Maxine is a live action short film in the Launchpad series from Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures and was released on Disney+ on September 29, 2023.
Synopsis[]
Nervous about introducing her first girlfriend to her family, a queer college student gets help from the spirit of a long lost relative during the Hungry Ghost Festival.
Plot[]
Allie is a young Chinese-American girl who is in a relationship with her Latina girlfriend Maya. Allie is celebrating a dinner with her family where they invite the spirits of their relatives. Maya wishes to visit, but Allie is afraid of inviting her as while she has come out about her sexuality, she is uncomfortable with introducing her girlfriend to them and simply tells her that it will be a private dinner. While preparing with her family, which also includes her sister's boyfriend, she finds a photo of a woman named Maxine whom Allie deduces is gay like her. Allie's mother Molly, puts the photo away when the thought of her begins to bother her.
Allie takes the photo of Maxine and the next morning is suddenly visited by her spirit whom only she can see. Maxine turns out to be a very happy and kind person who enjoys her ghostly state and follows Allie to the store to get more snacks for that night's dinner. Maxine uses her human possession abilities (when the person is wearing red as per superstition) and starts to run amok across the store to enjoy the modern conveniences. Maxine uses Allie's phone to invite Maya to the party after she initially said she was busy, angering Allie. Maxine tries to comfort Allie about being openly gay and tells her that she only has few regrets in her life.
Allie realizes that she can see the rest of her relatives and Maxine reveals that while she came out to her parents, she never made up with them as she waited too long to do so and decides to wait outside of the house. Allie enjoys the party with her family and the ghosts when Maya finally arrives. Allie introduces Maya to her family who welcome her with open arms. This inspires Maxine to finally come in and reunite with her parents who happily embrace their daughter. Allie finally makes peace with her sexuality, Maya, Maxine, and the rest of her family.
Cast[]
- Margaret Cho as Maxine
- Elaine Young as Allie
- Isabella Day as Maya
- Kelvin Han Yee as Malcolm
- Celeste Den as Molly
- Nicole Jia as Julie
- Jabbar Lewis as Tristan
- Cindera Che as Su Lin
- Ben Wang as Wei Chun
- Ted Chun as Man in Red Hat
- Luke Kim as Teenage Boy
- Katie Self as Employee
- Tina Wong-Lu as Young Woman
- Jo Yuan as Customer
Gallery[]
