Sapphic representation on-screen has always been something of an endangered species, but not in the world of Lesbian Space Princess. On the planet of Clitopolis (“Notoriously hard to find!”), situated in the pink-starry skies of the “gay-laxy,” resides a kingdom ruled by lesbians. It’s a little like Wonder Woman’s island of Themyscira, except the princess of this realm hardly lives up to the reputation set forth by her fabulous moms. Saira (Shabana Azeez) might be a lesbian who’s super good with her hands — thanks more to her affinity for close-up magic than her experience in the bedroom — but she leaves a lot to be desired elsewhere. Voted the most boring royal in gay space, Saira is also hindered by crippling self-doubt. She’s borderline agoraphobic, perpetually relegated to the singles’ table at the annual Lesbian Ball, and has routinely failed to fulfill her birthright and summon a magical labrys (an ancient, legendary axe coopted as a lesbian-feminist symbol).
Things couldn’t get much worse when Saira is dumped by her ultra-cool girlfriend Kiki (Bernie Van Tiel), but when the swaggering bounty hunter is abducted by a trio of toxic cis guys (they call themselves the Straight White Maliens, and certainly look the part), Saira is forced, for the first time in her life, to leap into action. So follows a surprisingly sweet, bracingly funny, and unapologetically queer remix of the traditional space adventure — though Lesbian Space Princess also tries a little too hard to revive a bygone era of animation.
