Disney Pixar's Latest Bomb Elio Was Filled With Gay Themes and Messaging Before Executives Ordered Them Excised
Plus: Marvel's New "Superheo" is a Black Teen Genius Girlboss and Sociopathic Criminal Who Literally Sells Her Soul to the Devil

Hire gay activists who are only interested in gay activism and this is what you get, every time.

BTW, the Hollywood Reporter's spin is that the movie wouldn't have bombed, and would have been a hit, if only the children's cartoon had released still containingall the in-your-face gay propaganda that its gay propaganda "creatives" had stuffed into it.

Because yes, you know that what the American public is clamoring for is "more gay propaganda for our too-young-to-know-what-sex-even-is children. Especially now. Especially when even "nice" normies have had so much of this crap they're now rudely saying ENOUGH.

Inside 'Elio's' "Catastrophic" Path: America Ferrera's Exit, Director Change and Erasure of Queer Themes

Creatives at Pixar who saw the original director's previous cut of 'Elio' tell THR about the movie's challenging production process: "'Elio' just [became] about totally nothing."

If a movie isn't about gay propaganda then it's "totally about nothing."

Got it.

Doesn't that mean the film, as originally made, had nothing in it except for gay propaganda

But no, they're saying that the original movie was nothing but the gay propaganda, so that the removal of that gay propaganda resulted in a film "totally about nothing."

Those who worked at Pixar while its latest film release, Elio, was in production were delighted by footage they saw roughly two years ago.

Oh that's right -- this stinker was in the can for years. Disney executives were probably just delaying because they didn't want to release yet another gay propaganda bomb, but also didn't want the PR headache from their gay "creatives" boohoo whinin' and cryin' to the leftwing media.

Among the moments cited as favorites by those at the animation studio at the time included a sequence in which the titular boy collected trash on the beach and turned it into homemade apparel that included a pink tank top; the movie's team would refer to Elio showing this off to a hermit crab as his "trash-ion show."

Is this Ru Paul for Kidz?

But if you bought a ticket to Elio and don't remember seeing this, it's not just that you chose the wrong time to refill your soda. According to multiple insiders who spoke to The Hollywood Reporter, Elio was initially portrayed as a queer-coded character, reflecting original director Adrian Molina's identity as an openly gay filmmaker. Other sources say that Molina did not intend the film to be a coming out story, as the character is 11. But either way, this characterization gradually faded away throughout the production process as Elio became more masculine following feedback from leadership. Gone were not only such direct examples of his passion for environmentalism and fashion, but also a scene in Elio's bedroom with pictures suggesting a male crush. Hints at the trash fashion remain in the released film, with the boy wearing a cape decorated with discarded cutlery and soda can tabs, although without any explanation for the unusual attire.

Elio's turbulent ride began well before its calamitous nosedive at the box office durin the June 20-22 corridor. Indeed, the summer of 2023 became a fateful one for the animated film about a lonely boy beamed into outer space by an intergalactic organization after being misidentified as the leader of Earth. The writing was first on the wall for the troubled production when the film from Molina, known as the co-director of Pixar's Oscar-winning 2017 hit Coco, conducted an early test screening in Arizona. Although viewers expressed how much they enjoyed the movie, they were also asked how many of them would see it in a theater, and not a single hand was raised, according to a source with knowledge of the event. This sounded alarm bells for studio brass.

It was around this same time that Molina screened his latest cut of the film to Pixar leadership. There are differing accounts of the exact feedback that the director received from Pixar boss Pete Docter when the lights went up, with rumors circulating in some of the studio's circles that Molina was hurt by the conversation. The part that is clear is that Molina exited the project soon after, and much of Elio was reworked under new co-directors Madeline Sharafian and Domee Shi.

Remember when adults of both sexes were expected to act professionally if they were members of a profession? Remember how they used to be expected to take criticism and direction gracefully?

No more. Now it's nothing but hysteria and tantrums at the lack of required Affirmation.

After a yearlong delay, the film arrived in theaters June 22 and bombed with just $20.8 million domestically, the lowest opening frame at the box office in Pixar's history.

"I was deeply saddened and aggrieved by the changes that were made," says former Pixar assistant editor Sarah Ligatich, who provided feedback during Elio production as a member of the company's internal LGBTQ group PixPRIDE. Although she praises Sharafian and Shi as filmmakers, Ligatich notes that a number of creatives working on the film stepped down after the directors shared their first cut of the movie. "The exodus of talent after that cut was really indicative of how unhappy a lot of people were that they had changed and destroyed this beautiful work." Another Pixar source disputes that people stepped down in response to Molina's departure.

Nobody cares about your endless f*cking Teen Goth Girl feelings, you f*cking basket-cases.

The changes to Elio were clear to one former Pixar artist who worked on the film and asked to remain anonymous: "It was pretty clear through the production of the first version of the film that [studio leaders] were constantly sanding down these moments in the film that alluded to Elio's sexuality of being queer."

...

"Suddenly, you remove this big, key piece, which is all about identity, and Elio just becomes about totally nothing," says the former Pixar artist.

...

Media reports have cited its production budget as $150 million, but former Pixar employees tell THR that the film cost far more than that. The artist who worked on the movie was not privy to the specific figure but estimates it was well north of $200 million, given that Molina's version was nearly complete, which she says makes the "catastrophic box office" feel worse....

The Elio production resulted in fraught feelings for those with ties to Pixar who have come to question whether the company intends to prioritize diversity. Docter sparked debate when he noted in a 2024 interview that the studio should make the "most relatable films" possible, which was perceived as advocating for a shift away from underrepresented characters and voices.

