After the decision garnered plenty of backlash from the public, Disney pulling Win or Lose‘s transgender storyline has gotten a candid response from some Pixar employees. The upcoming show marks the first full-length series to come from the animation studio, revolving around a co-ed middle school softball team and the lives of its young players and their parents leading up to a championship game. Win or Lose found itself drawing controversy when it was revealed Disney had removed a storyline regarding a transgender character, with the studio explaining they wanted to keep their animated content targeted for younger audiences.
Now, The Hollywood Reporter has spoken with multiple Pixar employees to get their thoughts on Win or Lose‘s transgender storyline being removed by Disney. One of the most vocal with the publication was that of former assistant editor Sarah Ligatich, who is herself trans and consulted on the episode, acknowledging that while the decision “hardly surprised me“, it still left her “devastated“:
For a long time, Disney has not been in the business of making great content. They have been in the business of making great profits. Even as far back as two years ago, when I was at Pixar, we had a meeting with [then-CEO] Bob Chapek, and they were clear with us that they see animation as a conservative medium.
She would go on to recall “feeling welcomed and valued” during her time at the studio, and has since gotten in touch with multiple members of Win or Lose‘s creative team, namely executive producer David Lally, to discuss the decision, as well as her frustration that “the show has been completed for quite some time“ and delayed multiple times. Ligatich, in particular, was emotional talking to Lally and Chanel Stewart, the trans teenage actor who plays the character, in the wake of the removal:
I can’t tell you how much I cried yesterday thinking about that conversation that David had to have with [Chanel]. Not only are you asking someone to play someone they’re not, but to also get them to wrap their mind around a political conversation that is just so beyond them. They had this story in the can for two years, so they could have released it in a Biden presidency, and they chose not to.
While Ligatich would go on to state that there were multiple Pixar artists that didn’t want to work on the episode, other sources report they were all given the option not to work on it and “nobody has taken the company up on that offer“. Even still, she would go on to share that places like Netflix have made the animation space far better for LGBTQ+ content, making note of their Oscar-nominated 2023 hit Nimona:
Netflix is more than happy to host content that tells authentic LGBTQ stories. That’s really how it’s going to go moving forward, is you’re going to see a lot of indie studios pop up to tell stories.
THR would also speak with two former Pixar employees who requested to remain anonymous, one of whom is also trans and expressed his belief that the decision to cut the Win or Lose story was “100% political” on Disney’s part, making note of the recent settlement made between ABC News and Donald Trump regarding the latter’s defamation lawsuit against the studio:
Disney just had the settlement with Trump. We saw it recently with the Devil Dinosaur and Moon Girl episode that was cut. All of us who knew about Win or Lose and this character were all just clenching: “Please don’t hit us next.”
The other unnamed employee, who didn’t work directly on the show, recalled having actually seen the episode in full both in its temporary and final forms, calling it “beautiful” and revealing how it had changed over time with the addition of a segment in which Kai was “deliberating over which bathroom to use“. Some sources also report that the decision to remove the completed episode required story adjustments that necessitated “the team to scramble” for the February premiere. See the rest of what the other anonymous former Pixar employee said below:
The episode in its final form was so beautiful — and beautifully illustrated some of the experiences of being trans — and it was literally going to save lives by showing those who feel alone and unloved, that there are people out there who understand. So it’s just very frustrating that Disney has decided to spend money to not save lives.
What The Pixar Employees’ Reactions Mean For Win Or Lose
The Show May Feel Incomplete In Part
As Ligatich alludes to in her comments, Disney’s decision to remove the transgender storyline from Win or Lose likely came as little of a surprise to the public as it did to Pixar staffers. In recent years, the studio has frequently come under fire for their attempts at LGBTQ+ inclusion, often viewed as being halfhearted or minimal enough that it could’ve been excised, and it wouldn’t have made a difference. A recent report even indicated Pixar made edits to Riley in Inside Out 2 to make her feel “less gay” to avoid Lightyear‘s mixed reactions and box office failure.
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When it comes to how this will affect the show as a whole, one of the biggest concerns now is that reports indicate the Win or Lose team are scrambling to put together a new episode in place of the trans-focused one. Based on this and the plot summary of the show, it seems like the flow of the show is to give one character an entire episode’s focus to flesh them out while still progressing the overarching plot, much in the same vein as James Gunn’s Creature Commandos. With that in mind, the removal of an entire episode could throw off the show’s plot progression.
Our Take On The Pixar Employees’ Win Or Lose Reactions
The Studio Is Alienating A Whole Host Of Future Employees
Considering their parent studio’s controversial history regarding LGBTQ+ storytelling, Disney’s removal of the trans story from Win or Lose marks a serious problem for both studios’ futures. As Ligatich states, places like Netflix are offering far more inclusive spaces for diverse storytelling with titles like Nimona, and if Disney continues their shift toward a more conservative output, they’ll find up-and-coming animators, writers and other filmmakers will not want to work with them.
The other thing Disney should keep in mind going forward from Win or Lose is the knowledge that, while there will always be parents who appreciate their decision to allow them to educate their children on subjects like transgender people, future generations are going to be the exact opposite. Many parents are not equipped with the knowledge to give their children both well-informed and meaningful insight about those in the LGBTQ+ community, and if Disney keeps making these kinds of decisions, their future storytelling will hurt in this field as they alienate filmmakers who can give that to audiences.
Source: THR
Win or Lose is an animated sports comedy series produced by Pixar. The show follows a co-ed middle school softball team and their coach as they navigate the highs and lows leading up to their championship game. Each episode is from a different character’s perspective, providing unique insights into their individual experiences and emotions.
- Release Date
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February 19, 2025
- Network
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Disney+
- Cast
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Will Forte
- Character(s)
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Coach Dan (voice)
, Rochelle (voice)
, Vanessa (voice) - Creator(s)
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Michael Yates
- Producers
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David Lally
- Seasons
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1
- Production Company
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Disney Television Animation, Pixar Animation Studios
- Writers
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Carrie Hobson
, Michael Yates