A lot of people are definitely upset about the arc being cut, and some ex-Pixar employees who actually got to see what could have been have been talking about how great the original arc was. In an interview with THR, the anonymous source said:

“The episode in its final form was so beautiful — and 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.”

We don’t have too many specifics on the arc, but it’s said that one of the central characters in the series was supposed to be trans and even had a moment where they would have a problem figuring out which bathroom to use. After the story was rewritten, it was said that the character will now just appear as a straight girl.

Though Pixar has been doing some great work when it comes to representation, outright showing it always comes with a couple of snags. Besides the conservative box office censorship of China, there’s also the case of anything deemed ‘woke’ getting attacked by the alt-right online mob.

It’s definitely a shame that this had to happen to Win or Lose, but at least fans know that the artists behind the series were trying their best to actually show representation before Disney put the hammer down.

Win or Lose comes to Disney+ on Feb. 19, 2025.

In a recent interview with Bloomberg, Pixar Chief Creative Office Peter Docter talks about how the studio wants to steer away from ‘personal projects’ to focus more on ‘relatable films’, but it’s not sitting so well with fans.

The specific quote that people are fuming about is this bit:

are you fucking kidding me https://t.co/kVP6N6KcaL pic.twitter.com/35CMoc36e0

— Delaney Jordan (@DelaneyLJordan) May 31, 2024

“The studio’s movies should be less a pursuit of any director’s catharsis and instead speak to a commonality of experience, Docter says. “I don’t think we can ever let ourselves off the hook of making syre that we deliver the best possible and most relatable films.”

Already, fans online are getting angry, pointing out that the failure of original projects like Luca and Turning Red were due to its straight-to-streaming release. Elemental also didn’t make a splash when it opened, but eventually received great word of mouth.

Truly awful to see Pixar leadership badmouthing some of their recent works like LUCA and TURNING RED, which are two of the very best films they’ve ever put out precisely because they come from a specific place both personally and culturally. https://t.co/OnfVTMXCpv pic.twitter.com/QINOZOR2rb

— Carlos Aguilar (@Carlos_Film) June 1, 2024

I'm really glad to see so many of us angry about this kinda talk when it comes to Pixar and how Disney has been sabotaging them. LIGHTYEAR was the bomb and they didn't even release Luca and Turning Red in theaters and ELEMENTAL DID GREAT IN THE END despite the HORRIBLE MARKETING https://t.co/SBw2PNJ3xW pic.twitter.com/NLMrCHtNQa

— Lobo (@LahuLobo) June 1, 2024

The Incredibles, arguably Pixar's greatest film and universally considered one of its best, by his own accounts came out of Brad Bird's personal challenges in balancing work and family life. Finding the universal in the specific is how classics get made. https://t.co/D3CeQWKsAr

— Zack Stentz (@MuseZack) June 1, 2024

if anything, fans have actually pointed out that the movies that didn’t manage to make a splash were ones that were blatantly capitalizing on established IP—like Lightyear.

We don’t know if Pixar will ever want to clarify the statement, but fans are clearly upset that they want to move away from the Pixar brand of ‘quality family films’ in favour of commercially safe IP.

Maybe they’ll expound more on their plans after they see what happens with the release of Inside Out 2 later this month. Catch it in theatres June 14.

Echoing their disappointment when Disney decided to move Luca straight to streaming last year, staffers are Pixar are once again disappointed that another film that they were excited to share, Turning Red, was going in a different direction.

Talking to Insider, one staffer says, “It’s safe to say that we’re all feeling extremely disappointed… Until today, we all thought ‘Turning Red’ would be our return to the big screen, and everyone at the studio was so excited about it being this film in particular. It was quite a blow.”

Despite the disappointment, the case of the pandemic has others more understandable of the situation. One Turning Red staffer said, “Sucks, but I get it,” and another commented, “With Omicron infections so high, I haven’t heard anyone say the decision to pivot to streaming is wrong,”

If anything, some fans are pointing out at the success of Encanto. Though Disney had released the movie exclusively at theaters, the movie didn’t really get any buzz until it came out on Disney+; maybe skipping theaters will save Turning Red the disappointment? While movies like Shang-Chi and Spider-Man: No Way Home have made bank at the box office, it’s just a harsh truth that audiences aren’t willing to risk as much for other kinds of films.

Catch Turning Red when it hits Disney+ on March 11.

Here’s the trailer for Ciao Alberto:

Here’s the official description as well:

With his best friend Luca away at school, Alberto is enjoying his new life in Portorosso working alongside Massimo—the imposing, tattooed, one-armed fisherman of few words—who’s quite possibly the coolest human in the entire world as far as Alberto is concerned. He wants more than anything to impress his mentor, but it’s easier said than done

While Luca was understandably the focus of the main film, it’s actually Alberto who is the prime source of humor and entertainment, pushing the plot forward by getting him and Luca to run away to the town. Though this could just be a one-off, it would be cool if we got a short updating us on Luca and his experience going to school in the city.

