EDIT 2024-12-24: People still finding this post three years later – who are you? Please leave a comment or email me at info [@] veronicadymond.com – I want to know who else cares this much about gay cartoons haha
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It’s Oscar season, and you know what that means – clickbait, baby!
Today’s Lesbian Trash Panda is about The Mitchells vs the Machines, which is in the running for Best Animated Feature.
This post answers burning questions like, Will the Mitchells save the planet? Is it gay? Will they reunite as a family? How gay is it? Will animation for kids ever break the queer glass ceiling? And more!
ALL ABOUT THAT TRASH
Summary
Tech-savvy teen filmmaker Katie Mitchell is a weirdo. Yeah, she gets along with her equally weird mom & brother and her homemade videos are viral sensations, but what she really wants is to be around people who get her – like the ones at the film school she’s days away from attending.
The problem? Her survivalist techno-luddite father. Not only does he not understand her art, he organizes a family road trip that delays the start of her school year and her chance to be around new friends.
The other problem? The robot apocalypse.
When superpowered automatons take over, the Mitchells learn they are the only people who can save the the human race – but first, they have to start working together.
So basically, the human race is doomed.
Why You Should Watch This (No Spoilers)
It’s funny.
The Mitchells vs the Machines is hilarious. Produced by Phil Lorde and Chris Miller (Clone High, Into the Spiderverse, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs) and directed by Mike Rianda (Gravity Falls), this family comedy is sharp. Nothing is expected, everything is fresh. It’s frenetic and fun and there’s a callback to a certain 90s toy craze that made me scream it was so funny.
It’s beautiful.
The animation and design of this film is amazing. They developed a new animation technique to recreate the feel of the painting they used to develop the movie, and it’s visually fun and creative. Everything is gorgeous, the characters look cool, the action is awesome, it’s just really pretty and well-made.
It’s charming.
All the characters are fleshed out and feel real – the story doesn’t go for easy storytelling clichés. It’s honest and sincere without being cloying, silly and zany without being annoying.
Definitely worth a watch for anyone!
Queer Context Corner: Queer Realism vs Queer Normalization
Background: “The Way” to Do Queer Representation
As a lifelong Lord/Miller fan, I hopped on The Mitchells vs the Machines as soon as it came out. My partner and I watched it when it debuted, and the next day, I watched it again. Altogether, I have seen it maybe 5-6 times. I love this movie.
When it debuted on Netflix earlier this year, there was a lot of excitement in queer online spaces. People called it groundbreaking – and it was, because The Mitchells vs the Machines is the first animated family film with an openly gay main character.
Yes.
In 2021.
Yes.
Katie Mitchell of The Mitchells vs. the Machines has arrived to rightfully claim the throne of queer representation in animated cinema
said WhatToWatch.com.
Netflix’s ‘The Mitchells vs. the Machines’ is how to do LGBTQ representation in kids’ movies
said Michelle Yang writing for NBC.
I just want to say, with a complete love and appreciation for this movie:
No.
This is not how to do queer representation in kids movies.
It’s not THE way to do queer representation.
It’s A way to do a queer representation.
Queer Characters vs Queer Stories
I make a distinction between queer characters and queer stories when discussing queer representation.
A queer character is a character who is some variety of “not straight/cis” across regions, timelines, and universes. For example, Korra from the one true Avatar may exist in a fictional universe, but because she dates both men and women, she’s considered a queer character in our world.
A queer story is about the experience of “being queer.” It’s a story specific to experiences queer people in our world have or relate to. Common queer stories are things like coming out narratives, discovering one’s sexuality, stories about activism, stories about navigating being gay in a homophobic world, stories set in traditionally queer places or moments in history. These are not the only queer stories! But they are common in modern Western storytelling.
Queer characters can exist in both queer and non-queer stories. Having a queer character or several does not make a story a queer story, nor does it make it “good representation” (which is a topic for another day).
A story can also be a queer story without overtly saying any characters are gay; this is especially true of queer stories told in times and places when queerness was/is criminalized or marginalized.
Queer Realism vs Queer Normalization
What if a story has central queer characters, but many of the issues queer people face in real life don’t exist? Is this still a queer story?
The label maker in me wants to distinguish between these types of narratives. I will call them “queer realism” and “queer normalization.” These are inexact terms so forgive me, but I’m making this up, I’m not being peer reviewed, no one is paying me to write this, I’m just a dork with a keyboard.
“Queer realism” is when the narrative deals with issues specific to the real world queer experience, either currently or historically, even if they are in a fantastical setting. The Legend of Korra comic Turf Wars has some queer realism – Korra and her girlfriend Asami have to come out to her friends and family (something a straight couple wouldn’t have to do) and learn that queer people in their world experience oppression similar to queer people in our world. Philadelphia is a queer realism story – a gay man fighting in court after losing his job because he has AIDS.
