Queer characters aren’t in short supply when it comes to animation. There are all sorts of personas and storylines that reflect a diverse audience. Animation makes people feel seen on screen, and these characters are part of that.

There’s a reason many queer kids want to be animators when they grow up – it’s an art form that has always championed LGBTQ+ stories. And they’re bigger than ever today, from high-budget shows like Arcane to internet series like Helluva Boss.

Caitlyn and Vi – Arcane

With its record-smashing return to screen in 2024, Arcane concluded a two-season arc that delivered visually and narratively. The main heroes, Caitlyn and Vi, are multi-dimensional, emotional and flawed, something that is often underrepresented in media with sapphic characters. We deserve to see queer women punch walls, dye their hair, and have sweaty prison cell sex. Arcane gives us everything we could ask for and leaves us with only a few bruises.

Barney – Dead End: Paranormal Park

Barney, the series protagonist who is the lead security for Dead End Paranormal Park, is a gay disaster with a talking pug, and we couldn’t love him more. Amongst the hauntings, the encounters with hell demons, and a looming apocalypse, Barney reveals that he is trans. This show isn’t all just nightmares and rainbows, it deals with familial acceptance and shows younger audiences that chosen family is just as—if not more—important than blood.

Todd – Bojack Horseman 

Todd is Bojack’s loyal sidekick voiced by Aaron Paul. Although his main characteristic may be laziness, Todd is creative when he wants to be, and is always down for shenanigans. Later in the series, after we have grown closer to Todd through his unyielding friendship, he opens up about his sexuality claiming that he may be “nothing.” The audience gets to see him accept his orientation, and it is the ace representation that is desperately lacking in television.

The whole cast – Helluva Boss

This independent internet series may be the gayest thing to grace YouTube since Troye Sivan and Connor Franta. Led by writer/animator Vivienne Medrano, Helluva Boss has no shortage of queer characters. They did it. They made everyone gay.

Laura – Little Demon 

Are you a wlw in love with Aubrey Plaza? Do you like animation? Are you alight with a little bit of satanic romance? If you answered yes to the above questions, this is the show for you. Laura, the mother of the titular little demon, serves as the show’s main character, and it’s as gay and as bonkers as anything else in Plaza’s filmography. It may have only run for one season, but it is well worth the watch.

Adora and Catra – She-Ra and the Princesses of Power

This one is for the lesbians. Adora and Catra have the enemies-to-lovers storyline that fan fiction writers spend their lives trying to achieve. There’s angst, there’s tension, and there’s a grumpy/sunshine dynamic. Tropes are tropes for a reason, and this relationship is brimming with them. With swords, magic, and a pretty aesthetic, She-Ra brings sapphic yearning to all audiences.

Mr. Ratburn – Arthur

Gay rats are everywhere now, but there was an original. Mr. Ratburn was the gay representation we needed as kids. When he got married to his rat boyfriend, it was as if our own favourite literature teacher tied the knot. There’s nothing compared to the high of a gay rat wedding.

Luz and Amity – The Owl House 

In this one, Disney actually gave us queer characters. However, the show was cancelled after their relationship was confirmed. Regardless, the creator of the show put nothing but care into Luz and Amity, and it is beloved by queers young and old.

Raúl – Wendell & Wild 

Wendell & Wild made history by being the first stop-motion film to feature an openly trans character. The movie shows that it doesn’t take an army of teens just to stop monsters and hell hijinks, sometimes it takes an army to get through Catholic school. With support from his friends and family, Raúl can truly face anything. The film also has Key & Peele voicing claymation demons, so you know it’s good.

Katie – The Mitchells vs the Machines

This underrated movie about a family road trip is laugh-out-loud funny and tooth-achingly sweet. The central character, Katie, voiced by Abbi Jacobson, is stuck with her dysfunctional family as they take a cross-country road trip to drop her off at film school. Along the way, the Mitchells need to put aside their differences to stop the robot apocalypse. Katie is the queer eldest daughter many viewers can resonate with, and although it often feels like the weight of the world is on their shoulders, it is in this instance.

Kora and Asami – The Legend of Korra

In this highly-anticipated sequel series to Avatar the Last Airbender, we get to see where our beloved heroes end up, and beyond that, we get to fall in love with a new cast of characters. Two of those characters are Korra and Asami. Their friendship blossoms into something more by the end of the series, but there are enough blushes and glances to tide you over in the meantime. They are a fan favourite for a reason.

Alucard – Castlevania

He’s hot, blonde, bisexual, and he’s got fangs. In this medieval series, we have demons, big swords, and lots of sexy vampires. If you feel the hole that Twilight left, Castlevania is for you. P.S. Camilla is in this one too and yeah, she’s sapphic.

Terry – Solar Opposites 

Not many people expected a queer alien comedy to come from the co-creator of Rick and Morty, but Solar Opposites is exactly that. The main characters are plant aliens with no biological sex, and they have a lot more to worry about than gender. Terry and Korvo, our protagonists, come to earth and find the best thing it has to offer: love.

There is a refreshing amount of queer characters in animated films and TV. Queerness is a pillar of animation because illustration allows for creative expression outside of the binary. All of the rigidity of reality fades away without the restriction of a camera, and it brings art to a new level.

These queer characters are complex, and they feel human even if they’re literal aliens, demons, or simply hand-drawn. Animation has paved the way for LGBTQ+ people in film and TV, and will continue to do so for a long time.