An upcoming Netflix show aimed at preschoolers has been praised for featuring a non-binary character.
The show in question, Ridley Jones, also has a female lead - a six-year-old girl who lives in a treehouse inside the Museum of Natural History with her mother and grandmother.
Fred the bison is the show's non-binary character and in teasers for the series, the character's gender identity is discussed.
When young Ridley asks if Fred is male or female, Peaches the monkey tells her: "They're just a Fred".
Check out the trailer below:
In a press release, per Romper, the show's creator Chris Nee spoke about the importance of making a young girl the lead of an adventure series.
She said: "I really wanted to do a series where a girl was the action-adventure star I always wanted to see or be when I was growing up.
"Like so many of my shows, this world is a perfect canvas upon which to create a community of oddball characters and model what it means to take care of each other, even if you aren’t from the same era of time or wing of the museum."
A number of people have taken to Twitter to praise the show for its inclusiveness and representation after watching the trailer for the forthcoming series.
One person wrote: "Children’s shows almost never have lgbtq+ representation, but yet the character that Chris [Colfer] is playing in ridley jones is a gay dad - seeing that kind of representation being shown in children’s shows honestly makes me so happy to see not to forgot the nonbinary bison. [sic]"
Another added: "Very cool happenings in the adventures of Ridley Jones. Fred the Bison is Netflix's first non-binary kids' show character. Expect some great things from Fred!"
A third wrote: "Hey these teasers you have on youtube for Ridley Jones is killing my 9 month old .. this is cruel. y’all have to release this asap, this is the first thing she likes other than cocomelon 10000%"
A final person chimed in: "I really just watched that Ridley Jones trailer for kids the whole two-minute ad that’s how cool the night at the museum concept is."
Ridley Jones will be arriving on Netflix on July 16, though the very first episode is already available on Youtube right now.
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!"
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.
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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.
[[imagecaption|| Credit: PA Images]]
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."
Nintendo is considering introducing a non-binary Pokémon character after a young fan pitched the idea to them.
The child's handwritten letter to the video game company was posted to Twitter on Wednesday, with the youngster's parent captioning the sweet post: "My kid wrote a letter to Nintendo and they wrote back."
It read: "Dear Nintendo, could please make nonbinary Pokémon? Also, I want that because I think it would be cool and so nonbinary people would feel more comfortable about it."
With the help of the child's parents, the thoughtful pitch was sent off to the company. And Nintendo eventually responded!
Speaking on behalf of the firm, customer service representative Liz Daniels referred to the idea as an "awesome" one, per The Gamer. The rep went on to say that a potential move towards non-binary inclusion in their Pokémon selection would make more people feel that they are being catered to.
The response letter read:
"Thank you for writing to us! Sorry for the late reply. In your letter, you asked us to make nonbinary Pokémon. I think that is an awesome idea. There are so many varieties of Pokémon, so it would make sense to have a variety of genders as well!
"We want to make sure people of all kinds feel welcomed and comfortable while playing our software. I'll send your feedback to the appropriate departments to review and thoughtfully consider.
"Thanks again for sending us this letter, I've included a few special items with this response for you to enjoy. I hope you continue to have wonderful adventures with your Pokémon for many years to come."
The tweet has since racked up over 4,000 retweets more than 1,000 quote tweets and 70,000 likes at the time of writing.
A number of people have shared their thoughts on the ingenious idea, with one person referring to it as "awesome".
Another added: "Oh they better deliver."
A third referred to the letter as "wholesome"
Others, however, felt that gender is a human construct and perhaps doesn't mesh well with the "animal kingdom" - seemingly forgetting that Pokémon are completely fictional.
For example, one user wrote: "Isn’t gender technically a human construct? Animals, and in theory Pokémon, which are just animals, follow whatever it is that their instincts tell them. I have no idea how an opossum or a pangolin expresses their gender identity."
Australian kids television show The Wiggles has taken a step towards a more inclusive cast by introducing a non-binary unicorn.
The popular children's singing show will now include a unicorn named Shirley Shawn who is non-binary and uses they/them pronouns, Pink News reports.
Watch The Wiggles introduce Shirley alongside other new characters below:
However, the unicorn will not be the only non-binary character on the show, and they will be joined by a dancing police officer called Officer Beaples and Bok the hand puppet.
Blue Wiggle Anthony, one of the show's founders, said: "As society has evolved, we have embraced the need for diversity and inclusiveness and want children all over the world to see themselves reflected on the screen.
"It's so important that The Wiggles continue to evolve along with our society.
"This is the first step towards shaping The Wiggles for the next 30 years, taking us in a direction that truly represents and serves our community more inclusively."
News of the unicorn's inclusion was met with much praise on social media.
One Twitter user wrote: "This is fantastic. So good to see performers being able to perform and entertain as their own companies and industry collapses under more lockdowns [sic]."
