Pixar's Win or Lose has faced some choppy waters before finally pulling into shore on Disney+. After some creative disputes and gender-representational conflict, fans will finally be able to watch the new series this February.
What began life as a coming-of-age story with a softball team became a creative way to illustrate internal monologues certainly bears a lot of promise for Pixar, especially if the trailer below is to be believed.
Win, lose, or draw?
The official description from Pixar reads as follows,
“Win or Lose, Pixar Animation Studios’ first-ever original long-form animated series, follows the Pickles, a co-ed middle school softball team, in the week leading up to their championship game. Each episode offers a look inside the off-the-field life of a character—a player, their parent, the umpire—revealing their funny, emotional and always relatable point of view in a unique visual style."
The new series also features a loaded cast with the vocal talents of Will Forte, Rosie Foss, Josh Thomson, Milan Elizabeth Ray, Rosa Salazar, Dorien Watson, Izaac Wang, Chanel Stewart, Lil Rel Howery, Melissa Villaseñor, Jo Firestone, Flula Borg, Kyleigh Curran, Jaylin Fletcher, Erin Keif, Tom Law, Beck Nolan, Orion Tran and Rhea Seehorn.
Pixar certainly delivers that message and more in the trailer, but this writer can't help but notice something very familiar about the concept. While it lacks the control panel at Head Quarters, there are some serious Inside Out vibes happening here.
Although the cartoonish characters that cling to their human counterparts have much more interaction with them than Joy, Anger, Sadness, Disgust, and so on, the representation of internal machinations feels like an expansion of ideas from Pixar's most recent film.
While Inside Out and its sequel focused on emotional and mental health, this project seems to be taking something in a much more surreal direction (if that was even possible). Win or Lose appears to be shifting focus towards our internal monologues.
While not experienced by everyone, internal monologues can shift our perceptions of both how we see the world and how we see ourselves. Keeping up with their track record of illustrating complex concepts into creative visual representations, this certainly feels right up Pixar's alley.
The only question that remains is how this will fair with audiences once February rolls around. This writer certainly has newfound optimism in the series.
Pixar's Win or Lose premieres February 19, 2025 on Disney+.