TEST AUDIENCES UNEXPECTEDLY TERRIFIED OF DISNEY GROOMING THEIR KIDS: Inside Elio’s “Catastrophic” Path: America Ferrera’s Exit, Director Change and Erasure of Queer Themes.
Those who worked at Pixar while its latest film release, Elio, was in production were delighted by footage they saw roughly two years ago. Among the moments cited as favorites by those at the animation studio at the time included a sequence in which the titular boy collected trash on the beach and turned it into homemade apparel that included a pink tank top; the movie’s team would refer to Elio showing this off to a hermit crab as his “trash-ion show.”
But if you bought a ticket to Elio and don’t remember seeing this, it’s not just that you chose the wrong time to refill your soda. According to multiple insiders who spoke to The Hollywood Reporter, Elio was initially portrayed as a queer-coded character, reflecting original director Adrian Molina’s identity as an openly gay filmmaker. Other sources say that Molina did not intend the film to be a coming out story, as the character is 11. But either way, this characterization gradually faded away throughout the production process as Elio became more masculine following feedback from leadership. Gone were not only such direct examples of his passion for environmentalism and fashion, but also a scene in Elio’s bedroom with pictures suggesting a male crush.
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Elio’s turbulent ride began well before its calamitous nosedive at the box office during the June 20-22 corridor. Indeed, the summer of 2023 became a fateful one for the animated film about a lonely boy beamed into outer space by an intergalactic organization after being misidentified as the leader of Earth. The writing was first on the wall for the troubled production when the film from Molina, known as the co-director of Pixar’s Oscar-winning 2017 hit Coco, conducted an early test screening in Arizona. Although viewers expressed how much they enjoyed the movie, they were also asked how many of them would see it in a theater, and not a single hand was raised, according to a source with knowledge of the event. This sounded alarm bells for studio brass.
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After a yearlong delay, the film arrived in theaters June 22 and bombed with just $20.8 million domestically, the lowest opening frame at the box office in Pixar’s history.
“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.”
Kyle Smith tweets:
After Strange World and Lightyear, two movies with gay characters, flopped, Disney didn’t want to go in this direction again but apparently the animators are pushing hard for “queer themes.”
Speaking of an “exodus of talent,” a flashback to the #MeToo obsessed year of 2018: John Lasseter will leave Disney and Pixar at the end of the year, studio says.
Lasseter, who has been on a leave of absence from Disney since November, spearheaded numerous Pixar hits including the “Toy Story” and “Cars” movies. In a career that seemed to have no limits, Lasseter, 61, ascended the corporate ranks and transformed Disney’s vast animation business into a juggernaut for the digital age.
But while the entertainment industry heaped praise on him, some female employees who worked at Pixar alleged that they endured a corporate culture in which women were frequently marginalized and subjected to crude boys-club behavior. They said Lasseter and other senior creative leaders were protected from the repercussions of their conduct.
“The last six months have provided an opportunity to reflect on my life, career and personal priorities,” Lasseter said in a statement. “While I remain dedicated to the art of animation and inspired by the creative talent at Pixar and Disney, I have decided the end of this year is the right time to begin focusing on new creative challenges. I am extremely proud of what two of the most important and prolific animation studios have achieved under my leadership and I’m grateful for all of the opportunities to follow my creative passion at Disney.”
Disney executives have wrestled for months over what to do with Lasseter. Lasseter has been immensely valuable as a creative leader of Disney’s lucrative animation business and his influence has been felt throughout the company, including the theme parks, where he oversaw such attractions as Cars Land at Disney California Adventure theme park. Yet, in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein sexual misconduct scandal and the #MeToo movement, failing to respond decisively to complaints against Lasseter could have backfired and tarnished Disney’s standing among female employees.
If you’re wondering why Pixar movies no longer have the same stunning feel as Toy Story, The Incredibles and Up, there’s your answer.