Disney Scrapped Pixar’s “Be Fri” Movie. Insiders Blame “Girl Power” But That Sounds Like Malarkey

The Hollywood Reporter is reporting that Pixar has cancelled a movie that was in development for years called “Be Fri.” Insiders are claiming that Disney didn’t want a “girl power movie” but I call bull crap on that. Pixar has already done “Turning Red,” “Hoppers,” “Inside Out” one and two, and the “Win or Lose” show.  Disney has made many female-focused films over the years as well.

“Be Fri” was cancelled in 2023 before “Hoppers” and “Inside Out 2” were released, but they were already in development.

The film had a large team of 50 people that worked on it for three years before it got the axe.

(It was likely called “Be Fri” because that is what half of a “Best Friends” necklace says.)

What was “Be Fri?”

“Be Fri” was a movie from Kristen Lester and was about two teenage girls who were once best friends and apparently drifted apart. Oh, and their favorite Sailor-Moon-esque TV show is real, so they had to somehow save humanity.

The show reportedly went through four different iterations and never made it to the animation phase.

It never left the development phase. So, cancelling it really isn’t that big of a deal. Many shows get cancelled in development.

Concept Art

The concept art reminds me of a cross between “Steven Universe” and “Lore Olympus”.

Then the best friends seem to be in a completely different art style. It could be that the Sailor Moon-esque group were made more stylized and ethereal to stand out.

Why would Disney cancel this film?

The film was cancelled after “Lightyear” bombed at the box office, as families did not go. After that, the higher-ups reportedly cracked down on Riley’s identity in “Inside Out 2”, saying they needed to make her “less gay.”

“Elio” faced similar challenges with accusations that Disney had Pixar “strip the queer out” with one insider saying, 

“It was pretty clear through the production of the first version of the film that [studio leaders] were constantly sanding down these moments in the film that alluded to Elio’s sexuality of being queer.”

Another indicated that it was about identity, and without that, the movie wasn’t as good.

“Suddenly, you remove this big, key piece, which is all about identity, and Elio just becomes about totally nothing. The Elio that is in theaters right now is far worse than Adrian’s best version of the original.”

Recently, Pixar president Pete Docter stated that Pixar was in the business of making films, not therapy sessions

Seemingly in response to the backlash from Pixar, “insiders” were mad that Disney didn’t want identity issues to be a focus on children in family films, Pete Docter said,

“We’re making a movie, not hundreds of millions of dollars of therapy.”

While we don’t know if identity was a component of “Be Fri,” the coding on at least one of the girls seems to indicate that it is the case. The similarities of other characters to “Steven Universe” also make me wonder.

That being said, I think the premise sounds different and interesting. We all have had friends we drifted apart from, so that is relatable. I am a huge Sailor Moon fan, so that part sounds interesting as well.

Disney didn’t think “Be Fri” was worth pursuing. Frankly, it’s Disney’s money, and Pixar needs more hits and fewer misses. At the time of cancellation, they were already not doing well with “Lightyear” and “Elemental”.  “Inside Out 2” eventually did very well, but “Elio” flopped.

Ultimately, Disney (and Pixar) need to make money, and the identity films didn’t.