In an apparent recognition that the cultural landscape has shifted away from woke, Disney introduced the first overtly Christian character into its programming for the first time in nearly two decades.
The San Francisco Chronicle reported that a character named Laurie appears in the Pixar original animated series “Win or Lose,” which is airing on Disney+. That is the same series in which a transgender storyline was cut.
“Win or Lose” is about a championship youth softball tournament. “The first of the eight episodes opens with Laurie, a young girl struggling with self-confidence, alone on the bench, her hands clasped in prayer,” the Chronicle said.
“Dear Heavenly Father, please give me strength,” Laurie prays. “I have faith, but sometimes the doubt creeps in. … I just want to catch a ball or get a hit — for my team, of course.”
Disney deleted a trans scene and added their 1st openly Christian character in 2 decades pic.twitter.com/656XyyLyFP
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) March 6, 2025
It is somewhat reminiscent of a passage from Mark, chapter 9, when a father asked Jesus to heal his son — who was suffering from deafness and an inability to speak — “if you can.”
“If you can! All things are possible for one who believes,” Jesus responded. The father then cried out, “I believe; help my unbelief.”
Jesus spoke the word, and the boy was physically healed and freed from demonic oppression.
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Laurie’s prayer is the first Christian reference in a Disney production since the “Bridge to Terabithia” in 2007, which “featured the children Jesse and Leslie attending church together and discussing religion on their trip home,” according to WDW News Today.
In December, a Disney spokesperson explained the reason the company decided to remove the transgender element from “Win or Lose” saying, “When it comes to animated content for a younger audience, we recognize that many parents would prefer to discuss certain subjects with their children on their own terms and timeline.”
The wording of the statement suggested that Disney has decided to remove transgender content from its animated content altogether going forward. What a welcomed change that would be.
It is also a recognition that the United States remains a majority Christian nation. In fact, after decades of decline, the percentage has leveled off and grown slightly in recent years to 63 percent, according to Pew Research.
A new study from Pew Research found the number of people identifying as Christians is no longer declining.
This rise among Christians comes primarily from adults born in the 1980s (older millennials) and people born between 2000-2006 (older Gen-Z) pic.twitter.com/kILjmAlOrZ
— Ryan James Girdusky (@RyanGirdusky) February 26, 2025
A central truth held by the Christian faith found right in Genesis 1 is, “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.”
Jesus reaffirmed this truth, saying, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female …?”
It’s nice to see Disney coming around to respecting and honoring a large swath of the American faithful in its content. It’s a baby step, but it’s a start.
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