Is trouble brewing at Pixar? For the fourth time in their last eight films, Pixar has removed and replaced the director of one of their films. While a replacement has not yet been named, Disney revealed that Bob Peterson, the Oscar winning director of UP, is no longer in charge of next year’s THE GOOD DINOSAUR.
According to The LA Times, Peterson will have his duties spread amongst various people until an official replacement is named. Those stepping in will include Pixar CCO John Lasseter, TOY STORY 3 director Lee Unkrich, BRAVE director Mark Andrews (who replaced Brenda Chapman on that film a few years ago), and THE GOOD DINOSAUR co-director Peter Sohn.
Pixar has come under more scrutiny in recent years for what many consider declining quality. While their films still are of much higher quality than most other animated movies (and some live action as well), critics have panned their reliance on sequels which the studio was opposed to doing for many years. With a very in depth array of films on the horizon, the question has to be asked if there is something causing these delays. Pixar President Ed Catmull made this statement:
“All directors get really deep in their films. Sometimes you just need a different perspective to get the idea out. Sometimes directors … are so deeply embedded in their ideas it actually takes someone else to finish it up. I would go so far as to argue that a lot of live-action films would be better off with that same process.”
Peterson is still employed at Pixar but has made no comments about his removal nor was he present at Disney’s D23 convention where all of their upcoming animated films were announced to the world. THE GOOD DINOSAUR is well into production and tells the story of a world where dinosaurs never went extinct. The production art looks to be a much more original story than we have seen in a while but still keeping that Pixar charm we have come to expect. Hopefully this removal doesn’t mark THE GOOD DINOSAUR and we still get a great film.
THE GOOD DINOSAUR features the voices of Lucas Neff, John Lithgow, Frances McDormand, Neil Patrick Harris, Judy Greer, and Bill Hader. It is scheduled to open on May 30, 2014.