Disney and Pixar announced that Frozen director Jennifer Lee and Inside Out director Pete Docter will replace chief creative officer John Lasseter, who was accused of making unwanted advances towards female employees and will leave Pixar at the end of the year, Variety reports.
Lee and Docter will split Lasseters duties, with Lee being named chief creative officer at Walt Disney Animation Studios, while Docter will serve as chief creative officer at Pixar.
Animation is the most collaborative art form in the world, and it is with the partnership of my fellow filmmakers, artists, and innovators that we look ahead to the future, Lee said. My hope is to support the incredible talent we have, find new voices, and work together to tell original stories.
Lasseter was a prominent figure at Pixar for years, helping to create some of the studios most beloved films, like Toy Story, Up and The Incredibles. But last November, in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein scandal, numerous Pixar employees accused Lasseter of inappropriately touching women and making unwanted advances, including grabbing, kissing [and] making comments about physical attributes.
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After the story broke, Lasseter took a six-month leave of absence from Pixar. At the beginning of June, Disney and Pixar announced that he would be leaving the company for good at the end of the year.
Lasseters replacements, Lee and Docter, have both enjoyed successful tenures at Disney and Pixar, respectively. Lee joined Walt Disney Animation Studios in 2011, co-writing Wreck-It Ralphthen co-directing the mega-hit, Frozen, which earned her an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. Lee recently helped adapt Frozen into a Broadway musical, while shes also working on the films highly-anticipated sequel.
Docter, meanwhile, has been at Pixar for nearly three decades and is considered an original member of the core group of storytellers known as the studios brain trust. Docter has helped craft an array of Pixar hits including Wall-E, Monsters, Inc. and Inside Out, while hes currently working on Toy Story 4. His directing credits include Inside Out, Up and Monsters, Inc.
I started here 28 years ago, Docter said. I am fortunate to work alongside some of the most talented people on the planet, and together we will keep pushing animation in new directions, using the latest technology to tell stories we hope will surprise and delight audiences around the world.