Pete Docter, Pixar’s chief creative officer and director of Monsters, Inc., Up, and Inside Head, recently spoke to the Wall Street Journal about why the studio decided to overhaul 2025’s Elio and cut the film’s LGBTQ storyline.
Docter told the Journal that Pixar didn’t want to show young viewers something they weren’t ready to see or hadn’t discussed with their parents. He said, “We’re making movies, not hundreds of millions of dollars in medical bills.”
“Elio” is about a lonely boy who is rejected as an outsider by his peers and seeks a friend in the stars. Despite the clever premise, the Journal reports that the film tested poorly in early screenings, with most audiences saying they would not pay to see it in theaters. In response, the Doctor ordered a complete overhaul of the film, even though a significant portion of the animation had been completed. This review resulted in the film’s original director, Adrian Molina, leaving the film.
Then Madeline Sharafian and Domee Shi stepped in and made significant changes to “Elio.” According to WSJ, this included removing moments that indicated the title character was gay. An earlier version of the film reportedly featured a scene in which Elio rides a pink bicycle and imagines a life with the man he loves. This change caused a backlash within Pixar’s staff, a situation made worse by Disney’s decision to cut transgender characters from Pixar’s animated series Win or Lose.
“Elio” was released in June 2025 and ultimately grossed $150 million worldwide. This would be an impressive number if it weren’t for the fact that the film cost $150 million to make, which doesn’t take into account global marketing costs.
