Disney Remove Transgender Storyline From Pixar’s “Win Or Lose” Disney+ Series
In February, Pixar will be releasing its first animated series on Disney+ called, “Win Or Lost”, which reveals what it actually feels like to be in the shoes of eight different characters in the week leading up to the big game—the insecure kids, their helicopter parents, even a lovesick umpire—with incredibly funny, very emotional and uniquely animated perspectives.
The series features Will Forte’s voice as the coach. “Win or Lose” is directed, written, and executive produced by Carrie Hobson and Michael Yates, who also produced David Lally.
This series was originally scheduled to be released on Disney+ in late 2023, but it has gone through a number of delays, including a recent change; where it was previously announced that it would be released earlier this month, but at the last minute, there was a swap with “Dream Productions”, which was released on Disney+ last week, moving to February 19th 2025.
Now, it looks like we might have a reason for the last-minute change, as according to THR, a storyline about a transgender character has been removed from the series. However, the character will remain in the series, but a few lines of dialogue that reference gender identity are being removed.
A statement by Disney regarding this change was provided, saying:
“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.”
This decision was apparently made several months ago and follows a recent decision by Disney to scrap an upcoming episode of Marvel’s “Moon Girl And Devil Dinosaur”, which also had a transgender character in it.
Over the past few years, Disney has been getting lots of unwanted attention following a shift within the company following the announcement of Flordia’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill in 2022, which saw former Disney CEO Bob Chapek speak out against the bill, following intense pressure from co-workers. This led to a major political situation across Florida and the United States, and it also gained worldwide attention, especially with regard to Disney’s special status in Orlando for its Walt Disney World theme park.
Disney also suffered adverse reactions to LGBTQ+ characters being included in several films, such as “Onward,” “Strange World,” and “Lightyear.” While impacted by the pandemic, these films struggled to pull in enough money at the box office compared to other animated films during the same time period.
Following Bob Iger’s return as CEO, he has been trying to calm down the political situation, making changes to move the company back into a more neutral middle ground. It’s also listening to feedback from parents and other viewers.
Disney is still committed to including LGBTQ+ characters in films and shows for adults, especially from its studios, such as Searchlight Pictures and FX, but it has been making changes within its content aimed at younger audiences and families.
Roger’s Take: With the political situation changing, not just in the United States but in many other countries, we are seeing many companies making alterations to their content strategy, as recent elections are an indication of where the political mindset of the population is swaying. Resulting in companies trying to move back to the middle ground, to try to keep both sides happy and them making more money.
We are likely to see this continue over the coming years. While Disney will receive some negative responses to this information coming out ahead of the show’s release, it will also receive some praise from those who don’t want these storylines involved in content aimed at young children and families.
“Win Or Lose” will be released on Disney+ on February 19th 2025.
Roger Palmer
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