Though Pixar had dealt with a lot of “huge” concepts with movies like Soul and Inside Out, Luca was a refreshingly simple story; but even if that was the case, you still have to appreciate the pro-LGBT subtext that’s heavily coded into the film. The movie doesn’t really need a sequel, but the characters are great, and it’s shorts like this that make a fan happy to see what the characters could be up to.

Ciao Alberto hits Disney+ on Nov. 12. You can catch more of Alberto in Disney Pixar’s Luca.

Here’s a first teaser for the upcoming movie which stars Rosalie Chiang and Sandra Oh:

We don’t have the overall plot for the film yet, but Turning Red is said to be a story about Mei Lee, a  ’13-year-old girl who turns into a giant red panda whenever she gets too excited.’ Chiang will be playing the part of Mei Lee, and Oh voices Mei Lee’s overbearing mother.

The film is directed by Domee Shi, who had won the Oscar for her animated short film Bao. No doubt we’ll be seeing more of Asian-American culture in the film; plus it looks  like Shi is doubling down on the character of an overprotective mother.

While Pixar already had a signature look for characters in previous films, it feels like Turning Red is leaning closer to the aesthetics of Luca, what with the Miyazaki-esque bright colors and round-designed characters.

With Luca just brimming with LGBTQ themes, I’m curious on what kind of story Turning Red is trying to tell. On the get-go, I would guess that it would be about puberty, considering Mei Lee’s age and her ‘changing body’, but it could also be a coming-of-age tale, what with the hurdle that Mei Lee has to overcome which is her mother.

With the film set to come out in March next year, we would probably have to wait till December to get out next look at the film. Catch Turning Red when it hits theaters March 11, 2022.

With Disney not putting a paywall or theatrically releasing Disney Pixar’s Luca, a lot of people (including Pixar staff) thought this was a bad sign and that Disney thought that the film was sub-par. With the release of Luca last weekend though, it looks like the movie is another critical hit for the studio, and it’s LGBT themes were most especially relevant nearing the end of Pride Month.

As of now, Luca has been receiving some praise online for its heartwarming story and very strong queer themes.

Check out some of the praise the film’s been receiving down here: 

https://twitter.com/bisexual_link/status/1406550273435193345

sapphics coming out #Luca pic.twitter.com/XKv2d8YSgf

— v; pregando per la maturità (@bellarkestars) June 20, 2021

THESE FISHES GAY GOOD FOR THEM GOOD FOR THEM #Luca pic.twitter.com/IKgKplPEUZ

— LUNTIAN / NICO (@nicosq_) June 19, 2021

I’m cackling at the title for The New York Times review of #Luca pic.twitter.com/PnJVunl2GG

— Nick (Taylor’s Version) (@Npmmurray) June 19, 2021

https://twitter.com/brenzcoleman/status/1406404870421188609

https://twitter.com/ghcstnap/status/1406306417330507776

Though the film isn’t outright portraying the characters of Luca and Alberto as gay, the coding of the characters is very deliberate and specific; from Luca being warned of what people will do when they “see” him to Luca’s grandmother saying, “Some people, they’ll never accept him. But some will, and he seems to know how to find the good ones.”

I have to say, with movies like Inside Out and Soul trying to answer “big” questions and themes, the simplicity of Luca is actually quite refreshing. The world-building isn’t overly complicated and the themes are handled with a lot of care. The colors and dreamscapes are absolutely wonderful, and it’s just fun to watch Luca, Alberto, and Giulia have fun as kids.

It’s a shame Disney didn’t release this film in theaters, but hopefully this sends a message that Pixar is still a studio that shouldn’t be taken lightly. Heck, this movie deserves more praise than Raya and the Last Dragon.

Catch Disney Pixar’s Luca now available on Disney+.

As per Insider, several anonymous Pixar staff have voiced out their concerns that their upcoming film Luca won’t see a theatrical release; what’s more, it isn’t even being given the premium price tag. One staffer says, “‘Luca’ doesn’t even have a premium price next to it… Does it make it lesser? It’s hard to grasp.”

Another Pixar worker voiced out:

“We don’t want to be a title just on Disney Plus…. These movies are crafted for the big screen. We want you to watch these movies with no distractions, no looking at your phones.”

While there has certainly been debate about where people can enjoy movies, one concern is that it seems that the studio doesn’t seem to consider Pixar movies financially viable—possibly resulting in the loss of jobs. Admittedly, we don’t know what Disney has planned up their sleeves, and with theaters slowly opening back up, things could pretty much change.

What we do know is that, the animators are Pixar are still making movies their way; let’s just hope they can keep doing what they’re best at without Disney suddenly cutting any funding.

For now, catch Disney Pixar’s Luca when it premieres on Disney+ on June 18.