Disney removes trans-inclusive storyline from new Pixar series

The forthcoming Disney+ series ‘Win or Lose’ will no longer include a storyline led by a trans character.

As reported by The Hollywood Reporter, this unnamed character will still appear in the series, but any dialogue concerning their gender identity will be omitted from the final version.

A production source indicated that this decision was made several months prior.

“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,” a Disney spokesperson informed the news outlet.

Set to debut on Disney+ on February 19, ‘Win or Lose’ is Pixar’s inaugural long-form series, according to ‘Gay Times’.

Created by Carrie Hobson and Michael Yates, the series narrates the story of the Pickles, a co-ed middle school softball team gearing up for a championship.

Each of the eight episodes will focus on a different character’s journey leading to the eagerly awaited game.

The official synopsis states: “The series reveals what it actually feels like to be in the shoes of each character—the insecure kids, their helicopter parents, even a lovesick umpire—with incredibly funny, very emotional and uniquely animated perspectives.”

This recent news about Win or Lose isn’t the first instance where Disney's handling of LGBTQ+ narratives in its productions has garnered attention.

In 2022, a leaked letter from Pixar employees accused the company of censoring same-sex love in Pixar films.

“We at Pixar have personally witnessed beautiful stories, full of diverse characters, come back from Disney corporate reviews shaved down to crumbs of what they once were,” the employees articulated in the document, which was obtained by Judd Legum of Popular Information.

“Nearly every moment of overtly gay affection is cut at Disney’s behest, regardless of protests from both the creative teams and executive leadership at Pixar. Even if creating LGBTQIA+ content was the answer to fixing the discriminatory legislation in the world, we are being barred from creating it. Beyond the ‘inspiring content’ that we aren’t even allowed to create, we require action.”

At the time, Disney’s former CEO, Bob Chapek, was already facing backlash for providing a generic response to Florida's controversial ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill, opting to show general support for the LGBTQ+ community rather than denouncing the discriminatory bill.

In November 2024, Disney was again in the spotlight when a trans-inclusive episode of the popular Disney Channel series Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur was removed from the release schedule.

The second season episode, titled ‘The Gatekeeper,’ was intended to showcase Brooklyn—a recurring character and a trans classmate of Moon Girl (aka Lunella Lafayette)—as she prepared for a volleyball game but faced objections from a conservative coach attempting to prevent her from competing on the girl’s team.

In a now-deleted Bluesky post, a show creative expressed disappointment over the shelving of the episode, writing, “So guess I finally got hit with one of the projects (episode) I worked on being shelved because of which party won the recent election. It breaks my heart knowing this impactful and amazing episode is now about to be considered lost media.”

A Disney insider provided additional insight to Polygon, explaining that the decision was made over a year ago.

“In this case, this decision was based on this specific episode, not because of the character being trans,” they mentioned.

They also reiterated similar sentiments to those of the Disney spokesperson regarding the changes in Win or Lose, noting that the studio valued the role parents have in discussing topics with their children.