tells the story of Br'er Rabbit, as he attempts to avoid capture from Br'er Fox and Br'er Bear, and earlier this month, Disney was under pressure from fans to retheme the ride as a result of its source material.
The issue is that the songs and characters featured on the ride stem from Disney's 1946 movie Song of the South. The problematic movie tells the story of African-American former slave Uncle Remus, as he delights a child named Johnny about the adventures of Br'er Rabbit, Br'er Fox, and Br'er Bear.
However, Johnny soon learns that the stories are a way of coping with the challenges of working on a plantation.
Since the movie was released, Disney has been criticized for its poor handling of race and slavery.
An article by Slate highlights some of the problematic elements of the movie, explaining that "it's implied that the black workers are no longer Johnny's family's property, [but] they are still completely subservient, and happily so."
Because of it's past, Song of the South does not appear on Disney+ and has never been released in full on DVD or Blu Ray.
And in the wake of the BLM protests, petitions were set up calling for Disney to retheme the Splash Mountain attractions.
One petition, titled "Re-theme Splash Mountain to Princess and the Frog" was signed by tens of thousands of people.
As its description explains: "While [Splash Mountain] is considered a beloved classic it’s history and storyline are steeped in extremely problematic and stereotypical racist tropes from the 1946 film Song of the South."
