Well, well, well, it seems Disney’s Pixar squad is throwing us a curveball with their new animated series *Win or Lose*, and oh boy, are the culture war vultures circling. Hot off the presses from Newsweek on February 19, 2025, we’ve got word that the House of Mouse is slipping an *openly Christian* character into the mix—complete with a “heavenly father” opener and an angel cutout in her bedroom—right after they yanked a transgender storyline faster than you can say “parental advisory.” Coincidence? Or is Disney just cozying up to the Trump Train as it chugs into its second term, horns blaring with a fresh dose of conservative swagger?
Let’s set the scene: *Win or Lose* is Pixar’s shiny new toy, their first-ever long-form animated series, following the Pickles—a co-ed middle school softball team—as they gear up for a big championship game. Each episode zooms in on a different character’s off-field drama, from insecure tweens to helicopter parents to a lovesick umpire, because apparently even umps need a little romance in their lives. The show dropped on Disney+ on February 19, and in its debut, we meet Laurie, the Christian kid who’s not shy about her faith. It’s a bold move for Disney, who hasn’t trotted out an openly religious character since 2007’s *Bridge to Terabithia*, where two kids chatted about church like it was no big deal. Simpler times, huh?
But here’s the juicy bit: this pious pivot comes right after Disney snipped “a few lines of dialogue” about a character’s gender identity from another episode, according to a December scoop from Deadline. The official line? “We recognize that many parents would prefer to discuss certain subjects with their children on their own terms and timeline,” says a Disney spokesperson, sounding like they’ve been practicing that in front of a mirror. Translation: they’re dodging the culture war lightning rod that is LGBTQ+ inclusion, especially with Trump back in the Oval Office, signing orders to roll back transgender rights and declaring there’s only two sexes in his book—male and female, no room for debate.
Trump’s never been shy about slapping the “woke” label on Disney, calling it a “disgusting shadow of its former self” in a 2023 social media tantrum over their diverse casting choices. And Disney’s been bending over backwards to play nice—case in point, that $15 million defamation settlement ABC News coughed up in December after a spat with the prez. Now, with 34 percent of viewers in a July Newsweek poll giving a big thumbs-down to Disney’s push for more LGBTQ+ content, it’s looking like the Mouse is reading the room—or at least the electoral map—and dialing back the rainbow vibes. Out with the trans storyline, in with Laurie and her angel decor. Mark Mitchell from Rasmussen Reports summed it up on X with a gleeful, “Openly gay out. Openly Christian in!” You can almost hear the popcorn popping.
The internet, predictably, is a mixed bag of cheers and jeers. One X user spat, “F*** Disney for removing the trans storyline from *Win or Lose*, but so far it’s a great show,” proving you can hate the game and still love the players. Another gushed, “Another week, another two incredible *Win or Lose* episodes,” praising the animation, story, and voice acting like it’s the second coming of *Toy Story*. The show’s rolling out weekly episodes until March 12, and while there’s no word on a second season, you can bet the culture warriors will be glued to their screens, ready to pounce on every frame.
So what’s Disney up to here? Are they genuinely pivoting to placate the red-state crowd, or just tossing in a Christian character to balance the scales after dodging the trans bullet? Either way, it’s a tightrope walk in a circus that’s already on fire. With Trump’s second term kicking off and the nation’s cultural fault lines cracking wider, Disney’s betting on softball and spirituality to keep the peace—or at least keep the subscribers. Grab your mitt and your hymnbook, folks; this game’s just getting started.
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