Lee Unkrich Is Leaving Pixar After 25 Years

Lee Unkrich, in a letter to Pixar:

It is impossible for me to adequately express how epic this twenty-five year journey has been, and how much it has meant to work alongside such fantastic people and phenomenal talent. Many of you are like family to me, and it’s nearly incomprehensible to imagine no longer being here at Pixar with you. But life is about change, and it’s now my time for new challenges and new adventures. I’m not leaving to make films at another studio; instead, I look forward to spending much-needed time with my family, and pursuing interests that have long been back-burnered. And perhaps I’ll have some new stories to tell along the way.

He co-directed Toy Story 2, Monsters Inc., and Finding Nemo, and then solo-directed Toy Story 3 and co-directed last year’s amazing Coco. All great movies by any measure, but these Pixar films are particularly near and dear to my heart, because they’re the movies of my son’s childhood. Every one of them is funny, exciting, surprising, beautiful, and most importantly, brimming with a palpable sense of camaraderie. What does it feel like to have loving friends and family? Watch a Lee Unkrich movie.

★ Wednesday, 23 January 2019