When [John] Lasseter and [Ed] Catmull came aboard [the failing Walt Disney Animation Studios team], they were encouraged to consider shuttering Disney Animation altogether and replacing it with the ascendant Pixar. But Dumbo is Lasseter’s favorite movie of all time. As a child, Catmull spent countless hours imagining himself in the worlds of Pinocchio and Peter Pan. It was Disney that inspired their careers in the first place.

“There was so much pressure on us to close these doors,” Lasseter says. “Ed and I absolutely could not do that.”

If you’re needing a little inspiration for your week, you NEED to be reading this amazing article from WIRED magazine. It’s an in-depth look at turn of the 21st century Disney animation and the heart John Lasseter’s team has put into turning the studio around. 

JUST LOOK AT ALL OF JOHN’S TOYS IN HIS OFFICE (in the first photo). We need to be friends with these men (Ed is on the left, John’s sitting down).

The second photo shows three more inspirational guys in Disney animation: Big Hero 6 producer Roy Conli and director Don Hall and Chris Williams.

Check out the full article here: Big Hero 6 Proves It: Pixar’s Gurus Have Brought the Magic Back to Disney Animation

- Courtney (HarmonicaCave)