For Pixar’s first original series on Disney+, the studio behind such animated classics as the “Toy Story” franchise and “Inside Out” movies dusts off one of the most reliable metaphors for this American life — baseball, or in this case, softball.

In “Win or Lose’s” eight interconnected episodes of around 20 minutes each, the characters range from a stressed-out middle-school player whose dad is the team’s coach to a commitment-phobic 32-year-old umpire and teacher. They sometimes strike out, commit very human errors and drop the ball. But they come back, too. Each episode culminates with the start of the championship game, a day of reckoning for all involved.

How does it all turn out? You just have to stick it out through all eight innings. But suffice to say that the new series is one of your best viewing options this weekend, along with the new film adaptation of Stephen King’s “The Monkey.”

The animation is, of course, first-rate, and since this is Pixar, the characters are given far more depth and dimension than what you’d find in most nonanimated films.

If it feels familiar at times, that might well be because the themes in “Win or Lose” are universal. The voice talent includes Will Forte, Izaac Wang, Lil Rel Howery, Melissa Villaseñor and my favorite, Rosa Salazar, voicing the best episode as a social-media-loving mom.

The music from composer Ramin Djawadi, and original songs by L.A. music duo Campfire and Djawadi, are also a highlight. “Win or Lose” notches another Pixar win and proves yet again how the studio remains an animated champ.

3½ stars out of 4

When and where: Eight episodes on Disney+. The first two are streaming, with two more to be released Wednesday and March 5 and 12. Each episode is approximately 20 minutes