“Queer normalization” is when a story pretends certain real world issues that queer people deal with don’t exist. The characters will have struggles, but things like homophobia and transphobia aren’t a thing – being queer is just, well, normal. Gideon the Ninth, wherein there are many queer characters and no one ever comes out or sees the need to, is an example of queer normalization.
The question to ask to see if a story is queer realism or queer normalization is, “If these characters/relationships were straight, would the story fundamentally change?” And if the answer’s no, it’s normalization.
What’s So Bad About Queer Normalization?
Casual queer representation is important—and can be deeply refreshing to someone who is accustomed to erasure—but that level of representation should be the standard, not a standout. There’s more to be said than “this man has a boyfriend” or “this character uses they/them pronouns.” There’s more to the queer perspective than labels, romantic and sexual entanglements, or coming-out narratives.
Sarah Gailey, “What Makes a Story Queer?“
Neither queer realism nor queer normalization is better than the other. I want these terms to be seen as value-neutral. Stories in either group can be good or bad. It’s how they are used that matters.
Good queer realism helps queer people see their struggles in media, creates connection, reflects reality. Bad queer realism can be cliched, boring, depressing, and exploitative.
Good queer normalization can offer an example to model, can build hope, can show that queer people are just as deserving as anyone of being main characters. Bad queer normalization can be ignorant, sanitized, and vapid.
There are lots of great stories to be told through both, or a mixture. It’s good to acknowledge the painful aspects of being queer in our current world, but it’s also good to imagine a better one. Balance is key – and not even necessarily balance within a story. I’m talking about a balance in the types of stories that get to be told overall.
My problem with queer normalization is that it allows media creators to be superficially inclusive by introducing queer characters, while refusing to confront any real queer issues, because they would be too inflammatory or political.
Basically all kids cartoons do this.
So how does The Mitchells vs the Machines fare?
The Mitchells vs the Machines vs Queer Representation
Katie is a queer character. She wears a pride pin throughout the movie and, at the end of the film, her mom asks if she and her friend Jade are official yet. And that checkerboard fedora Katie wears in her introductory montage? I had that fucking hat in high school.
So yeah, she’s gay.
Additionally, Katie’s narrative is one that lots of queer people can relate to – Katie is an outsider who wants to find acceptance and community with people like her.
But is this a “queer story”? Eeeh, no. Katie is ostracized, yes, but not because she’s gay. That’s not what’s driving the wedge between her and her father, which is her main story arc.
Katie is ostracized because she’s a dork. And as a dork, I super relate! But let’s imagine we take off Katie’s pride pin and we switch her girlfriend Jade to Jayden at the end. Fundamentally, is this character’s story arc any different?
Not really.
Again, there’s good and bad in that! The good is showing that queer people are just people – we’re not scary, we’re not deviant. We’re just like everyone – and we can be heroes, too.
But the bad is that in terms of representation, it only goes for that superficial level. To me, Katie’s queerness is still pretty subdued. It’s nowhere near as subtextual as many queer characters in kids’ media, but it’s still subtle – the pin is a small detail, the line about her girlfriend only comes at the end. In a movie this huge and loud, with a main character this expressive and open, I wanted more.
I want to be clear: I don’t think this movie would necessarily be better if they added some queer realism or made Katie “more gay.” We don’t need a scene of Katie getting bullied because she’s gay. In fact, in a GLAAD-sponsored interview with the filmmakers, director Mike Rianda said that part of the reason they chose not to include some of those classic queer narratives and difficult queer themes is because they didn’t want a kids’ first exposure to queerness to be negative. I respect that as a creative choice! I am discussing the issue of queer normalization as a trend, not as a specific deficiency of this particular movie.
If Mitchells vs the Machines existed in a world where there was ample queer content, where we had a mix of queer normalization and queer realism in content for kids and teens, this would be a nonissue.
But it exists in this world, and it falls into a trend of having queer characters, but not acknowledging queer realities.
And there’s a sinister reason for that.
It’s Ok to Be Gay (But Not That Gay)
As a rule, I don’t blame showrunners or writers or creative teams for falling into the trend of queer normalization in kids cartoons. Most of the time, when queerness is subdued like this, it’s not because the creative team wasn’t trying – it’s because they were censored.
We have seen this time and again, most recently with Disney and Pixar employees talking about their queer work being censored by Disney higher-ups. I don’t think most execs believe they are homophobic, but they are willing to kowtow to people – lobby groups, lawmakers, governments – who are. And it results in the same thing.
