A brief first look at Pixar's Win or Lose offered a glimpse of the future for the pioneering studio.
Despite theaters worldwide having reopened, some recent Pixar movies such as Turning Red have gone straight to streaming service Disney+ instead of being showcased on the big screen.
However, the studio is starting to embrace the potential of streaming, now previewing the first public look at its historic-first long-form animated series, Win or Lose.
New Look at Pixar's Win or Lose
In a new trailer for Disney+'s 2023 offerings, a fresh look at Pixar's historic animated series, Win or Lose, emerged.
The video offered short snippets of some of the characters set to feature in the show.
Win or Lose will be Pixar's first long-form animated show and the first Pixar show not to be based on a film. It's set to follow a middle school softball team called The Pickles in the week before their championship game.
The show was first announced at the 2022 D23 expo. Each episode will be told from a different character's perspective, and to complement this, each episode will boast a distinct visual style. It allows for further insight into the character's point of view.
While the video showed a cast of exciting characters, fans only know a few names, such as Coach Dan, played by Will Forte. Forte is known for his work in Saturday Night Live, but he isn't a stranger to voice acting, having also been in popular shows like Rick & Morty and Gravity Falls.
Other characters include Frank, the umpire, who struggles with their parents yelling at him over foul calls. Rachelle, the catcher, will have a bad day when everything seems to go wrong.
Thirdly, D23 introduced Pixar fans to a selfish pitcher who doesn't care for anyone but himself, although his episode will reveal that there's more to him than this "tough-guy" persona; he's just in love with a girl.
How Will Pixar Dominate in 2023?
Win or Lose isn't the only Pixar release, as the studio is not abandoning its filmmaking tradition.
In May 2022, Pixar took to Twitter to announce Elemental. The film is scheduled to release on June 16, 2023 and stars "a fiery young woman" and "a go-with-the-flow guy."
Elemental is directed by Korean-American animator, and Pixar veteran Peter Sohn, who began his career at the studio working on The Incredibles and even did voice work for classic Pixar releases like Ratatouille.
Fans will also be relieved to hear that Elemental is set for a theatrical release and will be the first original Pixar film released in theaters since Onward (2020). Lightyear premiered in cinemas but was a Toy Story spinoff.
Win or Lose streams on Disney+ in Fall 2023.
