collider.com: It’s not exactly news that Pixar employees have been unhappy (to say the least) when it comes to their mother company Disney’s decisions regarding a series of issues. Earlier this year, the team that brought us films like Toy Story and Finding Nemo didn’t hold back to express their disappointment when the Mickey Mouse company decided to pull their latest animated film Turning Red from a theatrical release, giving it a Disney+ premiere instead. Now, however, the Pixar team revealed in an official letter shared with Judd Legume, that creative decisions have angered them on a much deeper level.
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Pixar has a history of trying to bring LGBTQIA+ voices into their mainstream movies, but their parent company, Disney, not approved of those efforts, resulting in queer characters being reduced to background and implied material. Disney is the pinnacle of rainbow capitalism and this new wave of backlash against Disney as a company is due to their financial involvement with legislators behind the “Don’t Say Gay” bill. Disney CEO Bob Chapek released a Notes app apology on Twitter and pledged a $5 million donation to the Human Rights Campaign, however, HRC rejected their donation, stating they would not accept it until there had been tangible changes in Disney's commitment to queer representation. Disney is willing to exploit queerness, as well as other elements of oppressed peoples, and dilute it into something marketable, but when it comes to tangible harm, Disney not only keeps their mouth shut, but supports bills and people who perpetuate oppression.
Disney's anti-queerness has come more into light in the wake of their very visible support of legislators behind the very harmful "Don't Say Gay" bill. This issue continues to be revealed, showing the full scope of Disney's bigotry at a corporate level. I recall about a year ago, when there was a short-lived, low profile controversy about the film Love, Simon, which was purchased by Disney only to not be uploaded to Disney+, citing concerns that the movie was not family friendly. This latest wave of revelations seems to have more weight, and is garnering more attention. As a company with enormous influence in all areas of entertainment, especially for young people, Disney is a company with the power to do massive harm. It is my hope that public consequences for this company are in store. Every Disney pride campaign and rainbow Mickey ear sale is a transparent allyship that covers a much larger silencing and attacking of the LGBTQ+ community.
I’m glad that people are calling out Disney for not being as inclusive and supportive as they claim to be. Honestly, it’s not surprising that they tried to play both sides as to “not upset” anyone (but really just trying to keep as much money as they can). All this really did was show their fake support to the public. It’s especially disappointing to me that we had the opportunity to hear so many LGBTQIA+ stories from Disney but they were cut by corporate. Rather than be actually seen and represented in media created by Disney, people from those communities have to accept small moments that have been talked about possibly being for them but with no actual support from the company, such as Luca and a couple cameos in movies like Frozen. It’s not fair to the storytellers at Pixar and Disney and especially kids who grow up watching these films.
I am so disappointed in Disney and the fact it has financially supported legislators behind the “Don’t Say Gay” bill. The absence of queer characters in their movies is obvious, but I did not realize the extent of minimizing queer culture in the parks. The email sent out by Disney's CEO is a classic case of performative activism. But the response from the Pixar team is powerful. They articulately outlined how Disney has made impacts on legislation before and can easily do it again. For millions of kids, Disney/Pixar films are what we grew up watching and are an important moral/cultural resource, when often the only other perspective is our family.
I remember how happy the internet was when a lesbian couple appeared as background characters in Finding Dory. They have no speaking lines and are in the shot for no more than ten seconds, but somehow still made it into the trailer. It’s clear Disney was using the shot as queer-baiting.
I think that this is always the problem with big companies such as these. I wonder how much Disney earns/gets a year from homophobic investors and related companies? It certainly must be enough for Disney to never advocate for the LGBTQ+ community that they love to exploit. I think no company’s hands are clean, even for “children-friendly” companies such as Disney. In recent years, Disney has progressively tried to “right” its wrongs. Investing in more diverse stories, characters, and even staff, but these all end up seeing performative when they pick and choose who they believe “deserves” a story based on what the market wants. How much of what Disney produces is actually to represent the people? I think that it was incredible that the HRC rejected Disney’s donation. To go against one of the most famous production companies in the world, its money, and calling out its wrongs must have consequences that go beyond hurt feelings. Deeming the company as “powerless” to change a legislative bill is laughable. Perhaps the CEO needs to review his own company’s history and its influence on the United States copyright law?
Despite the fact that the western world for the most part seems to be embracing LGBTQ+ rights, large entertainment companies are still unable to portray queer characters. LGBTQ+ characters have much more representation in theatre and television, but when it comes to movies, it is still a relatively uncharted territory. ESPECIALLY with Disney. It frustrates me, as a queer person, as I find this form of representation incredibly important. I remember how validated I felt upon seeing the first healthy portrayal of a lesbian couple in media (thank you Falsettos!). For young queer kids who are struggling to understand and feel comfortable and proud of themselves and their identities, having queer characters in mainstream media is incredibly important. It would allow people in general of all ages to not feel alone in their experience. I don't fully understand why Disney won't produce these stories and characters. I believe they think it will cause fewer people to view their movies, resulting in less money produced? It is incredibly infuriating to me that money is more important than making people feel represented.
Pixar being one of the original companies annexed by Disney, I think this sort of letter will be a trendsetter for other niches of the Disney conglomerate, perhaps creating more and more tension within the entertainment titan. I wonder if this could permanently break Disney apart into separate companies, but at the same time I don't think that would be possible because of how ingrained in each other all the sub companies are. If it all did break apart, would the section that still bore the Disney name survive? Or would society treat that part of the company as a martyr? I think this is the danger that an organization must accept when it transcends into a business conglomerate far past any possibility of presenting a unified list of ideals. If this hurts the disney company, which lets be honest it probably won’t, then it is what they have brought upon themselves and thus deserve.
Pixar don’t be a coward give us the gay cut of Turning Red and Luca. We all know they exist, whether they want to acknowledge that or not is a different conversation. Anyhow, I’m around chunks of the animation community around social media, so I heard about this pretty much as soon as the news broke out. Suddenly an uproar of comments, reactions, and production stories started popping up. Past employees, current employees, people not even formally involved with the company started speaking out about it. In a matter of hours, it turned into a larger conversation about censorship, and the reality of it with the animation industry. From what I can remember Disney is the highest-profile company to do it this blatantly, but they are certainly far from the only ones (though granted at this point everything *is* Disney but that’s a conversation for another time). I understand they are looking out for themselves in terms of censorship in other countries, but at this point, it feels like it does more harm than good for their public image.
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