If your algorithm hasn’t already served you the candy-coloured fun of Lesbian Space Princess, consider this your heads up. The animated comedy lands in UK and Irish cinemas from 19 June, and going by the trailer alone, it’s shaping up to be one of the gayest, silliest, most joyful things to hit the big screen this year. A definite crowd pleaser for animation fans amongst us.
It sits in the adult animation lane alongside the likes of Bob’s Burgers and Hazbin Hotel, with a candy-coloured, hand-drawn style that pulls from Adventure Time on the cartoon side and proper anime on the other. So whether you’re here for the lesbians or the line work, you’re sorted.
Here’s everything you need to know before you book your tickets.
In this article:
What is Lesbian Space Princess?
Lesbian Space Princess is exactly what it says on the tin, and somehow even more. It follows Princess Saira, an introverted daughter of the flamboyant lesbian Queens of Planet Clitopolis, who is left devastated when her bounty-hunter girlfriend Kiki dumps her for being too needy. Relatable.
Things escalate quickly. Kiki gets kidnapped by the Straight White Maliens (a band of “forgotten incels of the future”, which is possibly the best villain description we’ve ever typed), and Saira has just 24 hours to save her. The ransom? Her royal labrys, aka the most powerful weapon known to lesbian kind. The catch? She doesn’t actually have it.
What follows is an inter-gay-lactic journey of self-discovery, complete with a problematic spaceship and a new friendship with gay-pop runaway Willow. It’s campy, it’s comedic, and underneath all the colour there’s a cheeky bit of political commentary doing the rounds too.
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The Guardian gave it four stars and called it a balm and an escape, which feels about right for the current moment.
Who made it?
The film comes from South Australian writer-directors Leela Varghese and Emma Hough Hobbs, and it’s the debut feature for both of them. No pressure, then.
It’s already had a serious festival run. Lesbian Space Princess premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival, where it won the Teddy Award and placed second for the Panorama Audience Award. It then picked up the Audience Award for Best Australian Feature at the Sydney Film Festival, and landed seven AACTA nominations including Best Film.
Varghese is a writer-director whose short film I’m the Most Racist Person I Know premiered at SXSW Austin 2025, where it won a Special Jury Award. Hough Hobbs is a queer filmmaker, animator and production designer from Adelaide whose previous short On Film won best animation at the South Australian Screen Awards. Between them they describe the film as an ode to low-budget anime and a love letter to lesbians, drawing visual inspiration from cartoons like Adventure Time and the editing style of Revolutionary Girl Utena.
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Who’s in it?
The voice cast is stacked. Lesbian Space Princess features Shabana Azeez (Birdeater, The Pitt), Bernie Van Tiel (Class of 07, Swift Street), Gemma Chua Tran (Heartbreak High, Ladies in Black), the one and only Aunty Donna, Richard Roxburgh (Rake, Elvis), Jordan Raskopolous (The Strange Chores), Madeleine Sami (Deadloch, The Breaker Upperers) and Kween Kong from RuPaul’s Drag Race.
Watch the trailer
When can you watch it?
Lesbian Space Princess is in UK and Irish cinemas from 19 June.
Nonchalant x
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This article was written by one of our creative team writers here at Nonchalant Magazine.
