David Farnor | On 13, Dec 2020

Pixar is stepping up its Disney+ programming in a big way with a wave of new series for the subscription streaming service.

Pixar Animation Studios’ Chief Creative Officer Pete Docter shared details about the Northern California studio’s upcoming slate at Disney’s Investor Day event this week.

“Today, I’m excited to introduce you to a bunch of fresh, new filmmakers,” said Docter. “Getting their voices on the screen is our key focus right now – while at the same time allowing our veteran filmmakers to continue to do their great work. And I think that’s what we do best at Pixar: Honoring tradition, while at the same time innovating for the future.”

Pixar will kick things off with Burrow, part of its collection of shorts called SparkShorts that are created by a diverse group of storytellers. Debuting exclusively on Disney+ on 25th December, Burrow features a young rabbit who embarks on a journey to dig the burrow of her dreams, despite not having a clue what she’s doing. Rather than reveal to her neighbors her imperfections, she digs herself deeper and deeper into trouble. After hitting (bed)rock bottom, she learns there is no shame in asking for help. The new short is directed by Madeline Sharafian and produced by Mike Capbarat.

Pixar Popcorn, coming to Disney+ in January 2021, is a collection of mini shorts featuring Pixar characters in all-new, bite-size stories created by Pixar’s talented animators.

Speaking of familiar characters, Lightning McQueen will race on to Disney+ with a new Cars series, coming to the service in 2022. The show follows Lightning and his best friend Mater on a cross-country road trip. These episodes are filled with lots of fun new characters, imaginative destinations as well as old friends checking in along the way. The series is written by Steve Purcell and produced by Marc Sondheimer.

Dug Days, which premieres exclusively on Disney+ in autumn 2021, is a new collection of shorts that follows the humorous misadventures of Dug from Up. Each short features everyday events that occur in and around Dug’s backyard, all through the exciting (and delightfully distorted) eyes of our favourite talking dog. The shorts are written and directed by Bob Peterson and produced by Kim Collins.

Pixar has also announced its first original long-form animated series, which will debut on Disney+ in 2023. It follows a coed middle school softball team in the week leading up to their championship game. Each 20-minute episode highlights the perspective of a different character and explores the drama of bad calls made on and off the field. Written and directed by story artists Carrie Hobson and Michael Yates, and produced by David Lally, Win or Lose is a comedy about love, rivalry and the challenges we all face in our struggle to win at life.

Pixar also revealed two new feature films that will likely be released theatrically in 2022, including Domee Shi’s Turning Red, and Lightyear, starring Chris Evans as the hero who inspired the toy featured in Toy Story.

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