Every Pixar Movie And Series Coming To Theaters And Disney+ In 2023

It was a mixed year for Disney animated films as the House of Mouse struggled to navigate a post-COVID world. In 2022, Pixar released two films, Turning Red and Lightyear.

Turning Red was released straight to Disney+ where it was streamed in 2.5 million U.S. households over its opening weekend, the most-ever for a Disney+ original title. The film — a coming-of-age story about a 13-year-old trying to navigate life as a teenager — was met with critical acclaim and a positive audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.

Lightyear experienced more of a turbulent release. Controversy surrounding a brief same-sex kiss dominated the headlines and, subsequently, the film was banned in several markets. Although the film received a mostly positive reception — a 74% on Rotten Tomatoes and 84% Audience Score — it failed to take off at the box office. It finished its box office run with a $226.4 million global total which was far below expectations.

With that in mind, 2023 marks a pivotal year for Disney and Pixar as we're seemingly at a crossroads regarding the future of the studio as it pertains to theatrical releases for its movies. As of right now, there's only one Pixar film slated to release in theaters in 2023: Elemental.

Elemental is an all-new, original film set in Element City, where fire-, water-, land- and air residents live together. The story introduces Ember, a tough, quick-witted and fiery young woman, whose friendship with a fun, sappy, go-with-the-flow guy named Wade challenges her beliefs about the world they live in.

We got our first look at Elemental in the form of a teaser trailer released last year. Check it out below.

The story introduces Ember, a tough, quick-witted and fiery young woman, whose friendship with a fun, sappy, go-with-the-flow guy named Wade challenges her beliefs about the world they live in.

Elemental is directed by Peter Sohn and produced by Denise Ream. It features the voices of Leah Lewis and Mamoudou Athie as Ember and Wade, respectively. Elemental is slated to release in theaters on June 16, 2023. This is, perhaps, Pixar's last chance to prove its films can still be considered summer family blockbusters.

Also coming next year from Pixar is Win or Lose, a long-form series premiering on Disney+ in Fall of 2023. Win or Lose follows the Pickles, a co-ed middle school softball team, in the week leading up to their championship game. Each episode takes place that same week, highlighting the perspective of a different main character—players, their parents, the umpire—each reflected in a unique visual style. The series stars Will Forte as Coach Dan and is directed by Carrie Hobson and Michael Yates.

The third and final confirmed project coming from Pixar in 2023 is Dug Days: Carl's Date. This is the second season to Dug Days, a miniseries of shorts released in 2021 that serves as a sequel to Up. Dug Days consisted of multiple shorts following the film's main characters, Dug, the dog, and his owner, 78-year-old Car Fredricksen. Dug Days: Carl's Date is a new short and a continuation of the Disney+ series. Although a release date hasn't been officially announced, a Disney+ promotional video shared on Pixar's Twitter confirmed the short will be coming to Disney+ in 2023.