Last week, Disney announced that Pixar’s next film, Turning Red, would be skipping theaters and debuting exclusively on Disney+ on March 11. This is now the third Pixar film in a row to land solely on Disney+ after both Soul and Luca followed similar paths.
Turning Red is a coming-of-age story about Mei Lee (Rosalie Chiang), a 13-year-old girl who discovers that she suddenly turns into a giant red panda anytime her emotions become overwhelming. Lee will have to learn how to control her emotions while also adjusting to this unique change. Other members of the voice cast include Sandra Oh, Ava Morse, Orion Lee, and Hyein Park.
The decision to move Turning Red to Disney+ comes as COVID rapidly spreads due to the Omicron variant. Turning Red would have been the first Pixar film since Onward to land in theaters. However, this is no longer the case. While many Pixar fans have voiced their disappointment online, the Pixar staffers have finally made their voices heard and many are frustrated by the decision.
Pixar Employees Express Their Disappointment With The Decision
Speaking with Insider, a few Pixar employees voiced their opinions, saying that they were “extremely disappointed” with this decision.
“It’s safe to say that we’re all feeling extremely disappointed. Until today, we all thought ‘Turning Red’ would be our return to the big screen, and everyone at the studio was so excited about it being this film in particular. It was quite a blow.”
Many Pixar employees were deservedly excited to see their work on the big screen again and now they’ll have to wait a little longer. Another employee said that the decision to switch from theatrical to streaming “sucks” but they understood as the Omicron variant continues to spread.
In fact, many Pixar workers understand the decision, despite their disappointment with it. Some have even agreed with the decision as it is probably the safer option.
“With Omicron infections so high, I haven’t heard anyone say the decision to pivot to streaming is wrong.”
However, it is interesting how Disney has dealt with its Pixar releases since the pandemic began. The animated projects from Disney animation received theatrical releases. Raya and the Last Dragon was in theaters and on Disney+ with Premier Access while Encanto was exclusively in theaters. Encanto wasn’t a massive hit at the box office but it wasn’t a flop either.
Pixar staffers and fans will most likely have to wait until Lightyear to see a return to theaters for the studio. It would be surprising to see Lightyear skip theaters as it has a summer release and anything Toy Story-related usually brings in loads of money for Disney. Lightyear is expected to release in theaters on June 17.
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