I don’t know about you, but I’ve been tearing up about The Owl House series finale for almost a full week now. In a good way, because it was a perfect sendoff. And also in a sad way, because it’s over. If you’re feeling the same way, maybe you could use a little list of other animated series to check out while your heart mends? Below I’ve chosen 15 of my all-time favorite queer cartoons! Please share yours in the comments!
The Legend of Korra
Where to watch: Netflix
Who it’s for: Gays who like badass, complicated women; Avatar-style magic; and a slow-burn romance with an endgame sapphic sendoff.
Steven Universe
Where to watch: Hulu, Cartoon Network (with ads)
Who it’s for: Fantasy fans who love expansive lore; found family feelers; trauma healers; and gay + trans characters for days and days.
Danger & Eggs
Where to watch: Prime Video
Who it’s for: Weirdos who know their queer pop culture and want to vicariously attend the best Pride parade ever.
She-Ra and the Princesses of Power
Where to watch: Netflix
Who it’s for: Anyone who likes epic fantasy and sci-fi and has always wondered what it’d be like if The Lord of the Rings or Star Wars was canonically queer.
Adventure Time
Where to watch: HBO Max, Hulu Plus, Amazon Instant Video (rent or purchase)
Who it’s for: Nerds who are in it for the long haul and who are ready to embrace an entire zoo of wacky, wonderful characters in a post-apocalyptic bizarro world.
Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts
Where to watch: Netflix
Who it’s for: Music lovers, hypebeasts, and queers who never get tired of plucky heroines with hearts of gold.
Pinecone & Pony
Where to watch: Apple TV+
Who it’s for: LGBTQs who want to show their inner child the kind of love they wish they’d grown up with.
OK K.O.! Let’s Be Heroes
Where to watch: Hulu, Cartoon Network (with ads)
Who it’s for: Teen Titanheads and queers who remember Nicktoons in the afternoons.
Magical Girl Friendship Squad
Where to watch: fuboTV, Tubi
Who it’s for: Anyone who believes Broad City would have been better with MAGIC.
The Dragon Prince
Where to watch: Netflix
Who it’s for: D&D players, epic fantasy fans, anyone who wants some legitimately good queer disability rep.
Dead End: Paranormal Park
Where to watch: Netflix
Who it’s for: Folks in fandom, autistic gals and pals, and anyone who’s fascinated by those secret tunnels underneath Disney World.
The Legend of Vox Machina
Where to watch: Prime Video
Who it’s for: Grown-ups who love Dungeons & Dragons and fully-realized characters set inside a seemingly endless fantasy world.
Star Trek: Lower Decks
Where to watch: Paramount+ or with a Premium Subscription to YouTube, Roku, or Prime Video
Who it’s for: Fans of Star Trek or any of the best workplace comedies.
Harley Quinn
Where to watch: HBO Max
Who it’s for: Gays who love comics, a little bit of blood, deep irreverence for source material, and deadpan humor.
Arcane
Where to watch: Netflix
Who it’s for: Video game gays.
RWBY is another great queer cartoon which got enough seasons to actually do a slowburn wlw romance that feels like it. And the show isn’t over yet. It is very similar to Owl House because it is a fantasy show with expansive lore. The biggest difference is the look. This show didn’t really have a big budget at the beginning. But over the years it found a great look and with every season it looks better and better. And the characters are great to begin with.
Transformers Prime.
Hm. I’m glad there’s a lot more queer cartoons nowadays but I am somewhat upset that it’s always Female/female couples. Sometimes I’m under the impression that the world just accepts lesbian couple more than they do men couples.
But at least most of them aren’t not complete stereotypes like the ones in Japanese media.
You can also watch S U on HBO Max!
Twelve Forever is another great recommendation! It’s a shame that the show apparently had some internal issues, and it totally flopped on release. But it’s funny and bizarre, with weird/delightful characters, and great designs. The Buttwitch is #goals. The main lead (a disaster girl) gets a crush on a girl later on in the show.
Oh I’m so happy to see someone else mention Twelve Forever!! I loved Twelve Forever so much, it was chaotic and beautiful.
Some amazing recommendations! Sadly I was turned off Arcane after a transphobic caricature in the first 20 minutes of the first episode, despite how good it’s supposed to be.
Speaking as a trans girl, I saw that character in “Arcane” as more of a drag queen than a caricature of trans women… but I can see how it could definitely be interpreted that way. Sorry it turned you off the show. I do encourage you to stick with it… and given the LGBTQ+ rep exhibited through the rest of the show’s run, I doubt there was any malicious intent from the creators of the show in creating that scene.
(Besides, if you’re looking for trans-affirming fantasy series, I’m guessing “Arcane” is far more likely to fit that bill than something like “Harry Potter”, IYKWIM.)
Damn how can you be so soft
Was it in the deep area I forget what it’s called but if so than it’s kinda supposed to be like that if it’s for a better reason Maybe I’ll rewatch the show to see it’s kinda supposed to be a dystopia
Thanks for this! I’d love to see a kid-specific article next, Heather! I have a pre-school aged kid and finding shows with LGBTQ+ characters and good POC representation feels like a full time job sometimes.
You got it! I’ll put something together! There’s some cute stuff out there!
The Bravest Knight has both. Although I think it skews slightly older than pre-school? Maybe more like 4 to 6? So might depend on your kid (or whether 4 to 6 is per-school for you).
