‘Red’ is the third consecutive film of pixar that it skips a theatrical release to launch directly on Disney +, and from the animation studio they would not be very happy with Disney or with Bob Chapek, its current CEO, for this decision
reds of fury
The pandemic has turned the release calendar of recent years upside down, with numerous films delaying their arrival in theaters or finally going directly to streaming. With the reopening of theaters, certain films have finally been able to be seen on the big screen, but it seems that Disney has other plans for Pixar releases.
The next March 11th it’s coming it’s opening ‘Net’ directly on Disney+, although the animated film was originally planned for a theatrical release. The plans in principle had been maintained but finally the company has decided to transfer the premiere to the streaming platform, which has not been very funny within the animation studio.
As reported by Variety, several studio workers have spoken openly of their anger and disappointment at what they see as disregard for Pixar’s releases, although they have wanted to remain anonymous.
“You can tell we’re all extremely disappointed,” said a Pixar employee. “Until today, we all thought that ‘Red’ was going to be our return to the big screen, and everyone in the studio was very excited that this particular movie was going to be. It’s been a huge blow.”
It has been commented that with the spikes in infections by the Omicron variant in the United States could have influenced this decision. Specifically, Disney would have been looking at the box office data of the latest animated films from its competitors, such as ‘Sing 2’, and would have decided that ‘Red’ is simply not worth the theatrical release.
“Pixar is furious. They are very angry with Disney, executives and Bob Chapek,” a source told Small Screen. “They wanted ‘Red’ to be released in theaters, not on Disney+. This has pissed off the entire company and they’re basically at war with Disney and with Chapek.”
Goodbye to the idyll between studies?
It is not the first time that Pixar workers have complained about a premiere on Disney +. The premiere of ‘Soul’ on the streaming platform was described as “disappointing” but understandable by the studio, although the complaints came more loudly with the streaming premiere of ‘Luca’ last summer.** This time the critics they would be going to more, with Pixar wanting to cut their relationship with Disney.**
“Pixar is not a direct-to-video studio. Their movies deserve to be in theaters and the folks at Pixar aren’t happy with the recent direct-to-Disney Plus releases,” another worker commented.
It should be noted that this is the third time that a Pixar production has been streamed, while ‘Encanto’ was released in theaters last November and enjoyed a one-month window before coming to Disney+. It remains to be seen what the conflict between Pixar and Disney is, which could reach more if ‘Lightyear’ also ends up going directly to streaming.