Oh, Pixar — at it again with a funky concept that goes all in on the emotions. In the case of Win or Lose, the studio’s first television series, it’s all about externalizing internal feelings and thoughts with some incredibly vibrant visualizations.
The show follows a middle school softball team in the week leading up to their big championship game, with each episode focusing on a different character associated with the team. The first features the coach’s kid battling her anxiety, for instance, which manifests as a giant sweat blob whispering insecurities into her ear; the fifth shows the world through the eyes of one player’s little brother, who imagines exciting make-believe scenarios in a crayon style. Visually, it’s very charming and also incorporates a whole gamut of styles outside the typical Pixar mold.
But what makes Pixar’s Win or Lose so memorable isn’t just the splashy, fantastical moments; it’s that because the fantastical elements are in the characters’ heads, the story itself is incredibly grounded, more so than the typical Pixar movie. It really speaks to Pixar’s story-first mantra that used to guide the company — and where the studio should go from here.
[Ed. note: This post contains some spoilers for Win or Lose.]
Image: Pixar
The third and fourth episodes (released in a pair, as all the episodes have been) perfectly illustrate just how good the series has been. The third episode sees team catcher Rochelle repeatedly stepping up to act as an adult, which manifests in her donning an imaginary power suit and growing in stature. From her point of view, her mom, Vanessa, is carefree and almost frivolous, more preoccupied with her social media following than any parenting duties.
It’s deeply stressful to watch a middle school student have to scrape together money to pay her softball team dues while her mother seemingly ignores her. That’s your kid! You should pay more attention to her!
But the fourth episode focuses on Vanessa, and we immediately learn that she keeps up her bubbly and irreverent attitude because she’s under so much pressure and doesn’t want her kids to worry about her. She’s not only dealing with the stress of being a single mom (and one of those kids is a toddler, to boot!), but the judgment that comes from it. Her social media following — which in Pixar fashion manifests as a cloud of adorable pink hearts — gives her the confidence to hold her head up high and get stuff done.
The visual metaphors of Rochelle’s power suit and Vanessa’s social media followers are certainly fun, but they wouldn’t hit nearly as hard if their story didn’t. The fantasy never gets too out there to detract from the overall story. All of the episodes have so far told tight, contained narratives — and few of them have ended happily. It’s a surprisingly poignant look into the highs and lows of being in middle school (or, in the case of Vanessa and also umpire and teacher Frank, being around middle schoolers).
The truth is, despite the studio’s ambitious reputation, the best Pixar movies in recent history haven’t necessarily been the ones that go all in on a wacky concept, but rather the ones that have one foot firmly planted in more grounded situations. Turning Red was fantastic because it used a big, fluffy, red metaphor to dive into a complicated relationship between mother and daughter. Elemental, meanwhile, lost a lot of emotional resonance because of the million world-building questions that poked holes in its fundamental theme. Win or Lose is firmly in the former camp, even more so than Turning Red, since all of the fantasy elements are actually in the characters’ heads. That doesn’t make it any less powerful — in fact, seeing Rochelle and her mother embrace without any wacky frills at the end of the fourth episode hits so much harder when just seconds before, the world was metaphorically up in the air. They hug, and everything falls into place, no power suit, no glowing hearts, just a mother and daughter leaning on one another.
Early Pixar movies were known for taking non-human characters and giving them surprisingly emotional stories; movies like Toy Story, Monsters, Inc., and Finding Nemo presented fantastical worlds, but didn’t let those larger-than-life elements bog them down. But recently, the emotional heart that used to define Pixar movies has been overwhelmed by everything else going on (how many times did they have to clarify that Lightyear was based on the “real” Buzz Lightyear?). Maybe, though, the new wave of Pixar should be turning toward human characters and sprinkling in just the right amount of whimsy to elevate their stories instead.
The first six episodes of Win or Lose are available on Disney Plus now, with new episodes dropping on Wednesday.
