Pixar had an animated musical movie in development for three years that was thematically similar to KPop Demon Hunters, but Disney brass killed the project in 2023 reportedly because, according to one former Pixar employee, “Disney just didn’t feel like little boys could see themselves in the film enough. Basically, Disney reps were like, ‘We can’t have a girl power movie.’”
Titled Be Fri (stylized as BeFri), the film’s creative team included director Kristen Lester (Purl), screenwriter Blaise Hemingway (Clifford the Big Red Dog), editor Nicholas C. Smith, and at least 50 other Pixar employees.
“Inspired by Lester’s real-life experience involving an adolescent friendship that dissolved, Be Fri was to focus on two teenage girls who were once besties but find themselves drifting apart after learning that their favorite, Sailor Moon-style TV show is real and that they need to set out on a universe-spanning quest to save humanity,” according to The Hollywood Reporter.
