Pixar's Pete Docter Says Studio Has No Plans for Any Live-Action Remakes, Only Original and Unique Films

Chief Creative Officer at Pixar Studio, Pete Docter, is rejecting the idea of live-action remakes, the recent fad among its sister studio, Disney. In a recent interview with Time, the filmmaker discussed how crucial the success of Inside Out 2 is to the future of the animation studio.

“If [Inside Out 2] doesn’t do well at the theater, I think it just means we’re going to have to think even more radically about how we run our business.”

Docter was asked about a viral fan campaign to make Ratatouille into a live-action film, and he explained that this is something he doesn’t even want to consider.

“No, and this might bite me in the butt for saying it, but it sort of bothers me. I like making movies that are original and unique to themselves. To remake it, it’s not very interesting to me personally.”

Docter said that making a live-action film about a rat “would be tough” and added, “So much of what we create only works because of the rules of the [animated] world.” He went on:

“So if you have a human walk into a house that floats, your mind goes, ‘Wait a second. Hold on. Houses are super heavy. How are balloons lifting the house?' But if you have a cartoon guy and he stands there in the house, you go, ‘Okay, I’ll buy it.’ The worlds that we’ve built just don’t translate very easily.”

He has a good point. It would be a nightmare trying to remake Toy Story or Monsters Inc. in live-action format. I just can’t imagine they’d have the same charm as their animated originals.

Docter directed and wrote 2015’s Inside Out with the sequel being directed by Kelsey Mann. The animated sequel features a voice cast that includes Amy Poehler, Phyllis Smith, Lewis Black, Diane Lane, and Kyle MacLachlan.

Inside Out 2 opens wide in theaters on June 14th. I got to see a sneak peek of the film, and it’s a ton of fun!