Disney Movies UK
The tale as old as time will feature Disney’s first ever gay character.
Director of the live action adaption of Beauty and the Beast, Bill Condon, told Attitude Magazine that Gaston’s comedic sidekick, LeFou, will have a significant subplot where he comes to terms with his sexuality.
In the interview Condon says, “LeFou is somebody who on one day wants to be Gaston and on another day wants to kiss Gaston.”
LeFou will be played by Josh Gad, known for his other famous Disney role as Olaf in the wildly popular musical Frozen.
But the news comes with some mixed reviews.
Josh Gad said he was “beyond proud of this,” and while many were happy about the inclusion, others said they will be boycotting the film, but the majority wishing for a more substantial role for someone representing the LGBTQ+ community.
Disney's making its first gay character with LeFou and he's a clownish sidekick who exists to prop up his straight best friend. Great job.
— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) March 1, 2017
This is a step and it is progress. But we need strong and heroic characters to represent the LGBTQ community.
— Jessica (@xwithmywoes) March 1, 2017
Disney released a new trailer days before the news.
It shows the quirky relationship between the two characters with LeFou singing “You can ask any Tom, Dick or Stanley and they’ll tell you whose team they prefer to be on,” hinting to the audience about LeFou’s possible sexual orientation.
It’s already one of the year’s most anticipated films and it will now go down in the Disney history books.
Beauty and the Beast starring Emma Watson and Dan Stevens will hit theatres March 17th.