Onward’s heroes are two elven brothers, Ian and Barley (Tom Holland and Chris Pratt), who lost their father at a young age before either had a chance to properly say goodbye. Written by Scanlon, Jason Headley and Keith Bunin, the film takes places in a magical universe whose fantastical citizens - think elves, dragons and manticores - have lost their connection to the magical arts. Specter only appears in one scene in Onward, which opens in theaters on March 6, but her role is vital to the emotional arc of the story. “The scene, when we wrote it, was kind of fitting and it opens up the world a little bit, and that’s what we wanted.” Adds director Dan Scanlon, “It’s a modern fantasy world and we want to represent the modern world.” “It just kind of happened,” Onward producer Kori Rae tells Yahoo Entertainment.
While Specter’s inclusion in Onward is a major first for Disney, it’s treated almost matter-of-factly in the movie itself, which the filmmakers say is by design. Her name is Officer Specter, and she’s a Cyclops cop voiced by openly gay screenwriter and actress Lena Waithe. Months after The Rise of Skywalker featured the first same-sex kiss in the Star Wars galaxy, the new animated film Onward introduces the first self-identified lesbian character into the Disney-Pixar universe.
It’s been a long wait, but a Disney heroine finally has a girlfriend… and it’s not Elsa. Warning: This story contains minor spoilers for the new Disney Pixar animated film Onward.