Pixar wants to bring more diversity to its films and has promised that they would work to bring more “female, ethnic characters” to their films.
John Lasseter, the chief creative officer of Pixar, when speaking at a press conference for Pixar’s latest film, Inside Out, said that it was important to have ethnic minorities in main character positions to reflect their experiences, reports The Telegraph.
“It’s very important for us to have, both at Pixar and at Disney, female, ethnic characters,” Lasseter said. “And it’s grown in importance over time.”
“Animation when we got started was mostly guys, but we have been seeing more and more women and more and more people from all over the world starting to work with it.”
Lasseter continued, adding, “It’s very exciting to see that come up. And I think it will get reflected in the characters.”
He then pointed out that Disney itself is making a more concerted effort to branch out in its storytelling as well.
“We do have a new movie coming from Disney called Moana which is inspired by the legends and myths of Polynesia and Oceana,” he said. “Most people think fairy tales by and large are European, so we’re trying to reach out to find the origins of legends from all over the world.”