Rampant cost-cutting has become the norm across many major multi-billion dollar corporations, with Disney proving itself to be particularly ruthless. The Mouse House has announced its latest round of layoffs, and some high-profile names have been thrown to the wolves.
Among the most prominent is Angus MacLane, a Pixar veteran who worked his way up the ranks to make his feature-length directorial debut on Lightyear. Having previously been involved with countless classics in various capacities during a career with the animation powerhouse that spanned a quarter of a century, it was a kick in the teeth when his Toy Story spin-off went down as one of the biggest bombs of 2022 after losing upwards of $100 million.
Just like that, though, he’s gone. Reuters revealed that MacLane was given his marching orders by the top brass, as was producer Galyn Susman. The latter may not be as well-known a Pixar alumni as the likes of John Lasseter, Brad Bird, Andrew Stanton, and Pete Docter, but she was nonetheless credited as the person who saved Toy Story 2 from extinction after an early version of the sequel was accidentally erased from the Pixar drives. Fortunately, Gusman had a backup copy on her home computer, and audiences were rewarded with an all-timer of a sequel.
In total, 75 cuts were made across the Pixar staff, but MacLane and Susman stand out for obvious reasons. If their involvement in a litany of greats isn’t enough to guarantee their futures, then anybody employed by Disney is arguably expendable as a result.
