Jaboukie Young-White opens up about gay representation in Disney’s Strange World – Digital Spy

Strange World star Jaboukie Young-White has opened up about gay representation in the upcoming Disney film.

The actor, in an exclusive interview with Digital Spy, referenced his previous role in Baymax! when speaking about the animated movie, which is due to be released this Wednesday (November 23).

“I was lucky enough to work on Baymax and voice Mbita, who was the first lead gay Disney character across all mediums, TV and film,” he said.

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“Just doing that, I had so much fun in the process of making it and just getting into that character and having fun in the booth that I’m not really like, ‘This is gonna be really important to a lot of people’.

“I think that’s for other people to decide, and when they do decide it, it’s beautiful. It’s very special. The reaction to that was so overwhelming in a way that I wasn’t expecting. You can forget sometimes how needed stuff like this is for people,” he continued.

Young-White, who voices Ethan Clade in the sci-fi action-adventure, revealed he found himself noticing similarities with the character, praising the animators for their attention to detail.

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“There was one scene in particular, where Ethan is sitting in a chair, he kind of readjusted himself in a way that I was like, ‘I do that exactly’,” he said.

“I know I’ve never sat down in front of these people like that before [in a booth] So, where did they get that from? It’s like they really study you and capture your soul in a way.”

The film, which also stars Jake Gyllenhaal, Dennis Quaid and Lucy Liu, focuses on the Clade family as they navigate the “uncharted” and “treacherous” lands of Avalonia.

Strange World will be released in cinemas on November 23.

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