A new report from The Hollywood Reporter alleges that Disney and Pixar’s latest animated film, “Elio,” saw major story changes following one unfortunate test screening, as well as an overall erasure of the film’s originally intended queer themes.
“Elio” Production Changes and Pixar’s Continued Erasure of Queer Themes
In the report, it is alleged that Elio’s characterization was shifted to lean more masculine following leadership feedback during production, erasing his passion for fashion and environmentalism, as well as a suggestion of a male crush. One early sequence referenced in the report is where Elio collects trash on a beach and turns it into apparel for a “trash-ion show,” including a pink tank top. This scene was eventually removed from the final film. The aforementioned “trash fashion” is still in the released film, though without any explanation due to those cuts.
According to multiple insiders, Elio was “initially portrayed as a queer-coded character,” which reflected the identity of original director Adrian Molina (“Coco”), who is openly gay. However, other sources say that the film was never intended to be a coming-out story due to the character’s age.
THR indicates that trouble for the animated feature truly began in summer 2023, when an early test screening was held in Arizona. According to sources, despite the audience expressing how much they enjoyed the movie, when asked how many of them would pay to see it in a theater, not one person raised their hand.
Around the same time, Molina screened a cut of the film for Pixar leadership. Though no exact accounts of the feedback have been confirmed, rumors suggest that Molina was “hurt” by the feedback from Pixar CCO Pete Docter. Molina eventually left the project, and “Elio” was retooled by its now co-directors, Madeline Sharafian (Pixar animated short “Burrow”) and Domee Shi (“Bao,” “Turning Red”). One Pixar source alleges that “people stepped down in response to Molina’s departure.”
I was deeply saddened and aggrieved by the changes that were made. The exodus of talent after that cut was really indicative of how unhappy a lot of people were that they had changed and destroyed this beautiful work.
Sarah Ligatich, former Pixar assistant edtior and member of Pixar’s internal LGBTQ group, PixPRIDE
“It was pretty clear through the production of the first version of the film that [studio leaders] were constantly sanding down these moments inthe film that alluded to Elio’s sexuality of being queer,” said one former Pixar artist who chose to remain anonymous. “Suddenly, you remove this big, key piece, which is all about identity, and ‘Elio’ just becomes about totally nothing. The ‘Elio’ that is in theaters right now is far worse than Adrian’s best version of the original.”
In addition, the film’s reworking also saw cast and character changes, namely with America Ferrera, who was initially announced to play the role of Elio’s mom, Olga, at D23 in 2022. In the final film, Olga is now Elio’s aunt, played by Zoe Saldaña. Reportedly, Ferrera’s choice to exit was related to Molina’s departure from the film.
All of these changes eventually led to a ballooned budget, with media reports citing a budget of $150 million, though former Pixar artists allege it cost even more than that — north of $200 million, due to Molina’s original film reportedly being nearly complete. The film debuted to be a box office bomb, bringing in just $20.8 million domestically, Pixar’s worst opening weekend ever.
I’d love to ask Pete and the other Disney executives whether or not they thought the rewrite was worth it. Would they have lost this much money if they simply led Adrian tell his story?
An anonymous former Pixar artist
This is just the latest instance of Pixar watering down queer themes in its films and television shows, which all stem from criticism Disney faced for former CEO Bob Chapek speaking out against the “Don’t Say Gay” bill in Florida in 2022.
That same year, Pixar’s “Lightyear” included a same-gender relationship and onscreen kiss, which led to the film being banned in 14 Middle Eastern and Asian countries. The scene was initially cut, but was added back into the film later. The Disney+ animated series “Win or Lose” saw a transgender character arc entirely removed, with Disney saying that they “recognize that many parents would prefer to discuss certain subjects with their children on their own terms and timeline.” Former Pixar employees have also shared that they were told to make Riley “less gay” in”Inside Out 2.”
Despite these listed changes, LGBTQ+ characters have been featured in other Disney content, like “Agatha All Along” from Marvel Television, and non-Disney releases like “All of Us Strangers,” “Next Goal Wins,” and “Fire Island” from Searchlight Pictures.
According to insiders in the report, however, the decision to downplay these themes in “Elio” is not necessarily coming from Disney:
A lot of people like to blame Disney, but the call is coming from inside the house. A lot of it is obeying-in-advance behavior, coming from the higher execs at Pixar.
An anonymous former Pixar artist
However, a separate source downplayed the idea of executive meddling in messaging and cited story suggestions like not depicting divorce or toning down environmentalist themes as “typical of any early development process.”
It is possible that “Elio” could have legs on the streaming side once it hits Disney+, which was the case for “Elemental,” as it gained a strong word of mouth following its release on the streamer. The film ultimately grossed $154.4 million domestically and a total of $496.4 million globally. “Elio” also has solid reviews, with an 81% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes and an A CinemaScore (with A+ for viewers under 25). You can read our review of the film to see what we thought.
The official Pixar account on TikTok recently posted a video urging audiences to see “Elio” in theaters to support original filmmaking, telling the public to “stop complaining that Disney doesn’t make original stories if you don’t show up to movie theaters and support them in the first place.”
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
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