I can’t believe I almost skipped this film! It was such a delight from beginning to end.

It is co-created by Emma Hough Hobbs and Leela Varghese in what looks to be their feature directorial debuts and is a candy coloured animation with puts queer and trans characters at the centre. It is gleefully jubilant about lesbians, something that feels so empowering in a mainstream festival.

Saira (Shabana Azeez) is a princess, naturally, and the daughter of the two ruling queens of Clitopolis (Madeleine Sami and Jordan Raskopoulos). They are bad ass and deeply comfortable with their sexuality and bodies and ruling a planet. Saira is a shy introvert who has felt a disappointment to her mums and to her nation since she was little.

Surprising everyone, including herself, she gets a girlfriend, Kiki (Bernie Van Tiel), who happens to be a gung ho bounty hunter Watching from the sidelines, we can’t help but wonder at Kiki‘s motivations, particularly when she callously dump Saira for being too clingy and crying too much.

Saira sets off on a quest, and doing so gets her out of her Clitopolis bubble and seeing different views of the world and herself. There is some very clear messaging about self image, self love and dealing with depression and anxiety. It could be heavy-handed, but we are buoyed along by the humour and queer joy that makes it feel heartfelt and something that we all should hear more often.

The humour is the wry kind that you might find in The IT Crowd and the script is jam-packed with funny lines and excellent delivery. The Straight White Maliens (played by the comedy troupe Aunty Donna) are particularly good, and there are some well-known names behind the voices – Kween Kong as drag queen Blade and Richard Roxburgh as Problematic Ship.

It’s the kind of film you could watch over and over again, because of its fun inclusive storyline and because there is so many visual and dialogue jokes and references that you can’t take them all in. Delightful!