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Disney makes controversial TV show absolutely free

'Win or Lose' turned more than a few heads when it came out on streaming. Now, Disney just threw fuel on the fire.
ByZach Gass|
STAR PITCHER -- In Pixar Animation Studios’ “Win or Lose,” Yuwen (voice of Izaac Wang) is the pitcher and resident jokester of the softball team. On the surface, he seems cool and confident—he loves to be the center of attention. But he’s constantly in conflict with Little Yuwen—his childlike, vulnerable self who shows up in Yuwen’s mind at the worst possible times. Directed, written and executive produced by Carrie Hobson and Michael Yates, and produced David Lally, “Win or Lose” begins
STAR PITCHER -- In Pixar Animation Studios’ “Win or Lose,” Yuwen (voice of Izaac Wang) is the pitcher and resident jokester of the softball team. On the surface, he seems cool and confident—he loves to be the center of attention. But he’s constantly in conflict with Little Yuwen—his childlike, vulnerable self who shows up in Yuwen’s mind at the worst possible times. Directed, written and executive produced by Carrie Hobson and Michael Yates, and produced David Lally, “Win or Lose” begins

Win or Lose is breaking a lot of ground in the media. Not only is it Pixar's first original animated series, but it rose from a tumultuous developmental phase and gave audiences Disney's first openly Christian character in decades.

Since there's no such thing as bad publicity, Disney and Pixar decided to up the ante and take the next step to get the media buzzing: they made the first episode 100% free to watch on YouTube.

Stirring the pot, or genius marketing move?

For those of you who haven't seen the series, Pixar's Win or Lose is an animated series that follows a kids' softball team in the week leading up to the championship game, with each episode highlighting a member of the team or staff and their internal struggles.

The show's pilot episode features Laurie, an ambitious young softball player who desperately wants to get a hit to impress her teammates and her dad/coach. However, she is hindered and pestered by her self-doubt represented by an anthropomorphic blob of sweat.

While this has some echoes of Pixar's Inside Out, it's the fact that Laurie is an intensely open Christian character who even begins the episode in prayer that has all eyes on her. With many media outlets calling this a controversy, considering how she essentially erased a transgendered character, it's caused the show to get even more attention.

If you're anything like this writer, any scandal attached to Disney's name is going to get you're attention. So what does Disney do? They say "check out this scandalous episode for yourself."

By making this episode available for free, they get potential viewers interested, leading to an increase in Disney+ subscriptions. Like any addictive substance, the first taste is always free, then you're hooked.

This isn't the first time Disney has made a Disney+ episode free to watch on YouTube, but the fact that Win or Lose is releasing so quickly after these recent reports feels too perfect to be just a coincidence. In this writer's opinion, they are using the "controversy" to the show's advantage. Scandal or not, it's going to keep the show in the public's eye for that much longer.

Win or Lose is currently available on Disney+

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