Lee Unkirch, director of the award-winning Toy Story 3 and the very recent Coco, has decided to leave the animation studio Disney Pixar. The news comes directly from Unkirch's Twitter account with a short post in which we read:
After twenty-five incredible years, it's time to leave Pixar. The time has come for new adventures.
After twenty-five incredible years, I've decided to leave Pixar.
The time has come for new adventures. pic.twitter.com/0KZyHXhs8L
- Lee Unkrich (@leeunkrich) January 18, 2019
Pete Docter, director of Academy Award winners Up and Inside Out, commented on his colleague's exit from Disney Pixar, dedicating the following to him:
Lee came to Pixar while we were making Toy Story and has had a profound effect on all of the movies ever since. He literally taught us the staging, how to build the scenes and edit them. His artistic skills and industry experience as an editor and co-director was one of the most important reasons behind the high quality of our films, and when Lee started working as a director, his ability to find a deep humor and emotion allowed him to create some of the most solid films we've ever made. We will miss him very much, but we are enormously grateful for his relentless commitment to quality and his ability to touch the hearts of audiences around the world.
Even the famous Brad Bird he said he was sorry for the news, thanking his friend with a simple: “Thanks for everything, Lee”.
