In a recent wave of layoffs at Walt Disney Company, even Pixar was not spared from the unfortunate consequence of job cuts, resulting in the departure of key members from the creative team behind the film Lightyear.

Among those who were affected were director Angus Maclane, a highly experienced animator with 26 years of involvement in notable films like Coco, Incredibles, and Toy Story 4, and Galyn Susman, who had been with the studio since the release of the original Toy Story in 1955, also experienced a loss of position. 

These layoffs took place in late May as part of Disney planned reduction of 7,000 positions. It is worth noting that Pixar rarely experiences such cuts, with the last significant instance occurring in 2013 during the delay of The Good Dinosaur.

The film was successful in bringing abroad Chris Evans, known for his role as Captain America, to voice the character in “Lightyear.” However, despite their efforts, the film fell short of its anticipated success at the box office, only generating $226.7 million worldwide against its $200 million budget. Some attribute the underwhelming box office numbers to the absence of Tim Allen, the renowned actor who was long voiced Buzz Lightyear in previous Toy Story films 

In addition to MacLane and Susman, Michale Agulnek, Pixar’s President of worldwide publicity, was also impacted by the layoffs and lost his potion. Despite efforts to contact Agulenk for a response, he has not made any public comment regarding the matter.