US EditionPixar Boss Explains Why Elio Was Stripped of LGBTQ+ Themes
Pixar chief Pete Docter cited parental feedback and audience testing for removing queer content from Elio, reflecting a broader trend of LGBTQ+ cuts in Disney/Pixar films.
- Pixar chief creative officer Pete Docter defended removing queer suggestions from Elio, citing parent feedback and saying, 'We're making a movie, not hundreds of millions of dollars of therapy.'
- Studio leadership ordered reworking that led to original director Adrian Molina leaving in 2023, with Madeline Sharafian and Domee Shi completing the film.
- Insiders say specific props and scenes were removed, including a pink bike, pink tank top, and photos of a male crush, as Elio was made more masculine following leadership direction.
- Docter's remark triggered intense backlash on social media and among Pixar employees and LGBTQ+ affinity group members said they felt saddened and aggrieved, amid Elio's poor box-office of around $154 million and no major awards.
- Beyond Elio, projects like Be Fri and Win or Lose show Disney/Pixar reducing LGBTQ+ content, with GLAAD noting over 40% of queer characters won’t return this year.
12 Articles
12 Articles
Pixar Exec Explains Why Studio Killed Gay Storyline In Animated Children’s Film
Just before Pixar celebrated their first big win of the year at the box office with “Hoppers,” Chief Creative Officer Pete Docter explained why the company decided to cut the gay storyline in the original film “Elio” last year. “Hoppers” is being lauded because it doesn’t push any inkling of LGBT themes that have become quite common in animated films recently. “Elio,” meanwhile, flirted with the idea, and it was widely considered to be a box off…
The Disney-owned animation studio has faced and continues to face a lot of criticism for marginalizing the gay community.
Pixar Head Pete Docter's Explanation for Cutting LGBTQ+ Content From 'Elio' Is Very Stupid
The Wall Street Journal profiled Pete Docter last week, the current head of Pixar and director of Up and Inside Out. It's a piece that paints a portrait of a major Hollywood studio in a period of intense flux, and... Read more...
Pixar Chief Creative Officer Says Studio Cut LGBTQ Content from 'Elio': 'We’re Making a Movie, Not Hundreds of Millions of Dollars of Therapy'
Pete Docter, Chief Creative Officer for Pixar, sparked backlash online when he said that the studio cut LGBTQ content from the 2025 animated film "Elio."
“We’re not doing therapy,” Pete Docter explained. He wants to make films that “speak to everyone.” He first starred as an openly gay character in a Pixar film in 2020.
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