Disney decided not to include a transgender storyline in Pixar’s animated series Win Or Lose

Disney faced backlash from fans on social media when it came to light that they had removed a storyline about a transgender character from the upcoming Pixar series Win Or Lose.

The show is scheduled to debut on the Disney+ streaming platform on February 19 and was supposed to introduce a transgender character in one of the episodes of the first season, which consists of eight episodes.

However, some of the dialogue was edited out of that episode to obscure the character’s gender identity, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

A source close to the production claimed that Disney decided to edit the episodes months ago.

A Disney spokesperson responded to the reports, saying, ‘Regarding animated content aimed at younger viewers, we understand that some parents would rather address specific topics with their children according to their own preferences and schedule.’

However, the company declined to comment on further details about the episode  

Each episode of Win Or Lose focuses on a member of a middle school softball team, according to the show’s logline.

However, there was reportedly not a full episode devoted to the trans character.

The latest news of Disney editing out LGBTQ content comes after the company came under fire after people who worked on the Disney Channel animated series Moon Girl And Devil Dinosaur claimed on social media that an episode prominently featuring a trans character was dropped by the studio.

However, Disney denied that the episode had been ‘banned’ and said the decision not to release it was unrelated to the trans character.

Notably, the studio offered claimed the decision had been made more than a year before, which echoes the Win Or Lose source’s claim that dialogue about the trans character had been edited months earlier.

The Disney+ series was originally set to be released in December of 2023, before it was delayed a year to December 2024. 

The series then swapped released dates with another Pixar series, Dream Productions, for a February 19 release date, though it’s unknown if the edited episode played any part in those delays.

The animated series is created, written and directed by Carrie Hobson and Michael Yates, who also serve as executive producers, along with David Lally, Pixar Chief Creative Officer Pete Docter, Andrew Stanton and Lindsey Collins.

On social media, the tinkering from Disney was met with outrage by fans.

‘Disney doing what Disney does best, appealing to profit over the people who are fighting just to exist,’ one user on X (former Twitter) wrote. ‘Transphobes will praise this. Meanwhile I am disgusted by their praise more than they hate trans people.’

Another person blasted Disney and Pixar for having the ‘power to do anything’ related to the LGBTQ community and opting not to for years.

They also said the company was foolhardy for allegedly trying to appeal to people who couldn’t be won over. 

‘They are running scared from people who are already boycotting them because Snow F***ing White isn’t white. Somebody tell them they can’t win this,’ the user wrote.

Some fans pointed out Disney’s pro-LGBTQ statements as evidence of hypocrisy from the brand, including one person who reposted a photo shared by Disney’s account of its popular cartoon characters in front of a rainbow background. 

One user decided that the ‘era of prominent LGBTQ+ representation’ was over at Disney due to the brand’s commitment to ‘getting money from the community and not kindness to them.’ 

Another fan accused Disney of ‘prioritizing the comfort of conservative parents over educating families about a real minority, who’s rights and acceptance are constantly challenged everywhere [sic].’ 

Some fans also took a lighter approach to their criticism. One person included stills from the 1983 short Mickey’s Christmas Carol to illustrate the brand’s changing priorities. 

‘Disney in 1983: “let’s show Mickey burying his son,”‘ they wrote to accompany heart-rending images of the famous mouse by a tombstone. ‘Disney in 2024: “I don’t know, guys, maybe kids knowing about trans people may be too much.”‘

Disney has been the target of social conservatives and right-wing pundits after former CEO Bob Chapek criticized Florida’s so-called ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill.

The studio has also had recent films that have included gay characters that underperformed at the box office. 

Pixar’s Toy Story spinoff Lightyear included a same-sex kiss and only earned $226.4 million, while Disney Animation’s Strange World included an openly gay lead character and earned only $73.6 million globally. 

It’s unclear if those instances of LGBTQ inclusion had a significant effect on the films’ box-office takes, but Lightyear and Strange World’s failure may have contributed to squeamishness at Disney around LGBTQ content.