Pixar is facing a 'ton of change' but studio boss is excited by it

Watch: Pixar CCO Peter Docter and Inside Out 2 director Kelsey Mann talk studio's future

The animation industry is changing, and Pixar has found itself at the centre of that in recent years with job cuts, movies being sent straight to streaming, and an apparent shift in focus from fewer personal stories to films with "mass appeal".

Pixar was even in the news recently after it was announced that it would be cutting down its workforce by 14%, which amounts to 175 jobs. But Pixar creative chief officer (CCO), and Inside Out 2 executive producer, Pete Docter tells Yahoo UK that he is not worried about the studio's future because while there is a "ton of change" to come it is an "exciting" period for the company as well.

Read more: Is Pixar’s sequel strategy working?

When asked about the company's future amid factors like streaming, AI technology, and the recent shifts at Pixar, Docter says: "If you're excited by change it's very exciting, if you're scared, if you're anxious about change, maybe it's [not].

"Looking back, I've been lucky enough to be at Pixar for 33 years now and the first 30 or so was pretty consistent and now suddenly, boom, there's a lot more out there. As you say, there's all new technology. For me, personally, I find that exciting, I think it means we're going to have to shift things up a lot."

Inside Out 2 director Kelsey Mann agreed with Docter, comparing the studio's current situation to the teen protagonist of his film.

"It's funny it's almost like Pixar is kind of hitting their teenage, change years, very similar to what Riley is going through with the unknown, not sure what the future is going to be," Mann says. "We could be very anxious about it or we could try to use the anxiety. Like, how can we help plan for it but then have Joy step up and be optimistic and hopeful for what we can do."

Docter adds: "In a weird way, the way we make films is constantly changing. As a kid I always thought Walt Disney was in bed and he just [wakes up saying] Dumbo and it's all in his head, and then you just make it.

"Then you realise no, the truth is you start [at one end] and it's constantly shifting and changing just like life, just like you as a human being. And so, for me, the idea that the industry is getting shaken up, I'm kind of excited by it."

Pixar was forced to release its last three films —Soul, Luca, and Turning Red— on Disney+ because of the Covid pandemic. Docter readily admits he found the whole thing "a little bit sad, frankly" rather than have the chance to release them in cinemas as intended.

He explains: "Soul was the first one, so we'd been planning it, seeing it on the big screen and then 'oh Covid'. Now, look, I'm happy people got to see it because otherwise we would have shoved it under the couch and moved on.

"But we make these to be seen with a group, with people, and to see them big, the amount of detail inside it too is just crazy. So, to think of people watching it on their phone, I mean maybe someday, but for now, for the first experience you want to see it on the big screen."

Read more: Amy Poehler says Inside Out 2's approach to anxiety ‘so smart’

Inside Out 2 is one of Pixar's biggest sequels in recent years, giving the audience new insight into Riley as she turns 13 and puberty hits, bringing with it all new emotions including anxiety. Mann first came on board for the sequel in January 2020, and his experience during the Covid pandemic helped shape the narrative that viewers are now able to see in cinemas.

"I started at the studio and then I went home and the first year was kind of just me working on my own, and then Meg LeFauve, who was on the first film, she came on and we worked virtually for months and, boy, talk about anxiety, at the beginning I was drawn to anxiety as a new emotion. I go, 'oh, I could do a movie about that.'

"I was looking at what teens were going through and anxiety was on the rise in teens at that time, especially girls, and then we went into the pandemic and it got worse for everybody.

"This is the time in your life when you start to be really self-conscious and you start to compare yourself to others and you become really anxious about what's going to come next. That's what anxiety is all about, the future and the unknown threats. A lot of unknown threats, they start to pop up when you're a teenager."

Inside Out 2 is Mann's feature directorial debut after working with Pixar since 2013, and he describes the transition from story supervisor to director as "wonderful".

He shares: "I was so excited when we first met and [Pete was] talking about worlds that we could potentially go back and revisit, and I'm like, 'oh, I think you might ask me to direct a sequel', and I started going down all the movies that I had worked on and I'm like 'Which one is he talking about?'

"And then [he] said Inside Out and it wasn't even on my radar, I was thinking stuff that I was the story supervisor on. And then [he] said Inside Out and I was like, 'woah'. It kind of surprised me and excited me because I love that first film.

"I was on other movies while you guys were making it, I go to the screenings like every other movie we make in the studio but I was on a whole other movie so to be invited into this world that I loved going to as an audience member was fantastic.

"Then for the sequel I got to do what I wanted from an audience member's point of view, like I want new emotions, I want the puberty alarm to go off, I could actually make those things happen, which was pretty cool."

One thing that Mann has introduced into the world of the animated movie is the concept of a belief system and how a person creates their Sense of Self. Reflecting on the notion, Mann shares: "My favourite sequels are the ones that open doors that you didn't even know were there.

"We wanted to go to new places and see new things. This world's really funny because ideas just come out pretty quickly... the hard part is going 'OK why do we have that in the movie? Why is it necessary to tell Joy and Riley's story right now?'

"And the belief system is a great example because Riley's a teenager, right? And that time is when you start to develop who you are as an individual... and we got really excited about like beliefs, and then I got really excited for the belief system. I'm like, I want to go down and see what Riley's belief system looks like and it's one of my favourite sets.

"It's gorgeous, it's so beautiful, it takes so many different departments to make that happen, that's lighting, and effects, and sets, and animation and all that working together to pull off what's up there on the big screen. It's gorgeous, you've got to go see it on a big [cinema] screen."

Inside Out 2 is out in cinemas now.