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Pete Docter | The Inside Out of Pixar’s Process | Mike Birbiglia’s Working It Out Podcast

Mike Birbiglia | November 1, 2025



In 2012, Mike Birbiglia was invited his film Sleepwalk With Me at Pixar and he’s been friends with filmmaker Pete Docter ever since. Known for his directorial feats of greatness with Monsters, Inc., Up, Soul, and Inside Out, Pete Docter is now the Chief Creative Officer at Pixar. Pete walks Mike through the Pixar “draft” process for developing a story, and reveals the ups and downs of being a Pixar director. Pete shares stories of his time spent with Steve Jobs, George Lucas, and some of the original Disney animators. Plus, advice on giving (and receiving) creative notes, and the story Pete’s Star Wars fan film he made when he was a kid.

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Hosted and Produced by Mike Birbiglia
Producers: Peter Salomone, Joseph Birbiglia, Mabel Lewis
Consulting Producer: Seth Barrish
Associate Producer: Gary Simons
Video Editor:
Video Consultant: Graham Willoughby
Special Thanks: Marissa Hurwitz, Josh Upfal, David Raphael, Nina Cwik, J. Hope Stein, Oona
Music: Jack Antonoff and Bleachers

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Written by Mike Birbiglia

Comments

This post currently has 28 comments.

  1. @shreyanshkartick

    November 1, 2025 at 4:44 am

    I love Pete Docter. He is so good at directing movies like Up, Soul, Inside Out, Monsters Inc. I cannot wait to see what he and the rest of the crew are cooking up for all of their upcoming Pixar projects.

  5. @ish474

    November 1, 2025 at 4:44 am

    I could tattoo "what I should have said was nothing" on my forehead and it still wouldn't be too in the nose for me. Birbiglia the prophet

  8. @poQuest2000

    November 1, 2025 at 4:44 am

    Great talk. People need to watch videos like this to remind themselves that actual people work on these movies. People who are trying their best. Movie making isn't easy. Sometimes you hit gold sometimes you mess up but you keep trying

  10. @bbrunoliveira

    November 1, 2025 at 4:44 am

    The only thing I miss about Pixar movies was the fun factor. I loved them all because they were fun and they just happened to be emotional. But now, it feels like they just want to make you cry and force you to feel something… They became boring

  16. @gdn86

    November 1, 2025 at 4:44 am

    I love this interview and how connected every artform really is. It's always going to be a combination of talent, perspective, opportunity and hard work. My son has some natural talent with art, and I think as a parent, I just have to not get in the way of those other things occurring naturally, and hope to influence their occurrence when it would otherwise be impossible. With that said, I hope AI does not destroy the future of artists ability to support themselves while making the things that give a lot of people purpose.

    The problem with AI is literally referring to it as such. The closest thing we have to true AI is in video games, and everyone knows how rudimentary that is. Everything they are calling "AI" right now is just exactly what he described, "take the average and smooth the edges". It cannot produce anything new or original, because the average isn't new or original. Unfortunately, a ton of corporations will just make everything worse by not using it correctly and a ton of people will lose their jobs over the next 5 years or so, until they figure it out. They can't wait to get rid of people. Instead of using the tools to improve conditions and output from your existing workforce, they will just figure out how to trim it down to a few people who understand how to use those tools while making those same people work way harder. All in the name of profit.

  19. @SaschaHinze-h5x

    November 1, 2025 at 4:44 am

    I watched this Episode and i thought at first it was really nice. Then i read the Hollywood Reporter Piece about Elio and i thought how horrible is this. Its ugly. If you want to make a movie for everyone you make a movie for no one. 😢

  21. @pepelepeau

    November 1, 2025 at 4:44 am

    Pixar was once a great innovator of animation. Seasons change, as do tastes and talent. I am so fortunate to have been a witness to the original teams in Point Richmond and now Emeryville. It’s crazy to think that I grew up not far away in Albany, CA. Their films have connected with a digital generation and been very influential. Once Lasseter left the company, there has been a hush. Some of the magic disappeared. I hope they can turn the tide after the dismal Elio and Lightyear misses. The law of averages is in their favor. It’s up to you kids now at schools like CALARTS to carry the torch. I say RUN and make it happen!

    My takeaway from Elio is that the evolving story of wishing for something like being abducted by aliens was a bit empty. If there were more flashbacks of his parents, and some emotional connection to his present-day living situation would have made sense. The story arc was stifled and not very strong. There was a deep overcoming and sadness in Elio’s life that was not properly addressed, and I am not sure why something seemingly obvious was overlooked.

    Olga Solis is Elio’s guardian after the loss of his parents. Olga is a brilliant Major in the Air Force who had planned to be an astronaut, but her career path changed when she took Elio, which could have had some interesting results. The family dynamic and her character were flat and not realized. She seems mean and self-centered, which is fine, but if she is all that, then let’s make it shine.

    I hope the current and future animators take from the earlier films and the brilliant moments from the earlier hits. There are so many lessons from these stories that are screaming for recognition for form, construction, and content. In the end, trust the process.

  24. @michaelmcbrd8

    November 1, 2025 at 4:44 am

    This is honestly one of the best podcasts I've listened to in a long while. First one where I only wanted to see the first minute, and ended up seeing the entire thing. Great guest, great interviewer, and insightful questions!

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