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Author: Elly Belle

Elly Belle is a writer and digital media strategist who lives and works in Brooklyn, New York, where she's the borough's primary Pun Enthusiast. She has a passion for advocacy, culture, and media, with a focus on bringing stories of restorative justice and healing to the spotlight. She has worked at organizations focused on social change and human rights herself and dedicates the majority of her time to working in youth development and mental health, as well as organizing for the LGBTQIA community and for sexual assault survivors. Most of all, she's committed to storytelling in many forms as a means of spreading hope and progressive social change. Her words can be found in outlets including BITCH Magazine, The Dot and Line, Teen Vogue, Thrillist, InStyle, Playboy, Publishers Weekly, BUST Magazine, and more. Follow her on Twitter at @literelly.
Interviews That's All Folks

What Queer People Want the Future of Cartoons to Look Like

April 28, 2020April 28, 2020 Elly BelleComment(1)

Queerness in cartoons has been subtextual for a long time, and a new generation of cartoons has brought it to the forefront. But there’s a lot more to be done.

Movies

How Can I Still Love Dory When Ellen DeGeneres Sucks So Much?

April 13, 2020April 13, 2020 Elly BelleComments Off on How Can I Still Love Dory When Ellen DeGeneres Sucks So Much?

There’s something fishy about the talk show host’s politics, and I can’t just let her off the hook.

stitch
Movies

‘Lilo and Stitch’ Taught Me That I’m No Monstrosity

March 25, 2020March 25, 2020 Elly BelleComments Off on ‘Lilo and Stitch’ Taught Me That I’m No Monstrosity

A little blue baby alien and his friend, a little Hawaiian girl, were all I needed to show me I could choose my family—and that I was deserving of their care.

rugratshanukkah
TV

Give Me Chanukah Episodes or Give Me Death

December 23, 2019December 30, 2019 Elly BelleComments Off on Give Me Chanukah Episodes or Give Me Death

We’ve had enough Christmas specials to last us until the Second Coming. We demand more Macca-babies!

TV

A New Cartoon Aims to Air the First Ever Lead Non-Binary Character

December 5, 2019December 30, 2019 Elly BelleComments Off on A New Cartoon Aims to Air the First Ever Lead Non-Binary Character

Queer artist Sam Sawyer has already raised over $63,000 to fund her spooky new series.

TV

Behind the Scenes at AnimationFest 2019

October 3, 2019December 30, 2019 Elly BelleComments Off on Behind the Scenes at AnimationFest 2019

The Savannah College of Art and Design is hosting a new kind of animation festival.

Movies

What the Iron Giant Can Still Teach Us About Friendship and Vulnerability

July 31, 2019December 30, 2019 Elly BelleComments Off on What the Iron Giant Can Still Teach Us About Friendship and Vulnerability

Two decades later, the film is still rich with poignant lessons—and with Vin Diesel’s career-best performance.

tales from earthsea
Movies

What Studio Ghibli’s ‘Tales From Earthsea’ Gets Right

February 15, 2018May 9, 2019 Elly BelleComments Off on What Studio Ghibli’s ‘Tales From Earthsea’ Gets Right

The late Ursula K. Le Guin didn’t love Goro Miyazaki’s take on her classic saga, but the film still understood its heart.

EDITORS PICKS

Why Katara’s Feelings Are Her Greatest Strength and Greatest Pain

By John Maher

Maternal, idealistic, insecure, stubborn, short-tempered. Katara is emotion—her trauma, her power. Just like me.

Diane Nguyen Taught Me Not to Be a Martyr for My Writing

By Gretchen Gales

From her struggle to set boundaries for herself, to her mental health history, to her need to martyr herself for the greater good, I saw much of myself in Diane.

Somehow, the DuckTales Reboot Did the Impossible

By John Maher

The new ‘DuckTales’ is ducking great and if you disagree I don’t even want to hear another ducking word about it.

tower gun violence mass shootings film

How an Animated Film Powerfully Documented Gun Violence in America

By John Maher

Director Keith Maitland and journalist Pamela Colloff discuss the historic University of Texas shooting and how the animated film 'Tower' captured it.

If the Lorax Puffs Trees in the Forest: An Investigation

By John Maher

A philosophical investigation. Dr. Seuss would be proud.

The End of the Universe

By The Dot and Line

'Steven Universe,' its feature-length musical film, and 'Steven Universe Future' are now in the rearview. Let's talk about it.

Schoolhouse Rock Is Still the Best Explainer Video for Election 2016

By John Maher

This ‘Schoolhouse Rock’ clip — first aired 14 years ago — will tell you exactly how the United States works.

How Charlie Adler Became a Cow, a Chicken, a Baboon, and a Devil (Featuring Michael Dorn as a Weasel)

By John Maher

The voice behind nearly every character in 'Cow and Chicken' and 'I Am Weasel' discusses his history with two of Cartoon Network's best and strangest shows.

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GREATEST HITS

shrek

An Oral History of the Phrase “Get Shrek’d”

By Dan Powell

The secret story of one of the greatest, dumbest animation-referencing jokes of all time.

We’re 2 Years Old! Celebrate With Us in Brooklyn!

By The Dot and Line

Anniversaries merit celebration.

2017 editorial | Editorial by MysteryThemes.