Welcome to Breakpoint, a daily look, and an ever-changing culture through the lens of unchanging truth.

For the Colson Center, I'm John Stone Street.

Before it debuted late last month, Disney boasted that its newest animated film, Elio, quote,

continues Pixar's tradition of crafting films that resonate across generations.

But, even after several iterations and attempts to hook test

groups, Elio earned just $21 million during its domestic opening weekend, which was the worst

debut in Pixar history and a huge disappointment after more than $200 million was spent making

the movie. Elio, the title character, is a space fanatic with

an act of imagination. He finds himself on a cosmic misadventure where he must form bonds with

alien life forms, navigate a crisis of intergalactic proportions, and along the way, discover who he's

truly meant to be. But that was not the original storyline. According to sources reported by the Hollywood

reporter, the movie was supposed to be centered on a queer-coded 11-year-old protagonist, with subtle

details included that hinted at a same-sex crush. Later versions of the film softened LEO's

homosexual identity, but continued to make personality the primary driver of the storyline.

So, for example, an early version reportedly shown to the production crew, portrayed Elio collecting

trash on the beach and turning it into homemade apparel.

And that included a pink tank top, which, according to multiple insiders, was to portray the character as a queer-coded

character and reflect original director Adrian Molina's identity as an openly gay filmmaker.

But even after all of the changes were made, the movie still failed to work.

After a test screening held in Arizona in the summer of 2023, the audience was asked how many would watch it in theaters.

According to reports, and I quote, not a single hand was raised.

Now, a group of gay Pixar employees that go by the name Picks Pride are blaming the poor box office showing on the fact that the storyline was changed and stripped of its underlying

...