A second added: "This is so great! I love seeing diversity and I'm certain children will heavily benefit from this!!"
A third wrote: "TIL that the Wiggles have a nonbinary character - Shirley Shawn the Nonbinary Unicorn - and (as a genderfluid grandparent) I am just over the moon!"
Meanwhile, a fourth wrote: "The Wiggles have been one of my secret obsessions as a parent. To say that I am thrilled by the addition of the new Wiggles and nonbinary unicorn Shirley Shawn is an understatement. More inclusive preschool tv for all!"
Despite the volume of support the decision was met with, not everyone's reaction to the unicorn on social media was so positive, as some critics believed it was a step too far.
Another Twitter user wrote: "The Wiggles are introducing new characters including a non binary [sic] cop. Australia is broken."
A second added: "A non binary unicorn joining The Wiggles.. give me a f**king breeeakk! [sic]"
Hot on the heels of the euphoria surrounding the upcoming Barbie movie, Mattel has been keen to share some information about one of its other major franchises that is coming to the big screen.
The toy company revealed on Sunday that the upcoming Barney film, about everyone's favorite singing purple dinosaur, will be more geared towards adults than children.
Mattel Films executive Kevin McKeon told the New Yorker recently that the movie will be more "surrealistic".
"We’re leaning into the millennial angst of the property rather than fine-tuning this for kids," McKeon, 38, said. "It’s really a play for adults. Not that it’s R-rated, but it’ll focus on some of the trials and tribulations of being 30-something, growing up with Barney — just the level of disenchantment within the generation."
The film, which will star Academy Award winner Daniel Kaluuya, is being hyped as an "A24-type" film by McKeon.
"It would be so daring of us, and really underscore that we’re here to make art," McKeon added, while Kaluuya himself has expressed his excitement regarding the project.
"Barney was a ubiquitous figure in many of our childhoods, then he disappeared into the shadows, left misunderstood. We’re excited to explore this compelling modern-day hero and see if his message of 'I love you, you love me' can stand the test of time."
The Judas and The Black Messiah star, 34, is also producing the film, which has been relatively under wraps since being announced in 2019.
He explained: "The scripts gotta be good, you know what I mean? It’s in development. I ask for high standards on anything that I work on, and I’m producing this one, so it’s still in development."
Despite the mystery surrounding Barney's plot, the television series itself is expected to be getting a complete overhaul, as announced by Mattel back in February of this year. The new and updated Barney is being earmarked for a 2024 return.
"Barney’s message of love and kindness has stood the test of time," said Josh Silverman, chief franchise officer and global head of consumer products at Mattel. "We will tap into the nostalgia of the generations who grew up with Barney, now parents themselves, and introduce the iconic purple dinosaur to a new generation of kids and families around the world across content, products, and experiences."
Barney's original series came to an end in 2010. Yet, with the enormous anticipation surrounding the release of Barbie, Mattel is gearing up for more iconic franchise overhauls, with the Margot Robbie-fronted franchise just the beginning of what could be the next Marvel-esque juggernaut of movies.
Chucky, one of the most iconic characters in horror movie history, has come out as an LGBTQ+ ally.
The murderous red-headed doll recently returned to our screens in the aptly named series, Chucky - a new Syfy show which delves into the gripping story behind the sinister doll.
In a clip from the series, which was shared on Syfy's official TikTok account, Chucky (Brad Dourif) tells Jake Wheeler (Zachary Arthur), the boy who found him at a yard sale, that his own child is a part of the LGBTQ+ community.
Check out the moment Chucky comes out as an LGBTQ+ ally:
He tells Jake: "You know, I have a queer kid."
To which a visibly surprised Jake asks: "You have a kid?"
The doll, who made his film debut in the 1988 movie Child Play, then confirms that he indeed has a child and that his child is gender fluid.
"And you're cool with that?" Jake asks his plastic companion, who eerily responds: "I'm not a monster, Jake."
The scene is from episode two of Chucky and sees Jake confront the doll who read the teen's diary and discovered that he has a thing for one of his school peers, a boy named Devon.
Fans of Chucky have since taken to social media to praise the show for making the iconic character tolerant towards gender minorities.
One excited viewer wrote: "Wait there is a chucky tv series and chucky is a supportive dad to his gender fluid kid Bruh what did I miss ?!?!?!???? When did all of this happen."
Another said: "Chucky is an equal opportunity psychotic murder doll! He doesn't discriminate based on age, race, sexual orientation, religion, gender identity, veteran status, or political affiliation. Now THAT'S progressive as fuq!"
A third wrote: "I always appreciate when villains in media are respectful to someone's gender identity, like Chucky being cool with his kid being genderfluid or the big bad of Deadly Premonition 2 using proper pronouns for a trans character, because it just makes those who won't look like a**es."
A final person said: "[Chucky] may be an evil killing doll but he is pro gender fluid people, so not a true monster."
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