Win or Lose may be the title of animation giant Pixar’s latest release, but this new TV show is just as much about the taking part.

Following the ups and downs of a middle school softball team, the story unfolds from multiple perspectives as players, coaches, umpires and parents prepare for a big championship game. Along the way they’ll also have to conquer metaphorical representations of their hopes and fears – imagine Friday Night Lights with dream sequences and talking blobs of sweat and you get the idea.

So, as the inaugural season gets underway, here’s 5 things you need to know about Win or Lose

1. It’s Pixar’s first original TV show

Pixar, the multi-award-winning CG animation studio behind the Toy Story movies, The Incredibles and too many other big-screen classics to mention has made TV shows before. But up to now, every small screen release has been a spin-off from a movie, whether it’s Buzz Lightyear of Star Command, Monsters, Inc-inspired workplace comedy Monsters at Work, or – “from the world of Inside Out” – Dream Productions. The softball-focused Win or Lose is the first Pixar “franchise” developed specifically for TV.

2. You don’t need to be into sport to enjoy the series

Don’t know the difference between baseball and softball? That’s nothing to worry about because you don’t even have to be a sports fan to enjoy Win or Lose.

Although the show follows middle school softball team the Pickles during the week leading up to a big championship game, their exploits on the field are a tiny part of the story. In fact, the show is just as interested in exploring the hopes, dreams and anxieties of the players – and the grown-ups in their lives – when they’re away from the sporting action,

“There are so many facets to playing sports that I love,” says writer, director and executive producer Carrie Hobson. “It can bring out the best and worst of a person, the calmest person can lose their temper. And when it comes to winning and losing… the consequences are nothing, and yet they’re everything. We really felt like it was the best arena for the themes we loved.”

3. It’s told from multiple perspectives

While the numerous Marvel and Star Wars series on Disney+ have, at times, felt like movies stretched over multiple episodes, that’s definitely not the case with Win or Lose. The show’s format is purpose-built for the small screen, with each of the eight episodes focusing on a different character in the build-up to the big match.

In “Raspberry”, for example, talented catcher Rochelle finds herself out of her depth after a scheme to make money by helping other kids with their schoolwork spirals out of control. In follow-up episode “Pickle”, meanwhile, Rochelle’s story unfolds from the point-of-view of her social media-obsessed mum Vanessa – it turns out that mother and daughter have a very different perspective on everything that transpires.

“[Carrie and I] were both story artists on [Toy Story 4],” says writer, director and executive producer Michael Yates. “We would talk about a lot of things going on in the film, as well as things going on in the world. We would always have different reactions or different interpretations of the same meeting. One of us would say, ‘That went great!’ and the other would say, ‘No! It was terrible, what are you talking about?’ We realised that our own experiences that we bring to the table change our perception of an event. We wanted to tell a story that illustrated all of that.”

4. The action isn’t entirely literal

Pixar doesn’t tend to tell stories that could just as easily be told in live-action, and Win or Lose is no exception.

While, on one level, the show is the story of some kids playing softball, it also goes big on its visual metaphors to get inside the characters’ heads. So, in season opener “Coach’s Kid”, Laurie’s fears about being the weakest player in the team manifest themselves as a sentient, talking blob of perspiration known as Sweaty. When the capable Rochelle’s money-making schemes are going well, her clothes morph into a sharp business suit. Teacher and softball umpire Frank dons an actual suit of armour during moments of social anxiety.

5. It’s definitely not just for kids

Ever since the original Toy Story transformed the world of animation in 1995, Pixar has been making movies with enviable cross-generational appeal – cute characters and slapstick for the kids, sophisticated gags for the adults. As the studio has evolved, however, it’s also tackled increasingly grown-up themes, whether it’s loss in the later Toy Story films, forbidden love in Elemental, or the trials and tribulations of puberty in Turning Red and Inside Out 2.

Win or Lose continues on a similar trajectory, as the softball players confront their fears about fitting in or – in Rochelle’s case – feeling like the responsible adult in her household. The grown-ups also get plenty of time in the spotlight, as Vanessa struggles to hold down jobs as a single parent, and Frank makes a reluctant return to dating apps after a painful break-up. Lucky for him, an all-knowing school janitor is also on hand to play cupid.

Win or Lose is available to stream on Disney+ from Wednesday 19 February.