Former Pixar employees are dismayed that the studio cut a transgender storyline from the upcoming “Win or Lose” Disney+ series.
Sarah Ligatich, a transgender former Pixar assistant editor who consulted on the “Win or Lose” episode, told The Hollywood Reporter, “It hardly surprised me, but it devastated me. For a long time, Disney has not been in the business of making great content. They have been in the business of making great profits. Even as far back as 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 see animation as a conservative medium.”
THR broke the news that Disney was removing lines of dialogue confirming a character is a transgender girl. The character remains in the show but is now portrayed as cisgender. A Disney spokesperson said of the change, “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.”
One former Pixar employee that THR spoke to pointed out the irony of that statement, considering the themes Disney has previously covered, including the death of a parent in films like “Bambi” and “The Lion King” and alcohol use in “Alice in Wonderland” and “Pinocchio.”
“It’s 100 percent political,” said a transgender ex-Pixar employee. He referenced ABC News’ recent $15 million pay-out to settle a defamation lawsuit by President-elect Donald Trump and reports that Disney cut an episode about a transgender character from “Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur.” “Disney just had the settlement with Trump. We saw it recently with the ‘Devil Dinosaur and Moon Girl’ episode that was cut. All of us who knew about ‘Win or Lose’ and this character were all just clenching: ‘Please don’t hit us next.’”
Disney said the trans character is not why they decided to hold on releasing the “Moon Girl” episode.
The “Win or Lose” episode was already complete, and removing the transgender storyline means extra work and expense. Ligatich expressed frustration that “Win or Lose” had been completed for a while but delayed multiple times. It was originally set to premiere in 2023, then moved to 2024. It was then scheduled to air this month but switched premiere dates with Pixar’s “Dream Productions.”
“They had this story in the can for two years, so they could have released it in a Biden presidency, and they chose not to.”
“Win or Lose” will now premiere on Disney+ on February 19, 2025.
Ligatich said she knows artists who don’t want to work on the “Win or Lose” episode. Employees were reportedly given the option to not work on the episode although nobody has taken Pixar up on the offer, THR said.
Former Pixar employees also recalled animators working overtime to complete “Inside Out 2” and being told to make the film’s protagonist Riley “less gay.” One source told IGN earlier this year, “A lot of us accepted the fact that we may never see a major gay character in a Pixar movie.” Many of those who worked on the film were laid off before its release, meaning they didn’t receive a hefty stipend for its success.
Ligatich was among the employees laid off in May. She said she felt welcomed and valued during her two-and-a-half-year tenure at the studio. Following the news that Disney removed the trans storyline, Ligatich has been in contact with members of the “Win or Lose” creative team, including executive producer David Lally.
“I can’t tell you how much I cried yesterday thinking about that conversation that David had to have with [Chanel Stewart],” Ligatich said of the transgender actress who voiced the “Win or Lose” character. “Not only are you asking someone to play someone they’re not, but to also get them to wrap their mind around a political conversation that is just so beyond them.”
Chanel Stewart discovered Pixar was looking for a 14-year-old transgender girl to voice a character via a post on X. She told Deadline “I was exactly what they wanted to a T, and that’s why it felt so right. It felt just so right. I immediately asked my mom if I could do it, because I just felt like if I don’t do this, it wouldn’t make sense. You know what I mean?”
Chanel, now 18, remembers, “Oh my God, it was crazy. I wore it as a badge. I wore it with pride. I wore it with honor because it meant so much to me. The thought of authentically portraying a transgender teenage girl made me really happy. I wanted to make this for transgender kids like me.”
Disney called last Monday to tell Chanel’s mom Keisha that “Win or Lose” would no longer include the transgender storyline. Stewart said she is still part of the show, “It’s just that my character would now be a cis girl, a straight cis girl. So yeah, that’s all they really told me and that I was still a part of the show.”
“I was very disheartened,” she added. “From the moment I got the script, I was excited to share my journey to help empower other trans youth. I knew this would be a very important conversation. Trans stories matter, and they deserve to be heard.”
“It was upsetting because my daughter is transgender and this is her life. I felt like it was very important that we not hide that fact,” Stewart’s mom Keisha said. “There may be some parents out there who are not ready to have that conversation, but this is the world that we live in and everyone should be represented. Everyone deserves to be recognized. And it felt like it was just another setback for the LGBTQ community, because it’s very hard on transgender teenagers … transgender people, period. Especially when you’re young and you’re trying to figure out how to navigate this world that you live in and be able to grow into your own person.”
THR’s sources noted that the episode had changed significantly from footage that leaked online featuring the character worried about what bathroom to use. But an anonymous former Pixar employee said, “The episode in its final form was so beautiful.”
The employee did not work on “Win or Lose” but had seen the show. They said it “beautifully illustrated some of the experiences of being trans — and it was literally going to save lives by showing those who feel alone and unloved, that there are people out there who understand. So it’s just very frustrating that Disney has decided to spend money to not save lives.”
Disney CEO Bob Iger said in an April CNBC interview, “The bottom line is that infusing messaging as sort of a number one priority in our films and TV shows is not what we’re up to. They need to be entertaining, and where the Disney company can have a positive impact on the world, whether it’s, you know, fostering acceptance and understanding of people of all different types, great.”
“Win or Lose” isn’t the only Pixar project cutting something perceived as political. A former Pixar artist said that the team behind the upcoming film “Hoppers” was told to downplay its environmentalism message.
“Hoppers,” written and directed by Daniel Chong, features a human and beaver switching bodies. It’s scheduled for release on March 6, 2026.
The artist, who did not directly work on the film, said, “Unfortunately, when you have your whole film based around the importance of environmentalism, you can’t really walk back on that. That team struggled a lot to figure out, ‘What do we even do with this note?’”
One laid-off Pixar employee is working to open an independent animation studio to encourage underrepresented voices. “That’s really how it’s going to go moving forward,” Ligatich said, “is you’re going to see a lot of indie studios pop up to tell stories.”
Although her character is no longer portrayed as trans, Stewart still celebrated her involvement in the project, saying, “I’m definitely one of the first [transgender girls] to do this! It’s a true honor to be a part of queer history.”
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