Walt Disney Studio’s subunit, Pixar Animation Studios, has laid-off nearly five percent of its workforce due to delays of an impending film, “The Good Dinosaur.”
Approximately 60 out of 1,200 workers at the Emeryville, Calif., location was cut from the project.
In August, the original director, Bob Peterson, was removed from the film. Then a month later, the movie’s release date was pushed back from May 30, 2014 to Nov. 25, 2015.
It’s clear that Pixar is undergoing a lot of changes. In October, Pixar Canada shut down after only three years, which a Disney spokesman claimed was the result of a decision to move all further operations to Emeryville.
“A decision was made to refocus operations and resources under the one roof,” Barb Matheson told The Province. “Staff [was] just told today. Not great news, obviously. It was just a refocusing of efforts and resources to the one facility.”
After 80 layoffs and the shut down of Pixar Vancouver Studios, this is yet another episode that the business hopes to use as a way to improve their company’s performance.
“At Pixar, we are constantly re-evaluating the creative and business needs of our studio,” a Pixar representative reported to Los Angeles Times. “With the release date change of ‘The Good Dinosaur,’ we have realigned our production and support priorities, which includes a small reduction in our staffing levels.”
Pixar is known for numerous successful films such as, “Toy Story”, “Finding Nemo” and “Monsters Inc.” However, this will be the first time since 2005 that the company doesn’t release a yearly film.
“The Good Dinosaur” is said to be a very humorous film that paints a fairytale of asteroids never hitting Earth, ultimately resulting in humans and dinosaurs living together in harmony. Arlo, a loving Apatosaurus, goes on a journey that leads him to his human companion named Spot.
The upcoming film is to be co-directed by Peter Sohn. Voice actors include Frances McDormand, Neil Patrick Harris, and John Lithgow.
