Disney has reportedly axed a storyline from Pixar’s highly anticipated first animated long-form series, Win or Lose, that was focused on a transgender character.
What’s Happening:
- Disney, the parent company of Pixar Animation Studios, has reportedly pulled a storyline from the upcoming original long-form animated series (the first from the studio), Win or Lose, that follows a transgender character.
- As The Hollywood Reporter reveals, the storyline took place in a later episode of the eight-episode series. The character remains in the show, but several lines of dialogue that referenced gender identity are being removed.
- Win or Lose follows the Pickles, a co-ed middle school softball team, in the week leading up to their championship game. Each episode offers a look inside the off-the-field life of a character – a player, their parent, the umpire – revealing their funny, emotional and always relatable point of view in a unique visual style
- Reports indicate that this decision was made several months ago.
- Disney confirmed the removal and told The Hollywood Reporter, “When it comes to animated content for a younger audience, we recognize that many parents would prefer to discuss certain subjects with their children on their own terms and timeline.” They made no further comment beyond that.
- Notably, Win or Lose, first announced back in 2020 during Disney’s Investor Day, was originally slated to debut in 2023 before being pushed to December of 2024. Back in September (or, several months ago), Pixar revealed a shake-up in their schedule, pushing the debut of Dream Productions to December of 2024 and Win or Lose to February 19th, 2025.
- Dream Productions revisits the world of Riley and the Inside Out universe. At the time, the reason given was to capitalize on the success of Inside Out 2, which was shattering records upon its debut in June of 2024 and (as of press time) grossed $1.7 billion and is still the top-grossing animated film of all time.
UPDATE – 6:50 p.m. ET
- In an exclusive from Deadline, the actress who voices the would-be-transgender character in Win or Lose, has spoken out about the change in her character’s identity.
- Chanel Stewart, who is herself transgender, only found out on Monday night about the change in her character’s storyline. Here’s what she had to say:
- “I was very disheartened. From the moment I got the script, I was excited to share my journey to help empower other trans youth. I knew this would be a very important conversation. Trans stories matter, and they deserve to be heard. It’s just that my character would now be a cis girl, a straight cis girl. So yeah, that’s all they really told me and that I was still a part of the show.”
- The young actress’ mother also had this to say:
- “It was upsetting because my daughter is transgender and this is her life. I felt like it was very important that we not hide that fact. There may be some parents out there who are not ready to have that conversation, but this is the world that we live in and everyone should be represented. Everyone deserves to be recognized. And it felt like it was just another setback for the LGBTQ community, because it’s very hard on transgender teenagers … transgender people, period. Especially when you’re young and you’re trying to figure out how to navigate this world that you live in and be able to grow into your own person.”
- This isn’t the first case in which Disney has pulled a transgender storyline. Recently, an episode of Disney Channel’s Moon Girl & Devil Dinosaur, “The Gatekeeper,” was not aired and it too was centered around a transgender character.
- While Disney denied that the episode was “banned” (as one crew member on the production claimed), they added that the decision to hold on releasing the episode was made more than a year ago, and not because of the character’s inclusion.
- Interestingly, that very episode was honored at the Velma Awards, the first initiative from the Rainbow Project, with the awards focusing on elevating and celebrating children’s media pushing the boundaries of LGBTQ-inclusive storytelling. “The Gatekeeper” took home the award for “Best Episode (Period!) That Never Saw The Light of Day.”
- Other LGBTQIA+ content from Disney did air and took home other awards, including episodes of Primos and Firebuds.
- More adult fare from Disney has featured LGBTQIA+ storylines and characters including the recent Disney+ hit from Marvel, Agatha All Along, as well as Searchlight’s All of Us Strangers, Next Goal Wins, and Fire Island, as well as FX titles like Pose, and others.
- Pixar’s Win or Lose is still slated to debut on February 19th, 2025 on Disney+.
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Disney has continued to feature LGBTQ+ content in its more adult-focused fare, notably Marvel Television’s Agatha All Along, Searchlight Pictures’ All of Us Strangers, Next Goal Wins and Fire Island, and FX’s Pose, among others.