After a queer storyline for Inside Out 2 has already been stopped, Disney is now removing a trans character from the new Pixar series. Fans and employees are outraged.
The Disney Group is currently facing criticism from several sides. The reason: the new Pixar series Win or Lose, which is scheduled to launch on Disney+ on February 19, 2025. To the disappointment of members of the Pixar team and some fans, a queer storyline was removed from the format at short notice.
Disney leaves transgender story out of new Pixar series We or Lose cancel
Win or Lose by Carrie Hobson and Michael Yates is about a softball school team and introduces one of the team members per episode in the week before the big game. One of the later episodes is about a teenager named Kai, who in the original version of the episode is a trans girl. According to the Hollywood Reporter, she was rewritten as a cisgender girl shortly before the series premiered. This is referred to as queer erasure, the act of making non-heteronormative individuals invisible in media and society.
In Disney’s statement, it says: “When it comes to animated content for a younger audience, we know that many parents would prefer to discuss certain topics with their children on their own terms and on their own schedule.”
Censorship Allegation: Pixar Employees and Fans React to Disney’s Decision
Shortly after the news of the deleted trans story in Win or Lose broke, the voice actress Chanel Stewart spoke out (via Deadline ). The role of Kai meant a lot to the 18-year-old, who is trans herself. The voice actress was all the more disappointed by Disney’s decision:
“I was very discouraged. From the moment I got the script, I was thrilled to share my journey to empower other trans youth. I knew this would be an extremely important conversation. Trans stories are important and deserve to be heard.
Pixar employee Jeff Pidgeon (Inside Out, Red) is hoping for at least a home theater release with both versions and wrote on Instagram: “Of course it would be best to release Win or Lose in its original form, and it’s an awful shame that won’t be the case. […] People can’t make a choice when it’s taken away from them.”
At what point are trans people allowed to exist in the narrative? At what point are LGBT+ people allowed to tell our stories without worry of censorship or removal? https://t.co/tlMoQXxSSA
— ambrr ❄️☃️ (@mbrleigh) December 17, 2024
Storyboard artist Amber Vucinich (Rapunzel, Samurai Rabbit) wrote in response to over 40,000 likes on social media: “When will trans people be allowed in the narrative? When will LGBT+ people be allowed to tell their stories without worrying about censorship and removal?”
In November of this year, the Disney Channel had an entire episode of the Marvel animated series Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur deleted because it included a trans character.
