We've still got a long way to go...
...but nowadays, there's so much amazing LGBTQ+ representation in animated children's shows, giving a whole new generation of young, queer kids the much-needed representation and visibility they need!
Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts
Gah, we're still hoping and praying for a sequel series to this incredible queer-inclusive animated adventure. The show follows Kipo Oak a young girl who leaves the safety of her underground bunker into a world of massive animals to find her father and along the way learns a shocking secret about herself and makes friends with a whole bunch of lovable weirdos including Benson who is not only proudly gay, but gets a really sweet love interest.
Star Trek: Lower Decks
Star Trek has always been ahead of the curve when it comes to representation and exploring queer themes. So no surprise that even its animated series Below Deck is serving when it comes to queer inclusivity. One of the series leads Beckett Mariner, is bisexual, and just as chaotic and lovable as you could ask for.
Beam us up another season!
The Second Best Hospital in the Galaxy
Think ER then put it in space, make it super weird and super gay and you'll get The Second Best Hospital in the Galaxy. The show follows besties Dr. Sleech and Dr. Klak as they face down bizarre intergalactic medical mysteries — and romance. Gay romance.
Scott Pilgrim Takes Off
It has been known that Ramona Flowers is a bisexual queen, but in the animated series that backstory finally got its due! This time when Ramona and Roxie face-off we get to see more of their romantic history and even get some closure.
Harley Quinn
Ok so this one isn't so much for the kiddies, but grown folks deserve great, animated queer representation, too! The series focuses on Harley Quinn making her way in the big city after finally dumping Joker for good. A little healing and a few crime sprees later she's ready for love again, this time with Poison Ivy.
Steven Universe
Steven Universe may be the queerest kid show on TV (though some of these shows are giving it a good run for its money!). Centered around the adventures of Steven and his adopted family of female warrior aliens called the Crystal Gems, the show isn’t shy about the fact that most of the gems are queer. Steven Universe deftly touches on very complicated topics such as homophobia, anxiety and domestic violence, making them approachable for children.
Magic Girl Friendship Squad: Origins
Magic Girl Friendship Squad: Origins has had a run on SyFy since 2020. The show features Daisy, an adult in her mid-20s that was chosen by Nut to save the universe alongside her roommate, Alex. Daisy, played by bisexual actress Anna Akana, who also voiced the character on the main Magic Girl Friendship Squad show, caused some debate when one of the writers said they hadn’t identified Daisy’s sexuality (yet) in November 2020.
However, since the script of the show lays the groundwork for Daisy to be interpreted as a trans lesbian, some fans weren’t having it. After attacking Akana online, she addressed the controversy, saying, “I agree trans actor should play trans characters, but the fact that people have tried to erase Daisy’s bisexuality is equally maddening. I rarely get to play a character true to my sexuality. Please don’t get your info off of random Twitter comments.”
Hoops
Hoops is another short-lived series that only lasted for one season on Netflix. It follows a foul-mouthed high school basketball coach who wants his team to hit the big leagues and believes he has the option to turn his terrible team around.
Among the team is Scott, the number 9 jersey who is revealed to be gay in the first season. Part of his storyline follows people teasing him for “being straight,” but also depicts a relationship between himself and his boyfriend Neil. Scott is the main character throughout the 10-episode show, and his character is among the most compelling.
Crossing Swords
Crossing Swords was a short-lived animated series on Hulu that followed a peasant who dreamt of knighthood, and thus became a squire at the royal castle. The knight, Patrick, has a brother named Ruben who’s revealed to be gay in the first season. Throughout the second season, he pursues a relationship with Holden, the son of another king.
Adventure Time
The surreal, dadaist Adventure Time is always...well, an adventure! While the show started as strange shorts, it has developed into a much deeper plot as Finn and his shapechanging dog brother Jake explore the post-apocalyptic world of Ooo. While censorship laws outside the US where the show is distributed stop Adventure Time from using specific terminology, they aren’t shy about the past (and current) feelings shared between Princess Bubblegum and Marceline, nor other queer nods sprinkled throughout.
Sailor Moon Crystal
While the original adventures of this sailor-suited soldier of justice was many in the millennial generation's first brush with canon gay characters, the new Saillor Moon Crystal reboot is polished up and condensed down to a make for a more action-packed show. Now that it’s modern day, there’s no push to cover-up the queer storylines, like what happened in the '90s, US dub of the first show. Keep in mind, however, that Japan has a slightly different idea of what kid-friendly is. (This show might be best for your older kiddos!)
Gravity Falls
This show about two kids stuck in their great uncle’s Mystery Spot tourist trap for the summer is the perfect show for your kids if they keep trying to stay up late to watch Twin Peaks and The X-Files with you! While it’s not the only queer nod in the show, Sheriff Blubs and Deputy Durland’s loving reunion in the last episode confirmed what fans had assumed for a long time about the towns dorky (but loveable) police force.
Star vs. the Forces of Evil
This fu, little sister show of Sailor Moon finally treats LGBTQ+ characters like they’re no big deal. Girls confess crushes on girls like it’s no different than boys, same-sex couples snog in the background at school dances, and while main character Marco Diaz is a cishet dude as far as anyone knows, he certainly has no issues challenging the stereotypical boy’s role, loving cooking and happily dressing up as a princess when needed on their many magical girl adventures.
