The pre-Code period in American film history is a fascinating pocket of time to study, especially in relation to queer representation. For those unfamiliar with American film history, this period typically starts in 1927 with the advent of the talkies, most notably The Jazz Singer released on October 6, 1927. It lasted until the enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code in July 1934 (pre-code.com). While this period did frequently include works riddled with scenes of sexual innuendo, violence, homosexuality, and other taboos, it’s important to note that these films were not given a Bacchanalian free-for-all and were still under risk of censorship and restrictions. Though queer characters and gags predated the pre-Code period, homosexuality on screen experienced a surge. This is in part because of the Pansy Craze. Coined first in the book Gay New York (Chauncey, 1994) the Pansy Craze was a period in select metropolitan areas, where entertainment with a queer-centric focus (either actually portrayed by queer individuals or those exploiting the community) experienced a rise in popularity. Lasting roughly from the late 1920s to mid-1930s, this was a brief period where queerness was allowed in the mainstream. 

Though America dominated queer animated representation before and during this period, they were not the only country that portrayed queerness. However, in general, queerness in silent animation and early talkies is often under-documented, mainly because of how few films survived and are easily available for researchers. In Germany, the earliest surviving animated feature film Die Abenteuer des Prinzen Achmed (Reiniger, 1926), was supposed to contain a gay storyline between the Emperor and Ping Pong. The scene ended up on the cutting room floor, because of the film’s already quite long running length for an animated work, and high concerns about the film depicting a positive and normalized homosexual relationship. Not all traces of this dynamic were removed, and one of the few allusions to their relationship that remained in the final cut is the intertitle “Des Kaisers Liebling” before cutting to Ping Pong (Reiniger, 26:20 - 26:29). Translated into English as “The Emperor’s favorite,” the word is cited by sources like the Oxford English Dictionary as equatable to “Liebchen” which can have a more affectionate connotation including “sweetheart” or “darling.” Fortunately, Reiniger was able to repurpose this cut storyline. While it is currently uncertain how much of the short is reused footage, Der Scheintote Chinese (Reiniger, 1928) makes the relationship between the Emperor and Ping Pong explicit (Acadia, 2021).

While queer representation experienced an increase during the pre-Code era, one was more likely to come across a negative depiction on screen. Though Reiniger’s attempts at depicting a normalized relationship demonstrate that animation directors were trying to humanize queer relationships, America more often favored a comedic path. Despite how briefly the average queer coded character appears in these shorts, the looming threat that an audience member would see these characters on the receiving end of violence was especially prevalent during this period. Though violence towards these characters did not occur in every single short, it’s not completely unavoidable. For instance, some films took on the approach of letting the audience take on the responsibility of providing the jeers. In one Van Beuren Tom and Jerry short, Tight Rope Tricks (Foster & Rufle, 1933), when the two men are undressing, it is revealed Tom is wearing a bra and panties. Neither Jerry nor anyone else in the film reacts to this discovery at all. Given that historically during this period films would often incorporate a “laugh at” approach towards others, especially minorities, this indicates that the film trusts its audience to be the ones mocking Tom’s wardrobe. When these cartoons escalated the violence, the severity ranged from objects being thrown at a character, like how in King Neptune (Disney, 1932) a queer coded pirate has a jug thrown on his head. Meanwhile, in other shorts like Soda Squirt, after the queer coded customer is transformed into a monstrous creature, he’s repeatedly punched by Flip, the protagonist of the short. However, one of the shorts that arguably escalates this violence to an extreme is Going to Blazes (Lantz & Nolan, 1933). The film opens with a character walking on the sidewalk until he stops, staring in shock, to reveal he is looking at a queer coded fireman dancing in front of the fire house. The character, now enraged, walks over to the fireman, picks up an axe lying nearby, and tries to attack him. Though the fireman escapes unscathed, later, when it is reported a fire is occurring, he’s the one who takes on the role of the horse and pulls the fire cart. In his last scene in the cartoon, he falls through a manhole (likely in a final, subtle double entendre), his ultimate fate unknown.

When reflecting on the impact of this period, one short that recontextualizes both the history and the violence is Happy & Gay (Lorelei Pepi, 2014). Director Lorelei Pepi’s describes the film on her website as “a revisionist history document reflecting the form of a 1930’s-styled cartoon musical.” The short reinterprets and reclaims queer history from this period. No longer is queerness relegated to the minor characters, instead; they are at the forefront, and aspects of queer life like relationships, gender variance, and meeting as a community are all depicted. The short even calls back to original depictions of the 1930s by including a cameo of the customer from Soda Squirt. However, this short does not shy away from the harsh realities of what it was like to be a minority during this period, including but not limited to homophobia, transphobia, racism, and police violence. Despite all these struggles, the main queer couples endure and survive their hardships, and at the end of the film, the couples happily kiss their respective partners, indicating the shifts that occurring in animation since Reiniger had to leave her gay storyline on the cutting room floor.

Citations:

Article:

Acadia, L. (2021). ‘Lover of Shadows’: Lotte Reiniger’s Innovation, Orientalism, and Progressivism. Oxford German Studies, 50(2), 150-168. https://doi.org/10.1080/00787191.2021.1927377

Books:

Chauncey, G. (1994). “Pansies on Parade”: Prohibition and the Spectacle of the Pansy, Gay New York. Gender, Urban Culture, and the Making of the Gay Male World, 1890-1940 (pp. 301-329). Basic Books. 

Moritz, W. (2009). Some Critical Perspectives on Lotte Reiniger. In M. Furniss, Animation: Art & Industry (pp.13-19). John Libbey Publishing.

Films:

Donald P. Borchers. (2024, June 3). The Adventures Of Prince Achmed (1926) - the oldest surviving animated feature film [Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_RlnylV5lQk

Websites:

The Jazz Singer. (n.d.) AFI Catalog. https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/1535

Oxford University Press. (n.d.). Liebling, n. Oxford English dictionary. Retrieved October 15, 2025, from https://doi.org/10.1093/OED/3170376146

Pepi, L (n.d.). Happy & Gay. Lorelei Pepi. Retrieved October 15, 2025, from https://loreleipepi.com/news/works/happy-gay/

Pepi, L. (2017, March 20). The Politics of Representation. Animation Studioes 2.0.https://blog.animationstudies.org/the-politics-of-representation/

Reid, D. (n.d.). What is Pre-Code Hollywood?. Pre-Code. https://pre-code.com/what-is-pre-code-hollywood/