Lee Unkrich, som bland annat har regisserat mästerliga Toy Story 3 och Coco, rapporteras nu lämna Pixar efter 25 års filmskapande enligt Variety. Anledningen sägs vara att Unkrich vill prioritera familjen just nu. Så här sade han till sina kollegor hos animationsstudion:
"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
Han började hos Pixar som klippare för första Toy Story-filmen och har sedan dess fått förtroendet att delvis regissera andra klassiker som Monsters Inc., Toy Story 2 och Finding Nemo. Pete Docter, som nu är Pixars storhövding sedan John Lasseter lämnade skutan, hyllade sin kollega på följande vis:
"Lee arrived at Pixar as we were crafting 'Toy Story,' and he's had a profound effect on all Pixar films since. He literally taught us rookie filmmakers about staging, composition, and cutting. His artistry and expert craftsmanship as an editor and co-director became a major reason for the high quality of our filmmaking, and as Lee went on to direct, his ability to find the deep humor and emotion enabled him to create some of the strongest films we've made"
So long, partner