Pixar is about to step up to the plate in a whole new way with the eight-episode Win or Lose, the studio’s first-ever animated TV series which finally slides onto Disney+ tomorrow after several years in development.
Each episode of the show, from co-writers and directors Carrie Hobson and Michael Yates, follows a different character gearing up for a championship softball game. It’s a hilarious and emotional deep dive into the highs, lows, and unexpected curveballs of competition, featuring anxious players and overenthusiastic parents — and all of it anchored by Pixar’s signature mix of heart and humor.
The characters include helicopter parents, insecure kids, and even a lovesick umpire, and the focus of the story is the Pickles — a middle school softball team, which we’ll get introduced to via separate off-the-field vignettes focused on different players. “The show has eight main characters,” Hobson says. “Each episode follows a different main character through the same week of time. The series puts you into the shoes of these individuals to experience their triumphs and losses.”
That said, there’s a lot more going on than just the lead-up to a game. The show is also built around how different characters differ in their perception of events. “I played softball growing up,” Hobson adds. “Inspired by that experience, we felt fast-pitch softball was the perfect backdrop for the show.
“There are so many facets to playing sports that I love — it can bring out the best and worst of a person, (and) the calmest person can lose their temper. And when it comes to winning and losing — the consequences are nothing. And yet, they’re everything.”
Bottom line, get ready for the Pixar touch that fans know and love. For 39 years, the beloved animation studio has charmed millions of viewers with its feature films that double as poignant, visual tapestries of wonder. Starting tomorrow, though, the beloved animation studio is swinging for the fences and aiming straight for your heart with its first TV show.
Release date: Feb. 19.
Who’s in it: The voice cast includes names like Will Forte, Rosa Salazar, Melissa Villaseñor, Flula Borg, and Rhea Seehorn.
What’s it about: Pixar’s Win or Lose reveals what it feels like to be in the shoes of eight different characters as they prepare for a championship softball game.
Why an anthology series? The studio settled on an anthology format as a result of everyday life at Pixar. “Carrie and I were officemates on Toy Story 4,” Yates says. “We were both story artists on the film, and we would talk about a lot of things going on in the film, as well as things going on in the world — current events, news. We would always have different reactions or different interpretations of the same meeting. One of us would say, ‘That went great!’ and the other would say, ‘No! It was terrible, what are you talking about?’
“We realized that our own experiences that we bring to the table change our perception of an event. We wanted to tell a story that illustrated all of that.”