Danger & Eggs
This show, aimed at a slightly younger demographic then those before it on our list, is a brightly-colored romp through creativity. The show is centered around D.D., a child daredevil, and Phillip, a safety-oriented mutant egg. The first cartoon created by a trans woman, Shadi Petosky, the show is stuffed full of good morals and all sorts of queer characters. Most are even voiced by queer actors in this talent-filled cast, such as Stephanie Beatriz and Jasika Nicole.
Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card
If you never caught the original, Cardcaptor Sakura follows the adventure of elementary student Sakura as she tracks down a series of magical cards she accidentally released. The show is bursting with cute and doesn’t shy away from queer crushes! Whether it’s Tomoyo and Sayoran’s childish crushes, or the more mature relationship between Sakura’s older brother and his boyfriend, the show's sequel, Clear Card, explores all levels of love.
The Loud House
The Loud House is a Nick show focused on the adventures of the massive Loud family. The show focuses on Lincoln, the middle child and only boy in his family of eleven. Like many of these shows, The Loud House is diverse across the board. His best friend Clyde is an adopted child of an interracial gay couple, and at least one of his sister’s crushes as easily on girls as boys.
Clarence
From the same creators as Adventure Time, Clarence follows the (slightly more mundane) adventures of elementary school student Clarence and his BFFs Jeff and Sumo. The more pedestrian setting doesn’t rob the series of any charm or excitement compared to its more magical Cartoon Network peers on this list. Clarence’s buddy Jeff has two moms, and the ladies are often involved in the boy’s adventures.
The Legend of Korra
The Legend of Korra, and its predecessor, Avatar: The Last Airbender, broke ground in many ways. The show tackled, both within its world and ours, subjects from sexism to the ethics of weapons of mass destruction. One of the most groundbreaking parts of it was becoming the first children’s show to star a canonly queer lead, with the last shot showing Korra and Asami gazing lovingly into each other’s eyes, confirming the long, developing love between them.
Arthur
The premiere episode of Arthur's 22nd season, entitled "Mr. Ratburn and the Special Someone," revealed that everyone's fave teacher/cake fiend Mr. Ratburn is openly gay. His wedding to his hubby Patrick in the episode was literally one of the cutest things we've ever seen on TV!
DuckTales
In an April 2020 episode of Disney XD's DuckTales reboot, it's revealed that a character named Violet has two adorable dads! When we meet them for the first time, they're both wearing shirts that read, "I'm With Dad" with arrows pointing at each other.
She-Ra and the Princesses of Power
While there's too many amazing, badass queers in Netflix's She-Ra and the Princesses of Power to count, in the second season of the beloved series, it was revealed that Bow, one of Adora's best friends, has two dads! We already knew She-Ra was queer AF, but seeing two loving, openly gay parents on a popular animated show made our hearts swell! And speaking of She-Ra and how awesomely LGBTQ-inclusive the animated series is, in the show's fifth and final season, Adora and her best-friend-turned-enemy-turned-friend-again-turned-girlfriend Catra confirmed their queerness when they confessed their love for each other and kissed in one of the entire series most emotional and raw moments! We have to stan forever!
SpongeBob SquarePants
During Pride Month 2020, Nickelodeon tweeted a series of rainbow-colored portraits of the network's LGBTQ+ actors and characters that included Michael D. Cohen, a trans actor from Henry Danger, Korra, our fave bi hero from The Legend of Korra, and the square yellow seas sponge himself, officially confirming SpongeBob SquarePants' status as a long-running LGBTQ+ character and icon.
Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated
Although the show is already completed (it ran from 2010-2013), in July 2020, Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated co-creator Tony Cervone confirmed on Instagram that Velma was canonically intended to be a lesbian.
"Velma in Mystery Incorporated is not bi. She’s gay," he wrote. "We always planned on Velma acting a little off and out of character while she was dating Shaggy because that relationship was wrong for her and she had unspoken difficulty with the why. I don’t think Marcie and Velma had time to act on their feelings during the main timeline, but post-reset, they are a couple."
The Owl-House
This Disney channel series (from the same creative minds behind Gravity Falls) confirmed lead character Luz Noceda's (Sarah-Nicole Robles) queerness in the episode "Enchanting Grom Fright." Though Luz previously had crushes on male characters in the series, she asked by her female friend Amity (played by Avatar: The Last Airbender and Good Girls legend Mae Whitman) to be her date for their school's prom. This made history since Luz, a 14-year-old Dominican-American high schooler, can now be considered Disney Channel's first LGBTQ+ lead character.
"I'm bi! I want to write a bi character, dammit!" The Owl House creator Dana Terrace said in a tweet following the airing of the episode. "Luckily my stubbornness paid off and now I am VERY supported by current Disney leadership."
Adachi and Shimamura
Adachi and Shimamura depicts a budding romance against lesbian women, and also examines the realities of what it’s like to be LGBTQ+ in Japan. It’s a yuri light novel that centers around Hougetsu Shimamura and Sakura Adachi, two classmates who meet at their school gym and grow their relationship from there.
This show has cultural impact seeing as how Japan is historically hostile toward the LGBTQ+ communities and that Japanese government offers no legal protections for LGBTQ+ individuals. This is partially examined in the show by never outright confirming the character’s sexualities throughout the show.