...

In the meantime, the pain of the Elio process still stings for the creatives who saw the movie's trajectory become something of a cautionary tale. "I'd love to ask Pete and the other Disney executives whether or not they thought the rewrite was worth it," says the artist. "Would they have lost this much money if they simply let Adrian tell his story?"

When you're spending over $200 million of other people's money, you don't get to tell "your story," especially if your story is all about niche themes that resonate only with 3% of the audience plus their "allies."

Again: Where did professionalism go? That is a huge topic that people need to discuss. Gone are the days where a professional could be expected to put aside his personal bullshit and dispassionately deliver services to a client. Now it's all about "bringing your whole self to work," and demanding that a mere job provide you with the personal satisfaction and fulfillment that only family, friends, and church can provide.

Unprofessional "professionals" are all bleating, Why doesn't the public trust us any longer?

Well, it's because you exclusively serve yourselves.

Meanwhile, Disney's other bomb factory Marvel has produced what sounds like the most morally repugnant kid's show in history, one in which the supposed "superhero" main character goes on a crime spree of armed theft and extorting millionaires into signing over their companies to the crime ring. In one case, her fellow criminals shoot and murder mere security guards.

Under the law, this makes her guilty of felony murder. When you and a group all go out to commit a crime, each member of the gang is legally responsible for any of the murders which ensue, given that everyone knows that a crime may result in killing people.

But this "superhero," "Riri" Williams, remains absolutely certain in her own entitlement and her unshakable belief that the world owes her fame and wealth and she is justified in committing any crime necessary to achieve these selfish goals.

ThatParkPlace.com on the first half of the six-episode "season:"

There really isn't a way to review Ironheart outside of just calling it what it is: bad.

It's a bad show. It's bad on every level. From the lazy bad cinematography to the lackluster bad graphics, bad wooden performances, and bad writing, Ironheart is the culmination of everything that's gone wrong with Marvel television. It's not just a misfire--it's a final nail.

If Echo was lifeless and Secret Invasion was dull, Ironheart is downright insufferable.

The show feels like the endgame of the M-SHE-U, where every creative decision revolves around identity first, and storytelling last--if at all. There's no subtlety, no nuance, no curiosity about heroism or conflict. Instead, what we get is a self-righteous character surrounded by a parade of unlikable people delivering one smug lecture after another.

...

Riri Williams is not just unrelatable--she's unlikable. She's arrogant, cold, and completely lacking in empathy. She constantly reminds the audience that she doesn't want to be a hero, has no moral obligation to anyone, and is building her suits and AI "because I can."

That's not strength--that's narcissism. Her every action is self-serving, yet the show insists we root for her because of her identity and not her choices. They try to dress it up in a narrative about her dead stepfather but it just rings hollow.

By the end of episode three, Riri commits a stone cold murder.

There's no ambiguity.

She has the ability to save someone--easily--and instead she watches him die and then agonizes over that and the fact that she left a crucial piece of tech behind at a crime scene.

This is our protagonist...

Well, not just the protagonists. Lots of movies have criminal protagonists (but usually those criminal heroes show much more regard for human life than this entitled sociopath does).

She's supposed to be a hero.

And not just a hero, a superhero.

Some thought that Riri Williams might learn from her cold-bloodedly murderous ways and go through some kind of growth and personal redemption in the second half.

Nope!

Riri's criminal "friends" turn on her--and we're supposed to feel bad. But this is just karma on a platter. She lied, manipulated, used people, and now the consequences have arrived. Characters tell her flat-out that she's selfish and wrong, but Riri never truly owns it. She doesn't evolve. She doesn't reflect. She simply powers through with the same arrogant attitude, insisting she's in the right.

Then comes a baffling action sequence where these gang members--who previously took down grown men with ease--get beaten by Riri without her armor. Not only does she magically win, but she scores multiple kill shots... and no one dies or even gets hurt. Slug, one of the thugs, literally survives a vehicle crash that should have turned anyone into pavement paste. But Slug just climbs out without a scratch, shrugs it off, and walks away. Real stakes? Real danger? Forget it.

How can they up the stakes after Riri has already committed a felony crime spree and actually murdered an innocent guard?

Would you believe... Marvel's version of the devil, Mephisto, appears and offers to buy Riri's soul?

And she... accepts Satan's bargain?

And then... the grand finale of this Ironheart finale review. Mephisto appears. Yes, Sacha Baron Cohen makes his long-awaited debut as the literal devil. And what does Riri do? Does she fight him? Does she rise up to battle the ultimate evil and finally become a hero?

Nah.

She sells her soul to him. Seriously.

No big battle. No showdown. Just a straight-up soul trade to bring back her dead best friend, Natalie.

...

And that's how it ends. No resolution. No meaning. No point.

I think there is a point, but not one the "creatives" here would admit to.

So that's how the show ends. It's supposed to be a cliffhanger. It's not, because they'll never make another Ironheart episode. She ends the show as a murderer damned to hell not just by her callous murder but by literally selling her soul to the devil.

Yay, minority and female empowerment...?

This is another piece of "entertainment" that Disney has had in the can for years but has been waiting for the right moment to release it. Like when you hold in a fart in church until they come by with the donations plate and you let it out then to blame it on the altar boy.

I heard someone remark that this show is like what a racist KKK grand cyclops would create to attack black people. It thinks it's "empowering" black youth. How? By telling them to be criminals and to murder people without a second thought?

Oh, and of course the show stars a transgender.

posted by Ace at 04:20 PM

| Access Comments