The Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco has announced an exclusive panel featuring directors from the nearby Pixar Animation Studios, taking place at 1 p.m. on Saturday, May 17. Tickets go on sale for Walt’s Circle donors April 15; for Supporter, Founding and Friend-level members on April 16; all members on April 17; and to the pubic on April 18.
Directing At Pixar:
Looking for a new “direction” this Spring? Join us for an exclusive panel discussion moderated by Pixar producer Jonas Rivera with directors Carrie Hobson, Mike Jones, Peter Sohn and Michael Yates as they share insights about their experiences working in various departments at Pixar Animation Studios and directing projects encompassing television shows (including this year’s Disney+ series, Win or Lose), animated short films, and animated feature films.
Carrie Hobson began at Pixar Animation Studios as an art intern in 2012. She was hired full time in the Story Department in 2016 and worked as a story artist on the Academy Award-winning feature Toy Story 4 (2019) and was also the Associate Executive Producer of Luca (2021). Hobson most recently wrote, directed, and executive produced the new series Win or Lose, along with Michael Yates, which debuted on Disney+ on February 19.
Michael Yates joined Pixar Animation Studios in 2015 as a story artist. Yates worked on Cars 3 (2017), in addition to Academy Award®-winning films Toy Story 4 (2019) and Soul (2020). Yates is Director and Executive Producer of the new Pixar series Win or Lose, along with Carrie Hobson, which debuted on Disney+ on February 19.
Peter Sohn joined Pixar Animation Studios in September 2000 and has worked on Academy Award®-winning feature films including Finding Nemo (2003), The Incredibles (2004), and WALL•E (2008). Sohn made his directorial debut on the Pixar short Partly Cloudy (2009), and then went on to direct his first feature The Good Dinosaur (2015). He was an Executive Producer on Luca, which debuted on Disney+ in June 2021. Most recently, Sohn directed Disney and Pixar’s feature film Elemental, which opened in theaters on June 16, 2023 and is now streaming on Disney+. Elemental was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.
In his role as a Creative VP, Sohn is involved in key creative decision-making at the studio and consults on films in both development and production.
Mike Jones has been a writer and story consultant at Pixar Animation Studios since June 2013 and he joined the studio full time in March 2017. He co-wrote Pixar’s Academy Award-winning feature film Soul, which debuted on Disney+ on December 25, 2020, and Luca, which released on Disney+ on June 18, 2021. He has served on the brain trusts for many Pixar films including Finding Dory (2016), Incredibles 2 (2018), and the Academy Award-winning features Inside Out (2015), Coco (2017), and Toy Story 4 (2019). He also serves on the story trusts for many SparkShorts as well as features in early development. Most recently, Jones wrote, directed, and executive produced the original series Dream Productions, inspired by the world of Inside Out, and released on Disney+ in December 2024. Dream Productions also won the 2025 ASIFA Annie Award for Best Limited Series.”
More information available at waltdisney.org.
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