Pete the Cat has some LGBT characters but they aren’t main characters (the gay squirrel dads have one episode dedicated to them, I think? but they’re mentioned about as much as the other non-pete parents) Gus the platytpus (main character) is canonically of Mexican descent, but whether you want to consider him a POC character depends on your feelings about talking animal worlds.
Craig of the Creek will tick all your boxes! Might be the most multi-culturally queer cartoon I’ve ever seen. Watch it on cartoon network! It’s perfect for kids and their 90’s kid parents wondering what would have happened if Hey Arnold were set in the woods
“Liked ‘Owl House’ but felt there wasn’t enough trauma? Try ‘Arcane’!”
Funny story… I actually finished the third episode of Arcane (the crazy-intense one) minutes before watching the Owl House finale premiere live.
…Upon further review, that might not have been the best (or healthiest, for the sake of my emotions) idea.
Don’t worry, my friend. There’s plenty more trauma in acts two and three.
Glad to see Star Trek featured! I’d also recommend Amphibia- like Korra, its explicit queer representation is limited to its third and final season but definitely delivers, not to mention a very similar style and vibe to TOH throughout.
And there are little easter eggs between Owl House and Amphibia!
I’m not sure if anyone has said this yet but to put things straight, dead end is discontinued for heaven knows why and Netflix doesn’t have all the korra seasons so that’s unreliable
I don’t even watch the owl house but I have an autistic special interest on adventure time, watched it twenty times, know every charecter even back ground ones, every episode engraved into my head, know every theory, badically number one adventure time fan, adventure time is nothing like the owl house and the queer stuff isn’t untill way into the show. Love bubbiline sm but if u want to watch adventure time just bc of the queer stuff it may get a bit boring. But I’d recommend it if u genuinely wanna watch it for everything it has to offer!
Can’t believe no mention of Amphibia so far , it’s Owl Houses sister series that came out around the exact same time with a super similar Isekai premise, it’s got a good amount of lgbt rep, and like the main 3 characters are definitely poly 😎🤘
Thank you Heather!
One I can totally recommend is Craig of the Creek. The LGBT in the cartoon is very subtle but it is noticeable. It’s a great show, and for those who only like fluff and wholesome stuff, this is for you.
Imo the queer content is actually pretty explicit just heavily normalized. There are multiple queer couples amongst the older siblings, textual same-sex crushes, and multiple non-binary characters. The episode “Fire and Ice” was absolutely beautiful and exactly the kind of validation I’ve always wanted for queer kids
Dope article but I think some of these shows are just cartoons not queer shows…. Maybe my understanding is off on what makes something for queers of for straight… or for however we choose to identify. I do love the insight of the article 100% I would love some feed back for better understanding .
A “queer show”, in general, is a show that contains one or more openly LGBTQ+ character(s) in a major role. This can include a lesbian, bisexual, or pansexual girl, often in a relationship with another girl (think Luz and Amity from Owl House or Marceline and Bubblegum from Adventure Time), a gay/bi/pan man (like Nick and Charlie from Heartstopper or Barney and Logs from Dead End), or an openly transgender or nonbinary character (like Barney from Dead End, whose transition and his family’s struggle to accept it is discussed, and Raine Whispers from Owl House, who uses exclusively “they/them” pronouns”). Other examples can of course exist that fall under the LGBTQ+ umbrella… an aromantic/asexual character, a heterormantic bisexual character, and intersex character, or a polyamorous relationship… but with some exceptions (the aro/ace Lillith Clawthorne from Owl House being one of the few), these depictions are sadly far rarer than the more common queer-character archetypes listed above.
You can also watch Steven universe and many other Cartoon Network cartoons on HBOMAX
What I find infuriating is that Disney held their first PRIDE Nite (or will, I’m in Australia and just saw the article via Google News Feed) which I wish people would boycott because this billion dollar company won’t really support us but will happily take our money.
Bring back Owl House, you bigoted asshats.
As a lesbian I love all the lesbians here, but are there really no shows with gay men in them??
Dead End Paranormal Park’s lead (!) character is a gay trans boy with a series wide romance with a boy. In Kipo, one of the main (!) characters is a gay boy who gets a cute arc with a love interest. At least one of Vox Machina’s main characters is a bisexual man with a guest starring male ex. Also: The Owl House (Willow has two dads), She-Ra (Bow has two dads), The Dragon Prince (Runaan & Ethari), etc.
Beyond the list above, examples are (off the top of my head): Voltron (warning for widely criticized execution), there’s Kaldur (Aqualad) on Young Justice, there was a short-lived Netflix cartoon called Q-Force with a gay man as the lead of a fully queer ensemble, and on Castlevania one of the main characters is also revealed to be bi (though the execution has been met with justified criticism). Less prominent examples include the police guys on Gravity Falls, Violet’s dads on DuckTales, Mr. Ratburn on Arthur, and some other shows I haven’t sought out myself. I’m not very well versed in anime, unfortunately, but Yuri On Ice is a lovely rec imo.
Awesome list! I have also seen and loved many of these. This is the perfect list format btw. Quick and punchy without taking 20 minutes to read and/or fomenting some kind of fomo.
Miraculous Ladybug’s latest season has a girl confess her crush on a girl :)
Dragon Age: Absolution! It’s like Vox Machina but the queerness is much more front and center. The lesbians are really messy!