In a move that has people collectively rolling their eyes harder than a Pixar lamp on caffeine, Disney has snipped out a trans storyline from the upcoming Pixar series Win or Lose. The series, which is Pixar’s first-ever attempt at episodic TV (finally, right?), is now scheduled to arrive fashionably late in February 2025. Because why release groundbreaking animation on time when you can drop it during a month when everyone is still recovering from Valentine’s chocolate hangovers?
Here’s the tea: according to The Hollywood Reporter, one episode of Win or Lose originally included a trans storyline. But Disney decided to pull out the scissors faster than a kindergartner on craft day. The character will still be in the show (so, yay?), but all the juicy dialogue about their gender identity has been erased, likely replaced by generic lines like “I love sports!” or “Teamwork is cool!”
Disney explained their decision with the kind of vague corporate logic that makes you want to sigh into infinity and beyond. “When it comes to animated content for a younger audience,” a Disney spokesperson said, “we recognize that many parents would prefer to discuss certain subjects with their children on their own terms and timeline.” Translation: “It’s not us; it’s… parents?”
This isn’t exactly breaking news, though. Disney has a history of yanking LGBTQ+ moments like they’re optional toppings on a pizza. Remember Lightyear? In 2022, the highly-anticipated space flick removed a gay kiss faster than Buzz could say, “To infinity!”—only to stick it back in after a public outcry so loud, it probably reached Zurg.
And let’s not forget Strange World, also from 2022. That animated film gave us Walt Disney Animation Studios’ first openly gay teen character, making history. But apparently, when it comes to consistent representation, Disney still seems to be taking baby steps while wearing clown shoes.
As for Win or Lose, the series promises to be a charming peek into the lives of middle schoolers and their weekly softball games. Fingers crossed that by the time February 2025 rolls around, Disney will have figured out how to tell diverse stories without treating them like optional post-credits scenes.
Until then, check out the teaser trailer—where presumably no one will say or do anything too controversial, like having a personality.
