Over the weekend, writer/director for "How to Train Your Dragon 2" announced that one of the characters in the film will come out as gay.
At the Cannes Film Festival last week, Dean DeBlois revealed to E! News that Gobber, a burly Viking voiced by Craig Ferguson, will "subtly" announce his homosexuality in the animated sequel to "How to Train Your Dragon."
The much anticipated film, which opens June 13, features Gobber watching a husband and wife arguing and saying that's why he never got married -- plus another reason which is never clearly specified.
While the line is understated enough to most likely go over the heads of young children, DeBois explained that he intentionally made Gobber gay.
"When we were recording Craig Ferguson, I had written the line, 'This is why I never got married,' and he, as he often does, added it as an ad lib and he said, 'Yup, Gobber is coming out of the closet,'" the director told E! News. "I think that's a really fun [and] daring move to put in. I love the idea that Gobber is Berk's resident gay."
Parents have responded to the news via social media, expressing disappointment at Dream Work's decision to incorporate a "the gay agenda" into a children's animated movie.
"As a result of this decision, I will not be taking my child to see this movie. On other blogs, parents were disappointed that this behavior is being marketed in kid's movies and they, too, voiced their non-support for this movie," Kesha Frelot wrote on Faith Driven Consumer's website.
"My very young kids love this franchise. However, this is not a conversation my wife and I are prepared to have yet. It's immensely frustrating that Hollywood feels complete autonomy to force these issues on our kids," another user wrote on E! Online.
"My kids won't get the reference, but still unnecessary," a user name Tommy Redding posted on Twitter.
While DeBlois told Fox411 that the move "wasn't deliberate" and was just "thrown in" by Ferguson. However, the director says he hopes the film encourages tolerance in viewers.
"Preaching tolerance in any respect is never a bad thing. I don't know if drawing a massive amount of attention in the middle of a kid's movie is, like, necessarily what you should be doing, but listen, if somebody catches it, then good for them," he stated.
The film's prequel, "How to Train Your Dragon," was released in 2010 and was a critical and commercial success, earning critical acclaim from film critics and audiences and earning nearly $500 million worldwide.
