Marvel’s Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur deserved better. The animated Disney Channel show was cancelled earlier this year after a two-season run, with some episodes still yet to air both on cable television and streaming services.
Despite its brand recognition, and big names like Lawrence Fishburne producing and starring as key characters, it struggled to attract a consistent audience. This is a shame because its stories, art style, and musical direction are equally stellar, pushing the Marvel universe to places that its cinematic equivalents wouldn’t dare explore. But this wasn’t enough, and now one of its scant remaining episodes is being shelved, possibly because of its LGBTQ+ themes and storytelling.
The Gatekeeper Was All About Trans People In Sports
Polygon recently published a report that delves into The Gatekeeper, an early season two episode that would have revolved around Brooklyn, a trans classmate of heroine Luna who also happens to be a key member of the school’s volleyball team. When an important game rears its head and Brooklyn wants to take part, she is stopped by transphobic coach Greer from doing so, with the woman claiming that Brooklyn isn’t a real girl and never will be.
On the flipside, Brooklyn has support within the education system from gym teacher Coach Hrbek, who throughout the episode, pushes Brooklyn to be included regardless of her identity. Like many episodes of Moon Girl, this becomes the central dilemma as Greer soon reveals herself to be a supervillain of sorts that traps Luna, Brooklyn, and friends inside the locker room with no means of escape.
The door is covered in myriad padlocks, eager to represent the constant cycle of obstacles trans people – especially younger folks – must face in order to be themselves in everyday life. From a visual perspective, the episode is drenched in colours and shades representative of the pride flag, while Brooklyn’s water bottle stickers and knee pads leave absolutely no room for interpretation that she is a queer character. Moon Girl is being definitive in what message it’s trying to put across here, and it was apparently too progressive for Disney.
“Brooklyn is a girl, and she’s gonna play” is a particular direct line from Coach Hrbek, which positions him and the educational institution he seeks to represent as allies of young queer people.
It’s a political episode, but a vitally important story for young queer people who are likely still in the closet or yet to discover things about themselves. A relevant and emotional topic that animated shows like this are in a brilliant position to address, but Disney was seemingly so afraid of its impact that now it risks being shelved forever. Sometimes media can be afraid to speak the words associated with queerness, such as The Last of Us Part 2 being afraid to say ‘lesbian’ or ‘transgender’ despite one of its key narrative arcs revolving around a character having to leave their home after coming out in order to stay alive.
Moon Girl leaves no room for interpretation in its visuals or dialogue, with Brooklyn outright saying “I’m trans, my very existence breaks Greer’s rules,” moments before breaking down in tears. Her friends are supportive, and spring into action to pick up the pieces and tell Brooklyn that instead of supporting them all the time, she needs to let her guard down and be vulnerable.
They then unite to take down their evil transphobic coach in a beautiful music sequence defined by a volleyball decorated with trans colours and vibrant pride flag aesthetics all about fighting back against oppression. It’s hopeful, rebellious, while sending a clear message of love. A story that directly addresses the current stigma about trans people in sports and takes a stance that a neutral corporation like Disney wasn’t comfortable with.
Why Was The Moon Girl Trans Episode Shelved By Disney?
A crew member who worked on this episode initially claimed it was shelved following the US election, which saw Donald Trump defeat Kamala Harris to earn a second term. He is known for being outspoken against LGBTQ+ people and vowed to address a number of issues that currently plague American society, and it isn’t unreasonable to believe this will relate to trans people in sport.
Perhaps the episode was shelved because Disney didn’t want to be seen to be taking a direct stance on the issue, or would rather not play with fire when it comes to any parents who watch this episode with their children and believe a specific ideology is unfairly being projected onto them. It does no harm, but when a corporation as big as Disney holds the power, it doesn’t matter, and young queer people are going to be the ones who suffer.
@queenxoniyaa_ So much love went into this mixtape sequence you can tell the crew loved animating this i loved every second of it and I’m obsessed with the song 🏳️⚧️ 🩷🩵 #disney #moongirlanddevildinosaur #mgaddseason2 #mgaddspoilers #translivesmatter #transrepresentation #lgbtq🏳️🌈 #fyp #foryou #foryoupage #fypシ #viral #popular #fypppppppppppppp #zyxcba ♬ 5 MINUTES SILENT SOUND – 🦇𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐅𝐈𝐋𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐆𝐔𝐘™
However, a source speaking to Polygon claims differently: “In this case, this decision was based on this specific episode, not because of the character being trans.” The episode has not been banned either, but merely shelved with no plans for release. The source adds that Disney is also “respectful of the role that parents play in the discussions they have with their children.”
Regardless of why the episode was pulled from airing doesn’t matter though, as it was clearly done to avoid potential discussion about transgender people in sport or stepping on the toes of parents who might voice their complaints about an episode that is all about the prejudice of queer people by bigots and the importance of inclusion, respect, and identity.
The episode is available online although not through official means, so we won’t be linking it here.
What hurts most about this is that children’s animation is such a powerful tool for letting any young person know that they belong and can hope for a brighter future, regardless of where they might be in life. Your parents or loved ones might not understand the person you are or sympathise with your struggles, but shows like Moon Girl or The Owl House are able to act as that voice of hope and support that not every young person has. To take that away out of fear of being mocked by the voices of people who don’t deserve to be amplified is cowardly.
Again and again, I’ve been told that you cannot trust corporations to tell queer stories, and all the LGBTQ+ characters and narratives we have grown to love aren’t products of massive companies looking out for the little guy, but passionate creators within them doing everything they can to make things better. Moon Girl’s The Gatekeeper was yet another example, but in this instance, was snuffed out. Queer stories in animation deserve better.