After a dreamy summer at the box-office for Pixar, whose feels-filled sequel Inside Out 2 broke all sorts of records to become the highest-grossing animated movie of all time, the studio are hoping to keep the good times rolling on the small screen too with a brace of new Disney+ series. Per a release date announcement teaser shared by the animation giants last night, four-part limited Inside Out spin-off series Dream Productions — first announced earlier this year at D23 — is set to hit the streamer on 11 December, whilst Pixar's first original TV offering Win Or Lose has snagged a 19 February, 2025 drop date. Check out the trailer for the shows below:
As we can see in the teaser trailer (emphasis very much on the teaser here), Dream Productions — described by Pete Docter as "an in-between-quel" to the Inside Out movies — will see us returning to the dream studio inside Riley's mind, mockumentary-style. The wrinkle for this one, per the show's official synopsis, is good old creative differences: "Acclaimed director Paula Persimmon (voice of Paula Pell) faces a nightmare of her own: Trying to create the next hit dream after being paired up with Xeni (voice of Richard Ayoade), a smug daydream director looking to step up into the big leagues of night dreams." Also aboard for this one, which has been written and directed by Mike Jones, are franchise returnees Amy Poehler, Tony Hale, Lewis Black and Phyllis Smith, as well as newcomer Maya Rudolph.
Win Or Lose then, written and directed by Carrie Hobson and Michael Yates, is an entirely original venture for Pixar, with each episode following the perspective of a different character — including "insecure kids, their helicopter parents, even a lovesick umpire" — in the run-up to a big baseball game. As the teaser shows us, the series — which stars Will Forte as the team's coach — looks to be taking an animated The Afterparty style approach, adopting different aesthetics and tones for each instalment.
Will Pixar's latest offerings Win Or Lose our collective attention? Will they prove to be a proper pair of Dream Productions? We'll find out for ourselves when they land on Disney+ on 11 December and 19 February. One thing's for sure; it's gonna be emotional.