‘Toy Story 3’ and ‘Coco’ Producer Signs Development Deal with Netflix
Veteran Pixar Animation Studios producer Darla K. Anderson has inked a multi-year development deal [...]
Veteran Pixar Animation Studios producer Darla K. Anderson has inked a multi-year development deal with Netflix, Variety reports.
Anderson will develop and produce both animated and live-action films and series for the streaming service, ending a hiatus she embarked on last year when she announced in March she was leaving Pixar after 25 years.
"Darla is one of the most successful and accomplished producers in the entire film industry and her creative instincts for championing and shepherding films that transcend borders is truly unmatched," said Melissa Cobb, Netflix's vice president of kids & family.
"Together with Darla we will seek to bring more unique and diverse voices and entirely new mediums of storytelling to our global audience on Netflix."
"I've been fortunate enough to have spent the entirety of my career working with art to try to change the world, and I can think of no more thrilling place than Netflix to continue down that path as Melissa Cobb and her team are building their next-generation animation studio and ambitious slate of programming from the ground up," Anderson said in a statement.
She first served as producer on early hits A Bug's Life and Monsters, Inc. before producing 2006's Cars and 2010's Toy Story 3, only the second Pixar film to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture.
Last year, Anderson took home an Oscar when the Lee Unkrich-directed Coco won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature Film, Pixar's ninth prize in the category.
The move comes as Netflix ramps up its child and family-friendly offerings to better compete with Disney's upcoming streaming service, Disney+, which will serve as home to the animated Star Wars: The Clone Wars revival as well as new series inspired by its Marvel, High School Musical and Monsters, Inc. properties.
Other projects in the works at Netflix include Over the Moon, from longtime Disney animator Glen Keane (The Little Mermaid, Tangled), and The Willoughbys, under Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2 director Kris Pearn.
Anderson's longtime collaborator, Toy Story 3 and Coco director Lee Unkrich, exited Pixar last month to spend "much-needed time" with his family and pursue interests "that have long been back-burnered."
It's the latest change to come out of the studio, which next brings Toy Story 4 to life in June: co-founder and former chief creative officer John Lasseter left the company following reports of misconduct with Pixar employees, and was most recently installed as the head of Skydance Animation.
Up and Inside Out filmmaker Pete Docter, a longtime member of the Pixar Brain Trust who has been with the company since the first Toy Story in 1995, now fills Lasseter's role at Pixar.
