'The Bravest Knight': Release date, cast, plot and everything else about Hulu's new queer fairytale
Why are all the knights from our favorite fairytales always macho men who are saving supposed damsels in distress? This age-old norm of imposed heterosexuality is exactly what is being shattered by Hulu's new kids series 'The Bravest Knight'. New York and Vancouver-based Big Bad Boo Studios had announced that the production was kicking off in early 2018, but the wait for the series to premiere is still not over. Aimed at kids 6-9 and families, the new animated series is all about inclusivity and just what we needed to see on kids' TV. Here is all you need to know about 'The Bravest Knight':
Release Date
The first five episodes of the Hulu Original animated kids series will premiere on Hulu June 21, followed by additional episodes later this year.
Cast
'The Bravest Knight' boasts a cast with some big names like TR Knight giving the voice for its central character Sir Cedric. The actor is best known for his role as Dr. George O'Malley in 'Grey's Anatomy'. Bobby Moynihan ('Saturday Night Live) will feature as young Cedric’s troll sidekick Grunt and Storm Reid ('A Wrinkle in Time) as Cedric's daughter Nia. The film will also feature the voice talents of RuPaul, Christine Baranski, Wanda Sykes, Wilson Cruz, Teri Polo, Steven Weber, Donna Murphy, AJ McLean and more.
The opening theme song was written and performed by Grammy-nominated musician and songwriter Justin Tranter.
Plot
The series is based on a digital book of the same name by best-selling children's author Daniel Errico, which revolves around its gay central character Sir Cedric and his daughter Nia who aspires to be a knight. Already sounds delightful, doesn't it? The show features a household with two dads (Sir Cedric and Prince Andrew) and recounts former pumpkin farmer, Sir Cedric's personal tales as he narrates them to his adopted 10-year-old daughter Nia.
According to a press release from Hulu, the stories shed light on how Cedric transformed from day-time farmer to full-fledged knight, from which Nia learns important values such as honor, justice, and compassion.
"LGBT relationships are typically avoided in children's media or labeled age-inappropriate, putting kids at a disadvantage towards understanding later on in life," author Daniel Errico told The Huffington Post. "It's important for kids' movies and TV to introduce the world in a nurturing and positive way, which means creating multi-dimensional LGBT main characters... I would like for kids to see courage and kindness in Cedric. This is a story about reaching your potential and being true to yourself."
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Although most of kids television prefer not to explore topics like sexuality and gender identity, there are a few kids shows which have taken the courage to do so, forraying into unexplored territories like that of homosexuality, gender politics, and mental health. This may have made these shows the butt of much criticism but they introduce difficult topics like gender to children. Here are three such shows:
Arthur (PBS)
Adventure Time (Cartoon Network)
Steven Universe (Netflix)