Win or Lose is an upcoming American animated television series produced by Pixar Animation Studios for the streaming service Disney+. It was created, written, and directed by Carrie Hobson and Michael Yates, who also served as executive producers with David Lally, Pete Docter, Andrew Stanton, and Lindsey Collins. The series revolves around a co-ed softball team at middle school named the Pickles in the week leading up to their big championship game, with each episode showing the perspective of each member in the same events, each reflected in a unique visual style.
| Win or Lose | |
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| Created by |
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| Composer | Ramin Djawadi |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
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| Production company | Pixar Animation Studios |
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| Network | Disney+ |
The series' cast includes Will Forte, Ian Chen, Izaac Wang, Jo Firestone, Milan Ray, Josh Thomson, Erin Keif, Rosie Foss, and Chanel Stewart. Pixar was developing the long-form original series following the creation of Disney+. It was officially announced in December 2020, during Disney's Investor Day, with Hobson and Yates on board who conceived the idea. Win or Lose draws inspiration from the conversations between Hobson and Yates, who would have very different reactions to the exact same events upon working on Toy Story 4 (2019). The animation style appears to shift, distinguishing itself further from usual fare in each episode, with Brendan Beesley, Brandon Kern, and Tom Zach as the heads of animation. Docter described the series as "a comedy about love, rivalry, and the challenges we all face in our struggles to win at life". Its musical score was composed by Ramin Djawadi. Win or Lose is scheduled to premiere on Disney+ on February 19, 2025, and will consist of eight episodes.[1]
Synopsis
editWin or Lose follows a co-ed middle school softball team called the Pickles in the week leading up to their big championship game. Each 20-minute episode takes the same events from one different member of the Pickles and their perspective as the game approaches, such as players, their parents, and the umpire, with two stories being showcased in particular.[2]
Voice cast and characters
editMain
edit- Will Forte as Coach Dan, the coach of the softball team known as the Pickles.[3]
- Izaac Wang as Yuwen[4]
- Ian Chen[4]
- Jo Firestone as Sweaty[4]
- Milan Ray as Rochelle, the catcher who is having a bad day when everything goes wrong. Despite this, she is an excellent student who takes the initiative in everything in her life. The character is described as a "teenage CEO".[5]
- Josh Thomson as Frank[4]
- Erin Keif as Lena[4]
- Rosie Foss[4]
- Rosa Salazar as Vanessa, Rochelle's single mother.[5]
- Chanel Stewart as Kai[6]
Other characters set to appear included a selfish pitcher who cares about himself until his episode reveals that he is in love with a girl.[7]
Episodes
editAll episodes are directed and written by Carrie Hobson and Michael Yates.[2]
| No. | Title | Original release date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Vanessa: The Cool Mom"[5] | February 19, 2025[1] |
Production
editDevelopment
editOn December 10, 2020, during Disney's Investor Day meeting, Pixar announced an original series titled Win or Lose for its parent company Disney's streaming service, Disney+. Carrie Hobson and Michael Yates were announced to be creating, writing, and directing from an idea they conceived, while David Lally was announced to be producing the project. "It's not so much about softball as it is a comedy about love, rivalry, and the challenges we all face in our struggles to win at life," Pixar's Chief Creative Officer Pete Docter stated. The series will consist of 20-minute episodes.[2][8] When working on Toy Story 4 (2019), Hobson and Yates realized that they had pretty different interpretations of how their creative meetings went, so they used these differing interpretations to develop the idea of an animated series revolving around one event but with each character having their own conflicts surrounding the event.[9] Hobson explained that Win or Lose has all the humor and heart of a Pixar feature film, but with a different type of storytelling. She also stated: "It's less of a Rashomon and more... You think you know a character, and then you pull back the curtain and reveal they have their own thing going on".[10] Hobson and Yates also executive-produced the series alongside Lally, Docter, Andrew Stanton, and Lindsey Collins.[11][12]
