![Pete Doctor: "Some projects will push the limits of what we imagine being" a pixar film " [interview]](https://gruntstuff.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Pete-Doctor-Some-projects-will-push-the-limits-of-what.jpg)
Pete Doctor: “Some projects will push the limits of what we imagine being” a pixar film ” [interview]
Interview at the Annecy animated film festival with the director and creative director of Pixar, between Souvenirs de Toy Story and reflections on the future of the studio.
First: I was pleasantly surprised by the announcement of a new original film with Gatto. I was afraid that Pixar is now content to do chain consequences …
PETE DOCTER : For a while, we made two originals for a suite. Now, we are targeting one for one, which should give us the opportunity to play with a lot of new things, but also to revisit or deepen older characters and universes. It seems to me to be a good balance.
Speaking of balance, how have you found it since 2018 and your taking up of the artistic director of Pixar?
I wouldn’t say I found the balance, but I think I got used to the situation. I have as many knots in the belly as at the time (Laughter.)
When you arrived at Pixar, the creative impulse came from a small committee of white men. Things are now very different and I wonder what it has changed for the company and the films it produces?
I must still specify that when I started in 1990, I was the tenth animator to join the group and there was a lot of diversity for the time. In particular, there were a number of women in our ranks. But the animation is true, has long been composed mainly of white men. And let’s be honest the change was very slow … Recently, especially after the departure of directors who had been there since the start, we realized that we had to look for new voices more actively. Different people, with different ideas. There is always the job to do on that side, but it is necessary to note the evolution. And animation, in a perfect world, transcends ethnic origins: we put ourselves in the shoes of a pencil, a car, a monster, what do I know. It is an excellent pretext to share someone else’s experience, whether as long as creator or spectator.
Pixar films often started from a universal theme to reach a large audience. And I have the impression that, now, the scenarios of original films come from a very personal experience and aim for universality through it.
This is an exact observation. At first, we were looking for concepts that everyone could understand, common beliefs. For example: “there are monsters in my closet” or “my toys come to life when I am not there”. And as we have received a lot of compliments, we almost focused on these kinds of concepts. But it remains very important for us that there is a big idea, a grip that cans immediately. Because in the end, whatever you do, you always end up talking about you, human experience, because of living, to feel. Animation and narration in general are too complex things to be completely controlled in advance. You have to leave the instinct, the animal side, express themselves. It has to come to life, that it derails a little.
What was your ambition for the studio when you took the head of Pixar after the departure of John Lasseter? Did you have a specific plan?
I dreamed of a world where each artist would have the means to make his own film, in his own way. Where everyone would do very different, very personal works. And then I understood that we all have limits and that we absolutely need others. There are times when you are lost, and when someone should come and help you get out of it. Me, on Monsters & Cieit was John (Lasseter) and Andrew (Stanton) who came to reach out to me to rewrite things. But no one dares to say that he needs help, because we all want to prove that we can fend for himself. Except that it doesn’t work like that. We must find a harmony between artistic freedom – keep the initial vision – and collaboration, so as not to fall into something “corporate” and tasteless.
This year, Toy Story celebrates its 30th anniversary and the fifth installment is in the pipes. How do you approach the long-term management of such a deductible, especially after a spin-off, Buzz lightningwho did not have the expected success?
(Laughter.) It seemed logical at the time to do Buzz lightning… but good. The real challenge is that the public has expectations, he wants to review certain things, and at the same time, he wants to be surprised. If you give him exactly what he expects, he will be bored and that’s quite normal. But if you surprise him too much, he no longer recognizes the universe. So you have to navigate between the two. A good example is the opening scene of Toy Story 5 That we showed in Annecy: everyone expects it to be a game sequence, because this is what we have established in the previous four. And instead of that, Bam! We arrive with a scene that has nothing to do. I hope the rest of the film will find this balance.
During your presentation in Annecy, you mentioned that Disney had not wanted the first version of Toy Story. Can you tell us more?
In their defense, the characters were a little too naive. Too nice, too innocent. The feedback that was received from the studio said that it took more edge. We often heard the word “juvenile”. So we tried to understand what it meant. And after correction … We went too far. Woody had become a real bastard (Laughter.). To the point that at the end of 20 minutes, anyone wanted to stop the film. A real lesson. On each film, we are looking for the happy medium. Too much, not that … until you find the right dosage.
Is it possible that Pixar is launching a new branch of animated films for adults, perhaps more violent or graphic things?
(Laughter.) I don’t think. Not because the public is not ready, but because it is not my personal taste. I don’t like very violent films. Well, obviously, a dose of violence can serve a story, but that is not what attracts us. That said, some future projects go, I think, to push the limits of what we imagine to be “a pixar film”.
Streaming has become an essential issue for Disney. How do you manage the films and series border today?
For a while, everything went through Disney+ because of the covid. Had become the priority. We were asked to launch Win or Lose et Dreams Productionsprojects designed specifically for streaming. And it forced us to break our narrative habits in three acts a little. There, each episode could be a story in itself, and Win or Lose et Dreams Productions have taken very different paths concerning the narration. The other challenge was also the budget: half less than a feature film. So we had to be creative. And today, these lessons serve us to do more with the films. But we sailed a little at the start on streaming, and Disney understood that for a series to be profitable, it had to enter a very specific budget box. So we came back in priority almost exclusive to feature films, which is cool (Laughter.). And then we understood that a big success in theaters generally leads to a success in streaming.
Jared Bush, the artistic director of Disney, told me that there is a kind of collaboration between Disney and Pixar, since you look at the preliminary assemblies of each other. What does it bring to you?
What I like when I go to Disney is that I can see my own work from another angle. It is like an alternative reality. I say to myself: ” Ah well, the Andrew Stanton of this universe is such a person. » (Laughter.) And when I leave from there, I have clear ideas, or at least different. And then, we can read a still raw film. We understand when it is in its manufacture. If we are nine months before the output, we adjust our feedback. This cross viewing system is a great tool.
We cannot leave each other without you talking to us a little Gattoscheduled for 2027. What was the trigger, and how was this singular artistic direction imposed, very different from what we usually associate with Pixar?
As often, everything started from a catchy concept. This idea of a cat who lives his last life and makes a bad choice … And then? Where is it going? What is he doing? The story that Rico Casarosa told us was so gripping that we all said to each other: ” Ok, I want to know the rest. And of course, from there, the team began to explore a slightly different visual style. Enrico and Daniela (Strijleva, Cheffe Déco), who had already worked together on Lucawanted to go to something very specific. The film really took shape around the Venetian decor, it was through the city that it found its identity. It is expressive, very embodied. This is what animation can do better. We are not in photorealism – even if I love it too – but in a form that takes you to the guts and seems to tell you: ” This is what I feel. »
The new Pixar film, Elio, is today in theaters.
