Win Or Lose TV series: Disney cuts transgender storyline from Pixar’s upcoming animated show

References to a character’s gender identity in the upcoming Pixar series Win Or Lose have reportedly been removed by Disney. Photo / Disney

• Win Or Lose will premiere on February 19 without its planned transgender storyline.
• References to the character’s gender identity were removed by Disney, citing parental preferences for discussing such topics.
• Disney has faced scrutiny for steering away from LGBTQ+ storylines in its animations for younger audiences.

Pixar’s new animated series Win Or Lose will no longer include a trailblazing transgender storyline.

The show is the animation studio’s first long-form series and was going to break ground with a transgender story arc, but that detail has since been cut by Disney, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Set for a February 19 premiere on Disney+, Win Or Lose follows eight members of a co-ed school softball team called the Pickles in the week leading up to their championship game.

In each episode, a different character will be the protagonist with the show focusing on their off-the-field life and point of view.

Disney has cut a transgender storyline from its upcoming Pixar animation Win Or Lose. Photo / Disney

According to the series synopsis, the series aims to focus on varied perspectives from “the insecure kids, their helicopter parents, even a lovesick umpire” and would also include a transgender character.

However, references to that character’s gender identity have now been removed by Disney, although the character remains on the show.

It appears that there was not a full episode devoted to the transgender storyline, but it is said to have impacted a few lines of dialogue in the show’s later episodes.

“When it comes to animated content for a younger audience, we recognise that many parents would prefer to discuss certain subjects with their children on their own terms and timeline,” a Disney spokesperson told The Hollywood Reporter.

It’s not the first time Disney has come under scrutiny for appearing to steer away from LGBTQ+ storylines in its animations.

Last month, the Disney Channel was under fire after claims it banned the release of an episode focused on a recurring transgender character and themes in the animated series Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur.

Some employees who worked on the show reportedly made the claims on social media, but the company denied the episode was “banned”, explaining the decision not to air the episode titled The Gatekeeper was made more than a year ago and had nothing to do with the storyline.

Disney has featured LGBTQ+ content in its series made for adult audiences, including Agatha All Along, All of Us Strangers, Next Goal Wins and Pose.