Former Pixar staffer talks about win or lose cutting trance storyline

Just before the holidays, news broke that Disney would be cutting a storyline about a transgender character in the upcoming Pixar series, Win or lose. At the time, Disney said the removal would allow parents to “discuss certain topics with their children on their own terms and timeline,” sparking much discussion online as it was second show with a trans-focused storyline to get the ax recently.

Win or losewhich debuts on Disney+ in February, centers on a co-ed softball team; one episode would be dedicated to a character named Kai, who remains in the episode, but without any references to their gender.

Now, former Pixar creators have shared their feelings on the matter Hollywood Reporter. Former Pixar assistant editor Sara Ligatich, who is trans and consulted on the episode, said the removal would cause problems because the entire show had been completed for “quite a while,” albeit repeatedly pushed back from its planned 2023 release. . That Kai’s storyline was cut didn’t come as much of a surprise to Ligatic, but she still felt “devastated”: “Disney wasn’t in the business of making great content,” she said. “They were in the business of making big profits. Even 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 view animation as a conservative medium.”

That sentiment was shared by her fellow former Pixar employees speaking outside the store. Some found it ironic that Disney had no problem cutting the story of a trans character, but spent years giving a pass to media with significantly heavier subjects, such as dealing with (and passing from) the death of a loved one. Others admitted that the now-completed episode would have to have several plot elements tweaked before Win or lose launch in mid-February. An anonymous former employee called it “very disappointing that Disney decided to spend money not to save lives,” explaining that the episode “was so beautiful—and beautifully illustrates some of the experiences of being transgender—and literally would have saved lives by showing to those who feel alone and unloved that there are people who understand.”

The latest Disney story throwing weird people under the bus (up to it doesn’t work), and with Pixar Projects in particular, is pre-documented. But Donald Trump’s impending second term has Pixar employees worried Win or lose will be just one of several projects that will cut certain messages or points of view. A former Pixar artist speaking to THR claims that the studio’s 2026 film Bunkers should downplay any messages of environmentalism. The movie centers around a girl who swaps brains with a beaver, and as this artist pointed out, “when your whole movie is based on the importance of protecting the environment, you can’t really go back to that. This team is struggling a lot to figure out, “What do we do with this note?”

For Ligatich, Disney’s treatment of Win or lose is also a reminder that queer creators and audiences may have to look elsewhere to find stories that reflect themselves. She singled out Netflix, which revived and released last year’s queer-centric film Nimona after Disney before that scrap itand said the streamer “is more than happy to host content that tells authentic LGBTQ stories. That’s really how it’s going to go forward, you’re going to see a lot of indie studios emerging to tell stories.”

Win or lose premieres on February 19, 2025. on Disney+.

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