Pixar's baffling NFL partnership

And a trailer so confusing it just might work

What to know

• Disney and ESPN team with the NFL for “Toy Story-ified” football broadcast… What the hell? The October 1 match up between the Jacksonville Jaguars and Atlanta Falcons will be presented in an alternative, fully animated real-time live stream on Disney+ in the Toy Story universe. The field will be laid out on Andy’s bedroom floor and the OG Toy Story characters will be on the sidelines; Duke Caboom will perform a motorcycle stunt at half time. Putting aside the fact that this makes no sense canonically—Duke Caboom wasn’t introduced in the canon until Andy was older—this reeks of try-hard corporate synergy and a cynical attempt to indoctrinate younger audiences into NFL fandom. The NFL pulled a similar stunt with its Nickelodeon broadcasts, which added slime to games in real time. I guess it’s cool that there’s technology to animate a live sports event, and there might be some young Jags and Falcons fans out there that will love this, but this is giving me real late-stage capitalism blues. 🏈

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