Win or Lose is Pixar's first long-form animated series, as well as the first not to be based upon an existing property, as most of Pixar's television projects are based upon an existing property and short-form.[2] Pixar began considering developing a TV series following the creation of Disney+.[12] Yates and Hobson said one of the reasons a TV show format was selected for the series was the idea of experimenting with the format and longer storytelling, particularly regarding character perspectives, as well as a love for television.[13] Another reason was how television would allow Pixar to do things a feature film format would not allow to.[13] Hobson and Yates noted they both had to learn how to work on an episodic format.[13] On July 17, 2023, Lally confirmed on X that post-production for the series was completed.[14]
Writing
editAccording to Hobson and Yates, a major theme on the series is how things are not as they seem, and seeing things from different perspectives, particularly how people in one place can suffer different experiences.[13] Each episode centers on a different character; characters are first introduced in a different episode, after which their episode further explores the said character after the perception first given in their debut.[13] Hobson said the characters were inspired by her and Yates, as well as by people they have met through their lives and their own experiences.[13]
On December 17, 2024, The Hollywood Reporter announced that a storyline regarding a transgender character in the series had been cut. According to a spokesperson for Disney, "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." While the character remains in the series, lines of dialogue that referenced gender identity were cut.[15] Chanel Stewart, the openly transgender actress who plays the character in question, criticized this decision, saying she was told that while she would still be a part of the show, the character she was playing would now be straight and cisgender.[6]
Casting
editOn September 9, 2022, during the D23 Expo, it was announced that Will Forte would voice the lead character Coach Dan, ahead of a first look image released on the same day.[3] Forte's voice performance as Coach was inspired by Robin Williams as the Genie from Aladdin (1992). Yates said, "Will was constantly improving. It was an overflow of great stuff. The hardest part was having a five-minute scene with constant belly laughs and having to get it to three minutes!"[10] On June 16, 2023, at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival, Milan Ray and Rosa Salazar joined the voice cast.[5] In August 2024, Ian Chen, Izaac Wang, Jo Firestone, Josh Thomson, Erin Keif, and Rosie Foss were announced as part of the voice cast.[4]
Animation
editMark C. Harris and Gini Cruz Santos both serve as the animation supervisors on the series, while Kevin Andrus, Lucas Fraga Pacheco, and Stefan Schumacher all serve as directing animators on the series.[16] Animation is provided by the artist crew that worked on feature films.[17] Win or Lose used more animators than a feature film.[13] The series makes heavy use of visual metaphors, with some characters featuring multiple metaphors.[13] In each episode, the animation style appears to shift, further distinguishing itself from Pixar's usual fare. For example, Rochelle's story appears to mimic a cardboard diorama, and the actual softball footage mimics that of a traditional sports anime.[9] This was made in order to visualize each character's perspective.[12] The production team worked closely with the animators in order to define how each character would move in a way that showcases their characterization.[12] The series also made use of 2D animation, which the producers said was determined regarding what the story mandated.[12]
Music
editOn June 16, 2023, Ramin Djawadi was revealed to be composing for the series. He began recording the score on August 14, 2023.[5][18] Original songs for the series were written and produced by the duo Campfire (Shane Eli and Jonny Pakfar) based on themes by Djawadi. The duo also provided additional music for the series' score.[19]
Release
editWin or Lose was initially announced to premiere on Disney+ in December 2023.[2][20][14][21] However, on November 15, 2023, it was announced that the series was delayed to 2024.[22] The series was then slated to premiere on December 6, 2024,[23][4] before being delayed again to February 19, 2025, swapping release dates with fellow Pixar series Dream Productions.[1] The series will consist of eight episodes, which will be released weekly.[5][1]
Marketing
editOn November 12, 2021, during Pixar's special for 2021's Disney+ Day, the first look at the concept art was revealed, offering a sneak peek at some of the characters featured in the series.[24] It received mostly positive response from Pixar fans.[25] On September 9 , 2022, during the 2022 D23 Expo, Hobson and Yates presented a first look at the series.[9] On June 16, 2023, footage of the episode "Vanessa: The Cool Mom" was shown at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival.[26][5] The official trailer was released on August 9, 2024.[23][4]
References
edit- ^ a b c d Milligan, Mercedes (September 24, 2024). "Disney+ Dates Debuts for 'Inside Out' Series 'Dream Productions' and 'Win or Lose'". Animation Magazine. Archived from the original on September 25, 2024. Retrieved September 25, 2024.
