Q: As a storyboard artist, don’t you feel like you’re burning bridges with this project?
A: I made a vow to myself many years ago to never work at Disney or Pixar. It’s funny because in college working at Pixar was my DREAM… but then you grow up and you learn the seedy ways these companies have treated their minority staff and start to notice how Disney properties are about 2 decades behind most other animation studios in terms of their caution and discomfort around the idea of acknowledging that queer people exist. The problem is I AM a queer people. So as far as I’m concerned, Disney can continue their circle-jerk of corporate execs demanding their cookies every few years for their “queer firsts” that are only “firsts” if you shield your eyes to all the animated content being released around them, and which are executed with about as much self-awareness and grace in regards to what message they’re projecting within the historical context of queer people in film as monkeys with sledgehammers and a keyboard. They’ll just miss out on all the genius creators who are alienated by their hostility towards outliers. We’ll happily take our unique stories (and the money from the clamoring demand for them) to other studios that appreciate our authentic selves.
Q: Are you worried about being sued or getting sent a cease and desist by Disney?
A: This is purely a work of fanfiction. I claim no intellectual ownership over the characters created by Pixar, and I make no attempt to profit off of this work. I am thinking of opening a patreon, but any profit I make there is money that goes directly towards supporting me as an artist, and is not directly related to this project. Pages will be posted as I finish them regardless of whether or not I am making any money from my audience.
Q: As a storyboard artist, don’t you feel like you’re burning bridges with this project?
A: I made a vow to myself many years ago to never work at Disney or Pixar. It’s funny because in college working at Pixar was my DREAM… but then you grow up and you learn the seedy ways these companies have treated their minority staff and start to notice how Disney properties are about 2 decades behind most other animation studios in terms of their caution and discomfort around the idea of acknowledging that queer people exist. The problem is I AM a queer people. So as far as I’m concerned, Disney can continue their circle-jerk of corporate execs demanding their cookies every few years for their “queer firsts” that are only “firsts” if you shield your eyes to all the animated content being released around them, and which are executed with about as much self-awareness and grace in regards to what message they’re projecting within the historical context of queer people in film as monkeys with sledgehammers and a keyboard. They’ll just miss out on all the genius creators who are alienated by their hostility towards outliers. We’ll happily take our unique stories (and the money from the clamoring demand for them) to other studios that appreciate our authentic selves.
Q: Are you worried about being sued or getting sent a cease and desist by Disney?
A: This is purely a work of fanfiction. I claim no intellectual ownership over the characters created by Pixar, and I make no attempt to profit off of this work. I am thinking of opening a patreon, but any profit I make there is money that goes directly towards supporting me as an artist, and is not directly related to this project. Pages will be posted as I finish them regardless of whether or not I am making any money from my audience.