Disney’s ‘Inside Out 2’ Controversy, Explained

A report alleging poor work conditions and removal of LGBTQ themes during the production of Inside Out 2 has sparked backlash against Disney across social media.

Inside Out 2 was a massive hit with both critics and audiences, and snatched the crown from Disney’s “live action” Lion King remake as the biggest animated movie of all time.

The film explores the mind of teen girl protagonist, Riley, depicting her emotions (joy, sadness, anxiety) as characters with conflicting goals, the film’s story emphasizing the importance of maintaining good mental health.

Behind the scenes of Inside Out 2, anxiety seems to have reigned supreme, with former Pixar employees speaking of a toxic, disorganized work environment, and claims of Disney leadership attempting to tone down the film’s “queer themes.”

What Happened Behind The Scenes Of ‘Inside Out 2’?

An IGN report quoting former Pixar employees that worked on Inside Out 2 describes a messy production, with staff pushed to their limits and many suffering layoffs, despite the film’s success.

One source described the film’s production as “the largest crunch in the studio’s history."

From a creative standpoint, Disney reportedly made notes to make Riley seem “less gay,” with sources alleging that leadership was “uncomfortable” with the film’s “queer themes.”

Allegations of a toxic work environment didn’t surprise jaded internet commentators, who expect Disney to act like an malevolent mega-corporation, but many were taken aback by the reported censorship of LGBTQ themes.

Disney has been criticized for half-hearted queer representation before, by fans, critics, and creatives; Alex Hirsch, creator of Gravity Falls, has spoken out against Disney’s internal pushback against LGBTQ characters.

Riley is not depicted as queer in Inside Out 2, but the film shows her desperately attempting to impress an older girl, Val, who is something of a mentor to Riley.

Allegedly, efforts were made to depict the relationship between the two as purely platonic, such as editing tone and lighting to make their scenes appear less romantic.

One source described the edits as "doing a lot of extra work to make sure that no one would potentially see them as not straight."

Another source claimed that Disney leadership blames the box office failure of Lightyear (2022) on a brief gay kiss between two characters.

“They'll bring up Lightyear specifically and say, ‘Oh, Lightyear was a financial failure because it had a queer kiss in it,’” the source told IGN. “That's not the reason the movie failed.”

At the time, the film’s gay kiss was just another piece of ammunition for the culture war, sparking conservative outrage, but for many Pixar fans, Lightyear proved a disappointment due to its premise and story.

Lightyear was framed as a movie within a movie, supposedly inspiring Andy from Toy Story to become obsessed with his Buzz Lightyear doll in the original film, but fans noted that the plot and tone of Lightyear bears very little resemblance to the source material.

Toy Story presented Buzz Lightyear’s toy franchise as a lighthearted Star Wars parody, but Lightyear was a relatively grounded tale of space travel, time dilation, failure and aging. Many commentators were disheartened to see that Disney had learned the wrong lesson from the film’s failure.

LGBTQ “shipping” is a big part of online fan culture, and Disney fandoms are no exception; imagining queer relationships between characters inspires countless works of fan art and fan fiction.

Despite Disney’s reported attempts to smother the romantic undertones of Inside Out 2, many fans still view Riley as a queer icon; some even felt “queerbaited” by the film’s post-credits scene, which revealed Riley’s “big secret.”

Riley’s secret was teased throughout the entire film, but proved anti-climatic, with the character having accidentally burned a hole in her parent’s carpet—perhaps the scene was originally meant to be something more.

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