After the latest film “Elio“Flopped at the checkout on his opening weekend, Pixar is again in the middle of the controversy.
Anonymous sources told Hollywood Reporter The Pixar -vd Pete Docter chose to “Elio” be abolished by his gay coded themes, as was the case for “Easy“Luca“And last,”Inside out 2.“This partly led to both exit from the original director Adrian Molina And later actress America Ferra.
“Many people like to blame Disney, but the conversation comes from within the house,” a former Pixar artist told THR. “Much of this is to follow the behavior in the store, which comes from the higher executs on Pixar. (…) It was quite clear through the production of the first version of the film that (studio leader) constantly beat these moments in the movie that referred to Elio’s sexuality to be queer.”
Indiewire has reached Pixar parent company Disney for comments.
“Elio” premiered in the theaters June 22 and flopped at the checkout with a small $ 20.8 million domestic opening, Make history as the lowest ever in Pixar’s history. The film had a rumored production budget north of $ 150 million.
Per THR sources were initially portrayed in the protagonist Elio as a queer-coded character, as openly gay filmmaker Molina (“Coco”) wanted. Although it is believed that Molina “did not think the film was an upcoming story, because the character is 11”, as Thr reported, included the movie Stories about Elio that had a love for fashion and bedroom posters of a possible male crusher.
According to the report, Molina showed an average of the film to Pixar managers in 2023. The film also had an early test show in Arizona for an audience that did not go well, without anyone raising their hands to indicate that they would pay to go to the film in a theater. Pixar then called in Molina to talk about changing the film; The director left the project shortly after a discussion with Docters who is alleged to leave Molina “injured.”
“Elio” was instead reworked by the storyboard artist Madeline Sharafian and Demee IT (“Turning Red”), which became the film’s co -directors after Molina left. Molina was offered to jointly direct “Elio” with Sharafian, but after notes and changes in the film he decided to leave completely. By 2025, Molina was announced as co -director for “Coco 2.”
Oscar nominated America Ferra, who would play Elio’s mother, also divorced the movie after already recording dialogue; A source of THR claimed that Ferrera went out after Molina’s departure because she was “upset that there was no longer Latinx representation in the leadership.” Oscar winner Zoe Saldaña later took on the part, which became Elio’s aunt in the new script, which was a mess in itself.
“Suddenly you remove this big, key plant, which is about identity, and” Elio “is just about nothing,” added the former Pixar artist. “” Elio “who is in theaters right now is much worse than Adrian’s best version of the original.”
Another former Pixar personnel who worked with the movie were added, “(the character) Elio was just so sweet and so fun and had so much personality, and now he feels much more generic to me.”
The structure of Pixar’s mix in some stories also extends to upcoming animated “Hoppers.” ThR reported that creative on the function was told by Pixar managers to cut a divorce Plotline, “which is so wild”, and also emphasize environmental activism.
At the same time, “Elio” is still flowing in theaters. The Indieview review POINTED TO THE DISJOINTED PRODUCTION, READING, “If there was ever a version of ‘Elio’ that Had the Spark of an Old Pixar Classic, It got shuffled out of existence by a turbulent production process that saw original director adrian molina, WHO PREIUSLA, WHO PREVIUS By the duo of Domee Shi – Whose Hilarious ‘Turning Red’ Stemains The Best Pixar Film of the 2020s By a Significant margin – and Madeline Sharafian, known to direct the short “Burrow”. would turn away from “Personal Stories” run by directors to films with universal mass appeals. Some elements of the script directly based on Molina’s life, such as Elio’s mother working for the military, Was rewritten completely.”
