It’s hard to believe that Disney+ is now five years old, and it has yet to feature a series from Pixar. Films are both short and feature-length, yes, but while effectively every other branch of the Disney empire has branched out into streaming series, Pixar has taken the longest to arrive. It’s shocking not only because of the business mandate to do so but also because Pixar seems like the perfect division to do it. The good news then is that not only is the wait over, but Pixar has also brought their trademark creativity and story-first attitude to their first series, Win or Lose.
Created by Carrie Hobson and Michael Yates, the series follows a softball team called The Pickles. From there, each episode follows a different character over the same period, from right after a win that cements the team’s place in the championships, to the night of the big championship game a week later. It’s a fun conceit –inspired by Hobson and Yates’ differing interpretation of creative meetings while working on Toy Story 4– seeing the same events unfold (or at least influence each other) in each episode from different perspectives.
These perspectives are created in a way that feels like only animation can. The series’ baseline look remains consistent, but each character’s understanding of and interaction with it looks and feels unique. In one case, a character’s emotional armour becomes literal; in another, a child’s self-image changes radically depending on with whom she is in a scene. Another still whose world feels like it is falling apart sees the world around them literally fall apart in times of stress. This choice proves to bes an incredibly clever way to give each episode a distinct feel while maintaining a sense of visual cohesiveness, and it’s the kind of thing that Pixar’s team excels at when they’re firing on all cylinders like they are here.
Link: https://keithlovesmovies.com/2025/02/19/win-or-lose-season-1-episode-1-4-review/
