Disney airs its first-ever same-sex cartoon kiss -- and new 'Beauty and the Beast' may feature one too

Heartbreak is real -- even for cartoon characters. In a new episode of Disney XD's "Star vs the Forces of Evil," Star Butterfly is crushed when her boy-BFF Marco smooches another girl. But that's not why the internet's buzzing!

It was so nonchalant that it's almost unnoticeable: The scene was the first-ever Disney cartoon to include a same-sex kiss. In fact, there were two.

In the episode, a One Direction-esque boyband launches into a rendition of their hit song "Just Friends." 14-year-old Star and Marco (who are, of course, just friends themselves -- for now!) are rocking out.

Suddenly, Star notices that she and Marco are surrounded by kissing couples. Among them are a gay couple and a lesbian one.

The landmark cartoon moment is lost on Star (voiced by "The Middle"'s Eden Sher), who is just alarmed to turn around and see Marco locking lips with another girl! Has she been secretly crushing on him all along? We've all been there.

We haven't yet seen any obvious nods to the LGBT community during Disney's big-screen features -- although some speculated gay undertones in "Frozen" -- but that'll soon change with the March release of "Beauty and the Beast."

According to director Bill Condon, LeFou (Josh Gad) will clearly demonstrate a struggle with his own feelings toward leading man Gaston. The film will include Disney's first "exclusively gay moment."

There will be a "big pay-off at the end," Condon promised.

In the meantime, "Star" fans were quick to applaud the gay kisses via Twitter. "THANK YOU DISNEY," one user tweeted with a heart emoji.

Another user pointed out that an adult gay couple appeared in the show's season finale, which aired a few days after "Just Friends." A young girl is seen strolling through a carnival with her two dads.

Although 2017 is proving to be a big year for gay Disney figures, these aren't the first times the company has briefly but pointedly introduced LGBT relationships: A 2014 episode of the live-action "Good Luck Charlie," included a character with two moms.

See all the looks at the launch of "Beauty and the Beast":