There’s an assumption that queer stories and queer people are inherently “not for kids,” that we’re deviant or hypersexual (which is super hilarious if you knew me in my 20s). Media, especially kids media, applies different standards to queer stories. Heterosexual couples kiss and hug and hold hands and get married and exist in every type of kids media – but queer characters are often not allowed to demonstrate attraction or show even modest signs of affection. And certainly not without moral uproar.
Even when romance is portrayed, reality is not. Most real queer-specific issues are inherently political. If you talk about homophobia, that leads to questions about why someone be homophobic – and that’s political. It’s safer for studios to acknowledge gay people, but not acknowledge any suffering we face. It means creators, queer and not, are stifled in what kind of stories they can tell.
Not all kids shows need queer realism! But I want to see some story at some point acknowledge that the experience of growing up queer is somewhat different and difficult because of prejudice.
The Mitchells Fight Back
According to the creative team of The Mitchell vs the Machines, they were nervous about making Katie queer in the modest ways they did. They developed the film without telling Sony the lead was gay, nervous about how the execs would react. Queer artists who worked on the film wrote letters to Sony heads to support the decision. In one particular letter, visual development artist Lizzie Nichols talks about how much it meant to her to work on a project like this after resigning herself to the idea of never seeing queer representation in her chosen field of work. It’s beautiful, and heartfelt, and makes me tear up.
But she should not have had to write it.
It makes me so fucking angry to think that this artist, that any artist, would have to dig so deep into their own pain and expose themselves in such a raw way, to fight for something as basic as a pride pin and the mention of a girlfriend in the denouement. And what’s worse is knowing that others have done this before, fought these same fights, and lost.
I genuinely appreciate what the creators of The Mitchells vs the Machines did to get the queer content they did into this movie.
I just wish it didn’t have to be this hard for this little. It’s a step forward, but having a queer main character shouldn’t be something you need to build a case for.
With that being said, it paid off. We have our first every queer main character in an animated movie for kids. Lots of audience members saw themselves in this movie. Lots of people saw something inspirational and aspirational. Some families will watch this movie and realize that being queer and being family-friendly are not opposites.
That’s beautiful. I don’t want to diminish that.
Conclusion
Despite me going on about Katie’s queerness being mostly subdued, there is one moment in the film that I feel does hit a specifically queer theme.
Katie is talking to her little brother Aaron, who vehemently denies he has a crush on a girl. Katie says, “Hey, don’t hide your feelings. That’s no way to live.”
I want queer storytelling for kids to live up to that. Don’t hide the feelings – both the good and the bad.
Post Script: Silly Stories in Sad Times
It feels irresponsible to talk about queer representation in kids media without discussing what’s going on in the States right now. There are so many anti-queer laws being passed or tabled – in Texas, Alabama, Idaho, Florida, with more popping up seemingly daily. Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill would prevent teachers from discussing “sexual orientation and gender identity” in elementary schools.
Fans and employees of Disney have been putting pressure on the company to take a stand. Disney responded by saying it would continue to financially back lawmakers who put the bill on the books and support the LGBTQ community by telling diverse stories – to which Disney employees said bullshit, you keep shutting down queer stories when we try to tell them.
Creators like The Owl House’s Dana Terrace, as well as employees staging walkouts, are taking huge risks in calling out Disney for its lackluster stance on these issues, but it’s the right thing to do. And sometimes taking a stand pays off — Disney’s CEO announced they will pause their political donations for now. A same-sex kiss has been restored to the upcoming Lightyear (which kinda just proves they have been censoring so, still shitty over all imo). We might see more action soon. Let’s hope.
(The Mitchell’s vs the Machines is a Sony/Columbia production.)
Oscar Buzz
A note about the Best Animated Feature nominees this year: they’re all kinda gay? The Mitchells vs the Machines is up against: Flee, a true story of a gay man leaving Afghanistan as a refugee; Encanto, which features bi icon (bicon?) Stephanie Beatriz as the lead and whose breakout character is the buff, queer-coded Luisa; Maya and the Last Dragon, which has super heavy “angry ex girlfriends” energy in its leads; and Luca, which is may not have queer characters but definitely reads as a queer story.
So that’s fun!
The Mitchell’s vs the Machines “HEADS UP” CHEAT SHEET (Trigger warnings/rating/etc.)
Age Group: PG
Is this actually gay? Katie is gay and she gets a girlfriend at the end of the movie, but it’s not the focus of the film
Does the lesbian die? No!
Triggers? (Rape, violence, domestic violence, etc.) Cartoon violence
Trauma Meter: Low
How Would I Tag This on AO3? Crackfic, funny, memes, just your everyday robot apocalypse, wlw, dinosaurs, parent-kid conflict, driving lessons are love