by Alex Billington
June 1, 2026
It’s so much fun to see a film push back against the macho man culture taking over the world again now. The delightfully amusing film Jim Queen is one of the handful of prestigious animated premieres at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival. The fest programmed it as a Midnight screening premiere – which is the perfect place for it. It’s destined to become a cult classic, though with the right push and some good buzz it might end up becoming a full-on animated hit in theaters. Jim Queen is the epitome of an “adult” animated movie – one that is designed for adults and is definitely not a cartoon meant for kids; no way, not by a long shot. But it’s also about a very adult topic which should stir up discussions anyway. The story follows a closeted gay twink in Paris named Lucien, who just so happens to be the son of a major French politician. When his favorite super popular gay influencer, Jim Queen, loses his status because a mysterious illness is taking over the entire city, Lucien emerges to find him and save him and set the world straight again – er rather, gay, again.
Jim Queen is co-directed by animation filmmaker duo Nicolas Athane and Marco Nguyen, both making their feature directorial debut with this entertaining big screen project. I really hope they keep making more vividly fun, extra queer animated movies after this! Both of them have been working as animators on other various projects for years, deciding now is the time to break free and create this gleefully unique movie as their own passionate, original creation. The screenplay is by four writers: Simon Balteaux, Brice Chevillard, Nicolas Athane & Marco Nguyen. The title is a riff on the “Gym Queen” moniker, an LGBTQ slang term to describe a “muscular gay man who spends significant time working out to maintain a strong physique.” It’s a hot new trend in the LGBTQ community, and the film sparse no expense in making fun of them right off the bat – making fun of the entire gym culture trend, making fun of all these buff guys and how obsessed they are with big muscles, and with posting on Instagram, and looking fit, and being hot and all that. Jim is the big doofus of the movie, with Lucien his lovely, geeky counterpart. The two don’t seem like a match at first, but the more time they spend together, the more they seem like a super sweet power couple that can achieve anything. And that’s where the story goes as the try to cure the gay world of “Heterosis” in the funniest way.
Jérémy Gillet provides the ever-so-perfect flamboyant voice of Lucien, and Alex Ramirès as the amusing voice of Jim Parfait (which translates to “Jim Perfect” in French). His social media name is Jim Queen, and everyone adores him. That is, until he accidental contracts this virus Heterosis, which transforms gay men into heterosexuals. Très terrible! An extraordinary travesty! There are a number of hilarious scenes when it starts taking over. After Lucien comes out as his biggest fan & his only remaining supporter, Jim reluctantly accepts his help. Together, they must travel to every corner of Paris in search of a mysterious cure that can heal Jim, but above all, save the LGBTQIA+ community from extinction. Featuring a bouncing electro score by Kirosen, the film is as flamboyant as its characters and enjoys bouncing around town from one place to the next. From clubs to apartments to bars all over Paris, Lucien & Jim get lost in this kinky world trying to find any clues as to what is going on and how they can reverse the virus. It’s extremely cheesy and extremely absurd yet offers endless amusement following this twink + macho gay boys team up. Best of all, the story ends up becoming a rather wholesome travelogue where they bring the gay community together to fight hate and stop the hetero world from taking over again. It’s exciting to see all the different kinks coming together.
This is the gay companion to the also funny Lesbian Space Princess animated movie (watch the trailer). Both have similar vibes about fighting the heteronormative cabal & accepting the entire LGBTQ community with all different kinds of people it in order to actually defeat some real evil. Thankfully the film steers clear of becoming a downer or getting tangled up in any kind of tragedy. All because it’s designed to be a spunky, funky, super-gay-and-super-proud cinematic adventure. Even if it is a straightforward and obvious movie, it wears its heart on its sleeve. Lucien’s arc is about coming out, but it’s also about learning how to come out in a proud and confident way. Jim’s arc is about overcoming his macho influencer obsession, but it’s also about learning to appreciate and maybe even fall in love with a not so macho guy like Lucien. Sure, on the surface it’s trying to teach the LGBTQ community that looks aren’t everything. But below the surface it is a tender look at how the community needs to take care of each other instead of always splitting up into cliques. Along with reminding us that there’s real power to change the world by being entirely unashamed of who you are.
Alex’s Cannes 2026 Rating: 7.5 out of 10
Follow Alex on Twitter – @firstshowing / Or Letterboxd – @firstshowing
