Win or Lose (TV series)

Win or Lose is an upcoming American computer-animated television series produced by Pixar Animation Studios for the streaming service Disney+ and created by Carrie Hobson and Michael Yates, who also served as executive producers with Pete Docter. The studio's first original long-form animated series, it was written and directed by Hobson and Yates from an idea they conceived and produced by David Lally. The series revolves around a co-ed softball team at middle school named the Pickles in the week leading up to their big championship game, with each episode showing the perspective of each member in the same events, each reflected in a unique visual style.

Win or Lose
Genre
Created by
  • Carrie Hobson
  • Michael Yates
Written by
  • Carrie Hobson
  • Michael Yates
Directed by
  • Carrie Hobson
  • Michael Yates
Voices ofWill Forte
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
Production
Executive producers
ProducerDavid Lally
Animators
  • Brendan Beesley
  • Brandon Kern
  • Tom Zach
Running time20 minutes
Production companyPixar Animation Studios
Release
Original networkDisney+

Will Forte is set to star as the lead character, Coach Dan. Pixar was developing the long-form original series for Disney+ in December 2020, during Disney's Investor Day, with Hobson and Yates on board. Win or Lose draws inspiration from the conversations between Hobson and Yates, who would have very different reactions to the exact same events upon working on Toy Story 4 (2019). The animation appears to shift, distinguishing itself further from usual fare in each episode, with Brendan Beesley, Brandon Kern, and Tom Zach as the heads of animation. Docter described the series as "a comedy about love, rivalry, and the challenges we all face in our struggles to win at life".

Win or Lose is scheduled to premiere on Disney+ in December 2023.

Synopsis

Win or Lose follows a co-ed middle school softball team called the Pickles in the week leading up to their big championship game. Each 20-minute episode takes the same events from one different member of the Pickles and their perspective as the game approaches, such as players, their parents, and the umpire, with two stories being showcased in particular.

Voice cast and characters

Main
  • Will Forte as Coach Dan, the coach of the softball team known as the Pickles.[1]

Other characters set to appear included Frank, the umpire who struggles due to his parents yelling at him for foul calls; Rachelle, the catcher who is having a bad day when everything goes wrong; and a selfish pitcher who cares about himself until his episode reveals that he is in love with a girl.[2]

Production

Development

On December 10, 2020, during Disney's Investor Day meeting, Pixar announced an original series titled Win or Lose for its parent company Disney's streaming service, Disney+. Win or Lose is Pixar's first long-form animated series, as well as the first not to be based upon an existing property, as most of Pixar's television projects are short-form. Carrie Hobson and Michael Yates were announced to be creating, writing, and directing from an idea they conceived, while David Lally was announced to be producing the project. "It's not so much about softball as it is a comedy about love, rivalry, and the challenges we all face in our struggles to win at life," Pixar's Chief Creative Officer Pete Docter stated. The series will consist of 20-minute episodes.[3][4] When working on Toy Story 4 (2019), Hobson and Yates realized that they had pretty different interpretations of how their creative meetings went, so they used these differing interpretations to develop the idea of an animated series revolving around one event but with each character having their own conflicts surrounding the event.[5] Hobson explained that Win or Lose has all the humor and heart of a Pixar feature film, but with a different type of storytelling. She also stated: "It's less of a Rashomon and more... You think you know a character, and then you pull back the curtain and reveal they have their own thing going on".[6]

On September 9, 2022, during the 2022 D23 Expo, Hobson and Yates presented a first look at the series.[5] Hobson and Yates also executive-produced the series.[7]

In June 2023, Win or Lose will present never-before-seen materials at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival.[8]

Casting

On September 9, 2022, during the D23 Expo, it was announced that Will Forte would be joining the cast as the voice of lead character Coach Dan, ahead of a first look image released on the same day.[1] Forte's voice performance as Coach was cited as an inspiration of Robin Williams as the Genie from Aladdin (1992). Yates says, "Will was constantly improving. It was an overflow of great stuff. The hardest part was having a five-minute scene with constant belly laughs and having to get it to three minutes!"[6]

Animation

Brendan Beesley, Brandon Kern, and Tom Zach serve as heads of animation on the series.[9] Animation is provided by the artist crew that worked on feature films.[10] In each episode, the animation style appears to shift, further distinguishing itself from Pixar's usual fare. For example, Rochelle's story appears to mimic a cardboard diorama, and the actual softball footage mimics that of a traditional sports anime.[5]

Release

Win or Lose is scheduled to premiere on Disney+ in December 2023.[11] [12]

Marketing

On November 12, 2021, during Pixar's special for 2021's Disney+ Day, the first look at the concept art was revealed, offering a sneak peek at some of the characters featured in the series.[13]

References
  1. @Pixar (September 10, 2022). "Up to bat at #D23Expo: a FIRST LOOK at Pixar's all-new Original series Win or Lose, with Will Forte as Coach Dan. From filmmakers Michael Yates, Carrie Hobson, and David Lally, Win or Lose comes to @DisneyPlus in 2023!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  2. Leach, Alycia (December 19, 2022). "First Footage from Pixar's Historic Disney+ Show Released Online".
  3. "Pixar's First Original Series Win or Lose Coming to Disney+ Fall 2023". Pixar Post. December 14, 2020. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
  4. "Three New Pixar Series Coming to Disney+, Including the Very Adorable Up Spin-Off Dug Days". /Film. December 11, 2020. Archived from the original on January 26, 2021. Retrieved January 18, 2021.
  5. "Win Or Lose Footage Description: Pixar Makes Its First Animated Streaming Series [D23]". /Film. September 9, 2022. Retrieved October 27, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  6. Total Film Christmas 2022 Issue 332
  7. Magazine, Animation (March 1, 2023). "Rising Stars of Animation 2023". Animation Magazine. Retrieved May 1, 2023.
  8. Milligan, Mercedes (April 27, 2023). "Annecy Unveils Feature Film Competition, First-Looks & Screening Events". Animation Magazine. Retrieved May 5, 2023.
  9. "Pixar's Win or Lose – Animation Snippets from the Softball Series". Pixar Post. December 19, 2022. Retrieved December 20, 2022.
  10. @davidmlally (December 19, 2022). "The "Win or Lose" crew is made up of all the same artists that work on our Feature Films! Trying to make smart choices along with hard work! :)" (Tweet). Retrieved December 20, 2022 – via Twitter.
  11. @disneyplus (November 12, 2021). "⚾ Step up to the plate and check out this first look art from @Pixar's Win or Lose, an all-new animated series coming to #DisneyPlus in Fall 2023! #DisneyPlusDay" (Tweet). Retrieved November 12, 2021 – via Twitter.
  12. Palmer, Roger (May 16, 2023). "Pixar's Win or Lose Disney+ Release Window Revealed". What's On Disney Plus. Retrieved May 17, 2023.
  13. "Pixar's Win Or Lose Images Tease Pixar's Unique New Animated Series". /Film. November 12, 2021. Retrieved October 27, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
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