As the omicron surges across the nation, are movie production looking to go back to streaming services instead of regular theaters is a trending topic. Pixar’s Turning Red is set to debut on Disney Plus Premier on March 11 and to skip a theatrical release except in markets where Disney Plus is still unavailable.

This is not the first time that Pixar movies have skipped the traditional theater format in favor of a streaming service. Pixar movies were released on Disney Plus when the pandemic started, Some of the movies that were debuted on Disney Plus including Onward, Soul and Luca.

Some movies such as Mulan and Black Widow were subscription based on Disney Plus. Viewers had to pay an additional $30 to get Disney Premier Access.

Some Pixar staff have however not taken kindly to the change in operations. A Pixar employee said that they did not want to become a title on Disney Plus. The staffer said that they craft these movies for the big screen.

The staffer also said that they wanted such movies to be seen without the distractions and without viewers looking at their cell phones. Other staffers said that Luca had not be made accessible as a premium title and that made it seem as if it was “lesser”than Mulan.

Turning Red, which will be streaming on Disney Plus on March 11, stars a teenage girl, who is going through an awkward phase. When she faces strong emotions, she suddenly becomes a giant red panda. Domee Shi, who worked on other Pixar movies such as Inside Out, Incredibles 2 and directed Bao, a short by Pixar, is the director of Turning Red.

Pixar animated films are made for families. Disney Plus is happy as it is getting a good response by releasing these movies on its streaming platform. Disney Media and Entertainment Chairman Kareem Daniel released a statement saying that family films performed less at the box office and that flexibility was at the core of their distribution decisions. However, animation movies definitely have a bigger impact on screen.

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