Disney+ releases 'Out,' featuring Pixar's first gay lead character

Pixar is now streaming an animated short movie on Disney+ that features the studio's first LGBTQ lead character.

"Out" is loosely based on the life of the animator who wrote and directed it. It tells the story of a man who temporarily switches bodies with his dog. It's during this time that he finds the courage to let his parents know he's gay.

Steven Clay Hunter is the Pixar animator behind the project. During his 20+ years in the job, he's worked on the "Toy Story" franchise, and both of "The Incredibles" movies. He was also an animator on "Finding Nemo" and the supervising animator on both "Wall-E" and "Brave."

But "Out" stands out. Hunter says it is his most important, and personal, project yet.

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"It's a story that I wanted to tell. When I stopped and thought about what kind of story I wanted to tell, this is the one I wanted to tell," said Hunter. "The other ones, I loved helping other directors tell their stories, you know, so this is a chance for me to tell my story. This is one coming out story. There are lots of coming out stories whether you're lesbian, gay, straight, bisexual, trans- likes there's so many stories that can be told."

"We wanted to make this film to continue that evolution and share the truths of the world that we live in and true human experiences. So it's all just part of learning and exposing people to things that they might not otherwise see," said producer Max Sachar. "Hopefully, it does act as some kind of trailblazer film for a lot of voices and filmmakers out there. But we think this is just the beginning of a lot of amazing stories to come."

The most amazing story Hunter's heard so far about his movie came from a friend's daughter.

"She said, 'It's good that you love other people but it's not good that people bully you because of the person you love. You can love anyone you want."

"Out" is available for viewing now on Disney+.

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