Disney named Jonathan Garson Pixar president to succeed Jim Morris on January 4, 2027, setting up a new management team at Pixar Animation Studios as Jonas Rivera expands his creative oversight. Alan Bergman, chairman of Disney Entertainment, Studios at The Walt Disney Company, announced the transition on Wednesday. Pete Docter will stay on as chief creative officer, and veteran producer Jonas Rivera moves into an expanded role as EVP of creative. Morris will step into a president emeritus post as he prepares for eventual retirement [2].
The January 2027 Transition
The leadership changes take effect at the start of the year, giving Pixar two months to prepare before Garson takes charge of daily business operations across the studio. Bergman said the plan aims to ensure stability as Morris winds down a career that spanned decades at Disney and Lucasfilm. “Having worked closely with Jim Morris for more than 20 years, I have enormous respect for his leadership and unwavering commitment to Pixar and its people,” Bergman said [2].
Both Garson and Morris will report to Bergman as the new structure takes shape in Emeryville. Disney hasn’t named a retirement date for Morris, who plans to handle special assignments and advise staff on tech programs that help artists. That setup leaves Docter and Rivera to guide story choices, and Garson will manage budgets, staff headcounts, and tools across the facility. It gives the studio two distinct leadership tracks, pairing creative direction under veteran directors with business oversight under experienced managers who know how to keep feature releases moving forward on time [1].
The shift arrives after two years of budget cuts across Disney’s entertainment units. Executives asked every unit to trim costs, and Pixar will rely on this new executive team to meet those goals in January [1].
Jonathan Garson at Pixar
Garson has worked for parent company Disney for more than 30 years and joined Pixar in 2010. He led the marketing and franchise group before moving up to general manager, where he ran daily business matters. The incoming Jonathan Garson Pixar administration will run film operations in partnership with chief creative officer Pete Docter, giving the new president direct oversight of producers, department heads, and post-production crews [1].
Garson recalled his early days as a fan of animation when discussing his promotion, noting how much early computer work inspired him before he joined the company. He said that watching Toy Story for the first time shaped his view of what digital artists could achieve on the big screen. “Jim has shown me what it looks like to safeguard this culture of quality, innovation, and creative ambition, and I’m extremely grateful to both him and Alan for their trust and support,” Garson said. In his new post, he will work closely with a filmmaking team led by Katherine Sarafian and Lindsey Collins, two long-time producers who have guided several major Pixar releases through complex film schedules [1].
Garson won’t direct animated movies himself. His job centers on giving crews the tools, budget, and time they need to deliver each film without delay [1].
Rivera Takes on Creative Duties
Jonas Rivera joined Pixar in 1994 as its first production intern. He went on to work on almost every release, earning a Best Picture nomination for producing Up and winning two Oscars for Inside Out and Toy Story 4 before executive producing Inside Out 2 in 2024. That hit became the top-grossing animated title in company history [2].
When Disney promoted Rivera to EVP of film production back in 2022, his duties covered operations for both theatrical films and streaming shows. Now he leaves business operations behind to partner with Docter on creative choices across all upcoming feature projects. Rivera will supervise directors, creative vice presidents, story development groups, casting staff, and content advisement departments throughout the Emeryville campus. He and Docter will also serve as executive producers on every future Pixar movie that enters production, providing steady artistic guidance from early concept art through final picture lock [1].
“Ever since I walked through these doors as Pixar’s first production intern, this place, its people, and its stories have been my life’s work,” Rivera said. He said that lessons from Morris will guide him in his new creative role [1].
Jim Morris and Jonathan Garson at Pixar
Morris took over as Pixar president in 2014, becoming only the second person to hold that title after co-founder Ed Catmull helped build the studio. During his 12 years in the post, Pixar’s features earned more than $12 billion at the global box office. Before joining Pixar in 2005, Morris spent years at Lucasfilm as general manager of ILM and president of Lucas Digital Ltd [2].
Morris endorsed the incoming Jonathan Garson Pixar leadership team as he prepared for his eventual exit from daily management. “After 52 years in the business, and almost 40 at Lucasfilm and Pixar, I’ll be stepping back from the day-to-day, but I’m thrilled to move into handling a number of special projects,” Morris said. He described Garson as someone who understands company culture and will defend artists as industry conditions change. Dan Sarto, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network, reported that Morris will shift his focus to artist mentorship and tech programs across Walt Disney Studios [2].
Morris won’t step away completely. He will stay on as executive producer of Incredibles 3, helping guide the sequel while Garson and Rivera run daily operations [2].
Labor Caps and the Film Slate
The leadership transition comes as Pixar reshapes its animation pipeline after steep staff cuts. In May 2024, Pixar eliminated around 175 staff roles, shedding about 14% of its team in the largest layoffs in company history. Morris said at the time that the cuts stemmed from ending Disney+ series work so animators could focus on theatrical feature films [1].
Management adopted a long and lean plan to curb spending across all movie projects in Emeryville. Future films face a cap of 16,500 person-weeks of labor. That ceiling marks a sharp drop from earlier productions, which consumed between 18,500 and more than 20,000 person-weeks of work before Disney ordered company-wide spending cuts to stabilize its film business. Under these rules, Garson and his producers must map out schedules with faster turnaround times, cutting down on late script rewrites to protect the visual polish audiences expect in theaters [1].
Recent releases proved moviegoers still buy tickets for original and franchise animation, with Hoppers and Toy Story 5 generating strong box office returns after the latter topped $1 billion worldwide in June. Pixar’s calendar now points toward two original features, with Gatto set for March 5, 2027, and Ghost Market scheduled for March 10, 2028. After those original projects arrive in theaters, Incredibles 3 will follow in June 2028 [2].
- ONLINE NEWS Lang, J. (2026, November 5). Jonathan Garson to Succeed Jim Morris as Pixar President. Cartoon Brew. [Article Link]
- ONLINE NEWS Sarto, D. (2026, November 4). Jonathan Garson to Succeed Jim Morris as Pixar President. Animation World Network. [Article Link]
