10 queer cartoons we want revived alongside 'Adventure Time'
| 06/12/24
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DC Entertainment/Warner Bros. Animation; Netflix; Cartoon Network
For fans of the popular cartoon Adventure Time—known for surrealistic visuals, emotional storytelling, and beloved queer characters—today is a red letter day because it was just announced the show is getting its own movie and two new series!
While there isn’t much known about the movie, except that Steven Universe’s Rebecca Sugar and Over the Garden Wall’s Patrick McHale are attached, Adventure Time: Side Quests is set to be a prequel kid’s show that will follow Finn and Jake. On the other hand, Adventure Time: Heyo BMO will be geared toward younger audiences, and BMO and his friends will find themselves overcoming challenges.
Between getting all of this new Adventure Time content, Disney teasing a Gravity Falls revival, and Cartoon Network in talks to revive the Regular Show, we’re now thinking about all of the queer cartoons that we love that ended too soon and are in desperate need of more seasons.
From She-Ra to Q Force to Sailor Moon, there are so many amazing LGBTQ+ cartoons out there that deserve a reboot or sequel. Some gave us the queer representation we crave, but we’re greedy for more, while other’s waited until the very last second to show a queer relationship—we’re looking at you, The Legend of Korra—and we’re dying for the love story play out. Either way, these networks need to get it together!
Cartoon Network
Synopsis: Tulip Owens is a 13-year-old girl who aspires to become a computer game programmer but finds herself trapped on a train one day and is looking for a way out. She meets a robot called One-One, which consists of two spherical robots containing contrasting personalities that can combine into the shape of a basketball. Together they search the train, meeting a cast of strange characters along the way and hoping to find clues that will help Tulip find her way home.
Why we want more: During the run of the show we never got any textually queer characters, but the show still managed to feel super queer. The creators' hands were tied by the people in charge so there weren't able to add the LGBTQ+ representation they wanted to. Hopefully with new seasons or a reboot, the show would be full of queer characters.
Where to watch:iTunes
Netflix
Synopsis: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power is the story of an orphaned princess named Adora, who leaves behind her former life in the evil Horde when she discovers a magic sword that transforms her into legendary warrior princess She-Ra.
Why we want more: Although by the end of the show we finally get the Adora and Catra kiss we had been waiting for, we want more. Plus, any show that has one of the male characters wearing a half-shirt deserves more episodes!
Where to watch:Netflix
Synopsis: Accidentally sent to the world of the Boiling Isles before a trip to summer camp, a teenage human named Luz longs to become a witch, with the rebellious Eda and pint-sized demon King at her aid.
Why we want more: Luz and Amity’s enemies to lovers plot line melted our hearts and we need more!
Where to watch:Disney+
Synopsis: A team of intergalactic warriors fights to protect the Earth, but the combination of three highly trained beings and one quirky young boy leaves the team struggling to overcome the dangerous scenarios that are put in front of them.
Why we want more: Steven Universe may be the queerest cartoon we've ever seen. From playing with gender to a lesbian space wedding, Steven Universe had it all, and we'd love to see what would be store for these LGBTQ+ characters next.
Where to watch:Hulu
Synopsis: A group of schoolgirls discovers they are incarnations of super-powered alien princesses and use their abilities to defend the earth.
Why we want more: While the original U.S. run of the show was censored in an attempt to "protect" kids *eye roll* from the queerness present in the OG show, that didn't stop kids growing up in the '90s from knowing the score. And now that the uncensored version is available to stream, we are eager to see just how queer a modern version of it would be!
Where to watch: Hulu
Netflix
Synopsis: The young adult animated series follows a girl named Kipo Oak who’s searching for her father after being forced to flee from her burrow, and must explore the post-apocalyptic surface world ruled by mutated animals to find him.
Why we want more: We loved how unapologetically queer the show was from the jump and the romance between Benson and Troy was so sweet we want more!
Where to watch:Netflix
DC Entertainment/Warner Bros. Animation
Synopsis: DC’s young superheroes come of age, balancing truth and justice against the secrets and lies of various villains and allies.
Why we want more: Once the show moved to Max, we finally got the queer characters we had been hoping for, but it ended too soon, and now we need to see what happens next!
Where to watch:Max
Netflix
Synopsis: This series is about a group of undervalued LGBTQ+ super spies, and is centered on a gay secret agent who is like James Bond, Steve Maryweather (also known as Agent Mary), as they try to prove themselves on personal and professional adventures.
Why we want more: This fun show about queer spies only got 10 episodes before Netflix pulled the plug, and it wasn't nearly enough for us!
Where to watch:Netflix
Netflix
Synopsis: Avatar Korra fights to keep Republic City safe from the evil forces of both the physical and spiritual worlds.
Why we want more: Fans waited patiently to have Korra and Asami's relationship—which started as friendship before growing more intimate—confirmed by the end of the show. While the two beloved characters didn't kiss, they did gaze into each other's eyes as the show ended. The creators assumed Nickelodeon wouldn't allow them to be explicitly queer so they left the kiss out, robbing fans everywhere. Now that it's a decade later, we want to see what a Korra and Asami relationship would look like.
Where to watch:Netflix
Netflix
Synopsis: Two teens and a talking pug team up to battle demons at a haunted theme park and maybe even save the world from a supernatural apocalypse.
Why we want more: Another victim of Netflix cutting queer shows left and right, Dead End: Paranormal Park sadly only got 10 episodes before it was unceremoniously canceled. But it was a queer show made by queer creators, and we'd love to what they'd do with more seasons.
Where to watch:Netflix
Ariel Messman-Rucker is an Oakland-born journalist who now calls the Pacific Northwest her home. When she’s not writing about politics and queer pop culture, she can be found reading, hiking, or talking about horror movies with the Zombie Grrlz Horror Podcast Network.
Ariel Messman-Rucker is an Oakland-born journalist who now calls the Pacific Northwest her home. When she’s not writing about politics and queer pop culture, she can be found reading, hiking, or talking about horror movies with the Zombie Grrlz Horror Podcast Network.