Pixar’s latest animated film, “Elio,” has become a cautionary tale for Hollywood studios that continue to ignore the values and concerns of their core audiences. The film’s disappointing $20.8 million domestic opening—the lowest in Pixar’s history—comes after a troubled production marked by internal disputes over the inclusion of sexuality themes in a movie aimed at children.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Pixar CEO Pete Docter made the decision to remove gay-coded elements from “Elio,” a move that mirrored changes made to previous Pixar films like “Lightyear,” “Luca,” and “Inside Out 2.” These changes reportedly led to the departure of both the film’s original director, Adrian Molina, and actress America Ferrera.
Ferrera, who was set to play Elio’s mom, parted ways with the film after having already recorded dialogue; a source to THR claimed Ferrera exited after Molina’s departure as she was “upset that there was no longer Latinx representation in the leadership.” Much of Elio was reworked under new co-directors Madeline Sharafian and Domee Shi. Oscar winner Zoe Saldaña later took on the part, which became Elio’s aunt in the new script, which was a mess within itself. Too bad they also couldn’t change the tired, Tumblr art style.
“Suddenly, you remove this big, key piece, which is all about identity, and ‘Elio’ just becomes about totally nothing,” the former Pixar artist added. “The ‘Elio ‘that is in theaters right now is far worse than Adrian’s best version of the original.”
A former Pixar artist explained, “A lot of people like to blame Disney, but the call is coming from inside the house. A lot of it is obeying-in-advance behavior, coming from the higher execs at Pixar. It was pretty clear through the production of the first version of the film that [studio leaders] were constantly sanding down these moments in the film that alluded to Elio’s sexuality of being queer.”
Molina, who is openly gay, had originally envisioned Elio as a queer-coded character, even though the character is only 11 years old. The film included references to fashion and pictures of a possible male crush in Elio’s bedroom. But after negative test screenings and pushback from executives, these elements were removed, and Molina left the project.
“I was deeply saddened and aggrieved by the changes that were made,” says former Pixar assistant editor Sarah Ligatich, who provided feedback during Elio production as a member of the company’s internal LGBTQ group PixPRIDE. Although she praises Sharafian and Shi as filmmakers, Ligatich notes that a number of creatives working on the film stepped down after the directors shared their first cut of the movie. “The exodus of talent after that cut was really indicative of how unhappy a lot of people were that they had changed and destroyed this beautiful work.”
The only industry where customer demand doesn’t dictate product direction.
— Pat (@Pat960714) July 1, 2025
They probably just shouldn’t let gay people have a say in these decisions in the first place because they invariably make the movies about being gay which nobody really wants to watch
— Conan, Esq (@conan_esq) July 1, 2025
Why are gay adults “queer coding” to other people’s children in movies?!?
— EducatëdHillbilly™ (@RobProvince) July 1, 2025
Oh the gay child movie didn’t play with audiences? How surprising.
— Eden Traps (@ThatTimeYouSaw) July 1, 2025
If they were left with nothing when the queerness was cut, was it ever really about anything besides queerness?
— Chud Dudley, Golden Age Misfit (@TrvthfvlTreason) July 1, 2025
The backlash from parents and audiences has been clear.They do not want to see sexuality, of any kind, inserted into stories about children. The push to include these themes in kids’ movies has not only failed to attract audiences but has also resulted in historic box office flops for both Disney and Pixar. The message from families is unmistakable: children’s entertainment should remain just that—entertainment for children, free from adult ideology and agendas. There is no world where a group like PixPRIDE needs to exist around children’s entertainment.
If they were left with nothing when the queerness was cut, was it ever really about anything besides queerness?
— Chud Dudley, Golden Age Misfit (@TrvthfvlTreason) July 1, 2025
They don’t reproduce, they have to recruit.
Protect your kids everyone.
— FullNightsSleep (@FullNightsSleep) July 1, 2025
“the company’s internal LGBTQ group PixPRIDE”
Well, there’s your problem right there.
— Casey Jones 🏄 🐘 (@_jones_casey) July 1, 2025
Disney and Pixar’s continued struggle at the box office is a direct result of their refusal to listen to the concerns of their viewers. If these studios hope to regain the trust of families, they will need to focus on creating stories that respect childhood innocence and avoid pushing adult topics onto young audiences. The numbers speak for themselves, and the industry’s future depends on whether or not they finally decide to “read the room.”
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English (US) · 