Pixar's Win or Lose, review: too American, too worthy and too dull
Pixar's Win or Lose (Disney+), the animation behemoth's first ever original TV series, has had a troubled launch. Its release was delayed not once but twice, which is rarely a good sign. A storyline about a transgender character was cut, with a Disney spokesperson saying: 'We recognise that many parents would prefer to discuss certain subjects with their children on their own terms and timeline.' The decision was criticised by the trans actress set to play the role and met a backlash for censorship.
This difficult birth shows in the finished product. This eight-parter feels like a hotch-potch designed by committee, lacking Pixar 's usual zip and joy. Each episode is told from the perspective of a different character involved with a school softball team – the insecure kids, their competitive coach, interfering parents, even a lovesick umpire – as they prepare for a championship game. The same events are retold from multiple viewpoints, all in their own visual style, mainly movie and computer game parodies.
It makes for a colourful, over-stimulated spectacle. The snag is, the content is stultifyingly worthy. Pixar says it's 'about the challenges we all face in our struggles to win at life', which might hint at its self-help tone. Smartphones and social media are the villains. Everyone has an 'issue': anxious teen, lonely nerd, impoverished genius, struggling Latina single mother.
Their stories aren't intertwined cleverly enough, meaning the looping narrative grows wearingly repetitive. It's too parochially American for a European audience, littered with cries of, 'You got this!', 'Way to go!' and 'Great job!' It also feels derivative. On top of the stylistic spoofs, it's a little bit Mighty Ducks and a lot Inside Out. The coach, voiced by Will Forte, is a blatant homage to Robin Williams' Genie from Aladdin.
Pixar made its reputation by deftly mixing child-friendly cartoonish comedy with in-jokes aimed at adults. There aren't enough of either here. It adds up to a rare misfire from the blockbuster hit factory. That title is asking for it: Win Or Lose sadly does the latter.
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