In this new adaptation, Le Fou seems to have been treated with the same level of openness as Disney films of the early 90s. “Every guy here’d like to be you, Gaston!” Many gay men affected by the illness would have given anything to be like Gaston. That, along with a touch of jealousy, as muscularity insinuated good health. For a gay man who was living with an AIDS-related illness to write lyrics ogling a man’s muscular physique during this particular time in gay history - it’s no wonder touches of same-sex affection might be coded into the song. At the time, there was not yet at test for the virus, and very few knew whether or not they’d contracted the infection. Often times, Le Fou’s lyrics, “My what a guy, that Gaston!” in the song “Gaston,” are misheard for, “I want a guy like Gaston!” The late Ashman wrote this track, and much like the other Disney songs he had written, perhaps he put a little bit of himself in there.ĭuring the height of the AIDS crisis, gay men flocked towards their muscular compatriots due to their physique, which was often hoped to be proof that a person was not HIV positive. He’s willing to pick up after this man with little payout, and even sings a song admiring his masculinity and physique. The bumbling sidekick seems to admire Gaston just a pinch too much. The original, animated version of Le Fou has already been the subject of a fair share of fan speculation. One might ask, how does a company honor one of their most awarded lyricists with a throwaway villain’s sidekick? Disney has a history of only lettings “gayness” slip in when it’s portrayed through villains. Some have highlighted the inclusion of Le Fou being gay as a commemoration of the late Ashman others have called it an insult to him. It, and the rest of his songs, will appear throughout the 2017 remake of the animated film. His award winning title song, “Beauty and the Beast,” received a new cover by Ariana Grande and John Legend. Ashman was one of over 28,000 American citizens who had died from the disease by 1991. Ashman even received an Academy Award for the film’s title song posthumously, after passing away before the film’s theatrical release due to AIDS-related complications. That includes Howard Ashman, who wrote the lyrics for many of the musical numbers, including Beauty and the Beast. All of these films had gay men working as animators, character designers, and songwriters on them. Many of the classic animated films of the Disney Renaissance, including The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin, were released during the height of the AIDS crisis. It’s not a wonder that some queerness has slipped into Disney films over time, with many of their animators and character designers being gay men, like Andreas Deja, the supervising animator for Scar, Jafar and Gaston. Howard Ashman, 1986 Nancy Kaye/Associated Press As many still equate femininity in men with homosexuality, equating it with villainy as well sends an odd and damaging message to children. The Little Mermaid’s Ursula has a resemblance to the famous drag queen Divine that’s been remarked upon plenty - even by her creators. While never directly stated, many of these villains have been drawn and voiced to mimic the body language and manner of speech of stereotypically feminine men and drag queens. (Though this isn’t just Disney - the trope has existed for years and transcends hundreds of different mediums.) The queer-coding of Disney villains has been under debate amongst Disney fanatics for years, with Jafar of Aladdin and Scar from The Lion King as two commonly-cited examples. This isn’t the first time Disney has placed LGBT characters as the enemy. The announcement that the nearly one-hundred year old company’s first openly gay character would be a villain’s foolish accomplice was underwhelming and somewhat offensive. Many have asked for years that Disney include an LGBT character in one of its films, which doesn’t seem too farfetched given Disney’s number of LGBT artists, but the company is still dragging its feet on inclusion where its competitors have excelled. This week’s Beauty and the Beast will feature Disney’s first openly gay character - but the excitement that followed director Bill Condon’s announcement quickly turned to frustration on the realization that this character would be Le Fou, Gaston’s bumbling sidekick.