22 Cartoon Shows With Awesome LGBTQ+ Characters

Never underestimate the power of cartoons...

... especially when it comes to representation of queer folks. While there’s still plenty of room for improvement, there’s no question that animated series are stepping up when it comes to telling queer stories. Shows like Dead End: Paranormal Parknot only give trans kids someone they can relate to, but someone deserving of friendship, adventure, and love. The bisexual awakening in The Owl House was one of the best and sweetest we’ve seen put to screen, period. So, you can excuse us as we geek out about some of our favorite cartoons featuring LGBTQ+ characters.

Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts

A young girl with strange gifts is forced to go out and search for her father in a post-apocalyptic world populated by monsters. Fortunately, she quickly makes a friend and ally in Benson, a gay teen who knows how to survive in the wilds of the surface world. Rather than wait to make Benson’s sexuality a big reveal, the show quickly and sweetly has him come out — and he even gets a boyfriend.

Harley Quinn

The series opens with Harley Quinn breaking off her toxic relationship and going on an adventure of self-discovery. Along the way, she realizes that real love has been right in front of her with her bestie Poison Ivy. It’s a chaotic love story done right.

Dead End: Paranormal Park

Based on the award-winning comic by Hamish Steele, Deadendia, this series focuses on Barney, a trans teen who takes a job at a local amusement park and gets caught up in supernatural shenanigans. As we mentioned at the top, Barney is exactly the kind of aspirational character who could change lives simply by being a visible, complicated, and deeply loveable person.

Solar Opposites

A family of aliens takes up residence in Middle America and begins to assimilate into Earth’s culture — whether they like it or not. One of the ways this is apparent is in the evolution of Korvo and Terry’s relationship. While not initially romantic partners, that’s exactly what they become throughout the course of the show. It’s an adorable (frequently raunchy) nontraditional and loving family.

Star Trek: Prodigy

The live-action version of Star Trek has always been at the forefront when it comes to social messaging and representation. So it’s no surprise that this animated series would also make inclusivity a priority. In this case, it’s by featuring a lead character, Gwyn, who is nonbinary.

Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous

This animated spin of the blockbuster series sees a group of teens stranded on Isla Nublar after the inevitable dinosaur crisis leads the rest of the people to flee the island. Despite the constant threat of predatory dinosaurs, a sweet, slow-burn romance blooms between two of its leads. Let’s just say that when Yaz and Sammy confessed their love, we roared our support.

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. 

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

The latest Disney Channel animated 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."