They subsequently confirmed that the smooch had been restored. Hawthorne reportedly meets her love interest after her and Buzz land on a strange planet and later alludes to her getting married to her. She reportedly can be heard saying: 'It's funny, I wouldn't have met her if we hadn't been stranded,' according to USA Today.
The kiss was previous removed from the film before being reinstated after workers at Pixar Studios - which is owned by Disney - sent a letter to Disney CEO Bob Chapek, accusing the company of hiding same-sex affection. 'Nearly every moment of overtly gay affection is cut at Disney’s behest, regardless of when there is protest from both the creative teams and executive leadership at Pixar. Even if creating LGBTQIA+ content was the answer to fixing the discriminatory legislation in the world, we are being barred from creating it,' Pixar employees wrote in a March letter to the company. In addition, at least four recent feature films were altered to appease the views of leadership in China, Russia and the Middle East. The character is friends with Buzz Lightyear (Chris Evans) Sources close to the production told Variety that while Hawthorne's relationship was never questioned, studio execs opted to axe the kiss in an apparent move to avoid controversy.
Insiders allege the decision to keep the kiss could be a turning point for Pixar, which has only featured a handful of 'unambiguous LGBTQ characters' in its 27-year history.īut, it remains unknown if Disney will opt to censor the scene for its international markets after its release this upcoming June. The company has previously kept moments of LGBT affection in its American films, but removed or changed them in its more conservative markets, including in Russia and the Middle East. Pixar released Onward, an animated feature that tells the tale of two elf brothers who embark on a magical quest to spend time with their late father, in February 2020.