tech
March 9, 2026
Pixar chief says LGBTQ+ plot elements cut from Elio as company is ‘not making therapy’
Pete Docter says Pixar will concentrate on more commercially appealing films after staff dissent over deleted scenes that implied lead character was gay
TL;DR
- Pixar chief creative officer Pete Docter stated that LGBTQ+ plot elements were removed from the 2025 film Elio because "we're making a movie, not hundreds of millions of dollars of therapy."
- Internal dissent over LGBTQ+ content emerged in 2022, with employees claiming executives had "barred" moments of gay affection from films before release.
- Scenes implying Elio's lead character was gay, including imagining raising a child with a male crush, were removed after test screenings suggested audiences weren't excited enough.
- Elio was a box office flop, recording Pixar's worst ever and losing over $100m.
- Pixar plans to concentrate on making more commercially appealing films after a series of failures with "autobiographical" films.
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