Fans are celebrating the fact LAIKA Studios has finally introduced Mitch’s boyfriend from the animated comedy horror film ParaNorman after a 13-year wait.
The stop-motion-centric studio first teased the boyfriend of jock character Mitch (voiced by Casey Affleck) in 2012’s ParaNorman, directed by Sam Fell and Chris Butler. Now, the crew are bringing this never-before-seen character to life to celebrate Pride month.
ParaNorman follows 11-year-old Norman (Kodi Smit-McPhee), who lives in a Massachusetts town with a deadly curse. Norman develops a unique ability to talk to ghosts and he sets out to break the spell.
Norman’s older sister, cheerleader Courtney (Anna Kendrick), is introduced as a young woman looking for love. She falls for Norman’s friend’s older brother, Mitch, but fails in her attempt to woo him.
At the end of the film, it’s revealed that Mitch has a boyfriend: “You’re gonna love my boyfriend,” Mitch says. “He’s like a total chick-flick nut.” This reveal made Mitch the first openly gay character in a mainstream animated film.
However, viewers didn’t get to meet said “chick-flick nut” … until now!
Who is ParaNorman Mitch’s boyfriend?
Over a decade later, Butler, LAIKA Principal Character Designer Thibault Leclercq, and LAIKA Development Art Director Iuri Lioi have returned to introduce Mitch’s boyfriend Luca to the world… and ParaNorman’s very patient fans.
In a video introducing Luca, Butler explains that the studio has received lots of messages over the years asking what Luca looks like and who captured Mitch’s heart.
Speaking about the scene where Mitch comes out as gay, Butler recalls that it is “a pretty significant moment in the movie.”
“The reasoning for it was that this whole movie was about not judging a book by its cover,” Butler continued. “So every character in the movie, I think, someone else is misjudging them.”
The design trio noted that when designing Luca, they wanted him to be someone who would be a nice match for Mitch’s exaggerated visual features and personality.
They designed Luca as a character who is not an opposite to Mitch but “a little leaner” and “slightly more stylish, with an LA aesthetic.”
Following this Pride month reveal, fans are now calling for a ParaNorman sequel focusing on Mitch and Luca; exploring how their relationship has progressed.
Since the release of ParaNorman, LAIKA Studios has produced several other critically acclaimed animations, from Coraline to Kubo and the Two Strings.
A follow-up about Mitch and Luca’s relationship would be a welcome LGBTQ+ animation in a time when Disney has axed trans characters and sidestepped potential queer storylines.
Reacting to the new visual of Luca, fans shared: “They’re perfect!!!! I love them!!!”
I can’t believe for Pride LAIKA STUDIOS finally gave us MITCH’S BOYFRIEND, LUCA, from PARANORMAN!!!!! Now I need a short film of them! Or a sequel in generall!!! They’re perfect!!!! I love them!!!
pic.twitter.com/oK0vgwRGEO
— FD
(@francisdominiic) June 5, 2025
How to stream ParaNorman
ParaNorman is currently available to stream on ITV for free.
The 2012 film is also available to buy on Amazon Prime, YouTube and Apple TV+.
The post Happy Pride month: Creators of cult 2012 animated film ParaNorman finally reveal Mitch’s boyfriend appeared first on PinkNews | Latest lesbian, gay, bi and trans news | LGBTQ+ news.