- ^ a b c d e "Pixar's First Original Series Win or Lose Coming to Disney+ Fall 2023". Pixar Post. December 14, 2020. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
- ^ a b @Pixar (September 10, 2022). "Up to bat at #D23Expo: a FIRST LOOK at Pixar's all-new Original series Win or Lose, with Will Forte as Coach Dan. From filmmakers Michael Yates, Carrie Hobson, and David Lally, Win or Lose comes to @DisneyPlus in 2023!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "Trailer: First Original Pixar Series 'Win or Lose' Hits Disney+ in December". Animation Magazine. August 15, 2024. Archived from the original on August 17, 2024. Retrieved August 16, 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f g Betti, Tony (June 16, 2023). "Annecy 2023 Recap: Pixar Presents Full Episode of Original Series Win or Lose Before Elemental Premiere". LaughingPlace.com. Retrieved June 17, 2023.
- ^ a b Rice, Lynette (December 17, 2024). "'Win Or Lose' Transgender Actress Speaks Out After Disney Cuts Her Storyline: "Very Disheartened"". Deadline. Retrieved December 17, 2024.
- ^ Leach, Alycia (December 19, 2022). "First Footage from Pixar's Historic Disney+ Show Released Online".
- ^ "Three New Pixar Series Coming to Disney+, Including the Very Adorable Up Spin-Off Dug Days". /Film. December 11, 2020. Archived from the original on January 26, 2021. Retrieved January 18, 2021.
- ^ a b c "Win Or Lose Footage Description: Pixar Makes Its First Animated Streaming Series [D23]". /Film. September 9, 2022. Retrieved October 27, 2022.
- ^ a b Total Film Christmas 2022 Issue 332
- ^ Magazine, Animation (March 1, 2023). "Rising Stars of Animation 2023". Animation Magazine. Retrieved May 1, 2023.
- ^ a b c d e Gaur, Ryan (July 6, 2023). "Conversation with Team Behind New Pixar Series 'Win or Lose' | Carrie Hobson, Michael Yates, David Lally". Skwigly Animation Magazine. Retrieved July 7, 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Lang, Jamie (July 7, 2023). "'Win Or Lose' Creators On Making Pixar's First Long-Form Series (Video Interview)". Cartoon Brew. Retrieved July 7, 2023.
- ^ a b David Lally [@davidmlally] (July 26, 2023). "That's a wrap for post production! Skywalker Sound turned it UP for us!! WIN OR LOSE is 100% done! Now the long wait for December… :)" (Tweet). Retrieved August 29, 2023 – via Twitter.
- ^ McClintock, Pamela (December 17, 2024). "Disney Pulls Transgender Storyline from Pixar's 'Win or Lose' Streaming Series (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 17, 2024.
- ^ Gaur, Ryan (July 6, 2023). "Conversation with Team Behind New Pixar Series 'Win or Lose' | Carrie Hobson, Michael Yates, David Lally". Skwigly Animation Magazine. Retrieved December 1, 2023.
- ^ @davidmlally (December 19, 2022). "The "Win or Lose" crew is made up of all the same artists that work on our Feature Films! Trying to make smart choices along with hard work! :)" (Tweet). Retrieved December 20, 2022 – via Twitter.
- ^ "Ramin Djawadi Scoring Pixar's Win or Lose". August 14, 2023. Retrieved August 17, 2023.
- ^ "ABOUT". CAMPFIRE. Retrieved August 16, 2024.
- ^ @disneyplus (November 12, 2021). "⚾ Step up to the plate and check out this first look art from @Pixar's Win or Lose, an all-new animated series coming to #DisneyPlus in Fall 2023! #DisneyPlusDay" (Tweet). Retrieved November 12, 2021 – via Twitter.
- ^ Palmer, Roger (May 16, 2023). "Pixar's Win or Lose Disney+ Release Window Revealed". What's On Disney Plus. Retrieved May 17, 2023.
- ^ Taylor, Drew (November 15, 2023). "Pixar's First Long-Form Original Streaming Series 'Win or Lose' Bumped to 2024". TheWrap. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
- ^ a b Taylor, Drew (August 9, 2024). "Pixar Reveals 'Win or Lose' Release Date, New Trailer | Video". TheWrap. Retrieved August 9, 2024.
- ^ "Pixar's Win Or Lose Images Tease Pixar's Unique New Animated Series". /Film. November 12, 2021. Retrieved October 27, 2022.
- ^ "Pixar Fans Are Loving Their First Look At The New Disney+ Series Win Or Lose". Looper. November 12, 2021. Retrieved September 4, 2023.
- ^ Milligan, Mercedes (April 27, 2023). "Annecy Unveils Feature Film Competition, First-Looks & Screening Events". Animation Magazine. Retrieved May 5, 2023.