John Kahrs Speaks About His Disney Departure

At the tail end of last month, we reported the sad news that John Kahrs, the director of Disney's fantastic short film Paperman, had left the Disney studio to pursue other avenues. As it was announced in a, strictly-speaking, unofficial manner, we got no comment from Kahrs or from Disney reps. But now we have just that; Kahrs and a Disney spokesperson offered statements on the move to The Wrap.

As we gathered from the upbeat tweets that announced the director's exit from the studio, the split is described as "amicable," with Kahrs apparently leaving to pursue bigger opportunities elsewhere.

“I will miss working with them, and feel lucky to have played a part in the revitalization of the studio,” said Kahrs, whose last day was Friday. “They have an abundance of projects; an incredible development slate, but I’ve decided to develop my own projects and pursue directing elsewhere. It was very amicable — they were very gracious about that — and I believe we all left the door open."

Walt Disney Animation Studios' next three feature films: Frozen (27th November), Big Hero 6  (7th
November, 2014) and Zootopia (4th March, 2016).

We've been incredibly excited for Disney's upcoming slate (which includes things like Frozen, Big Hero 6, Zootopia, Giants and Moana), but it seems that it's exactly that very stacked slate that has spurred the Paperman director into leaving. It's sad to see Mr. Kahrs go, but, wherever he's headed next, if we get a feature film from him sometime soon, you won't hear me complaining.

“John is an incredibly talented filmmaker and artist and all of us here at Walt Disney Animation Studios are proud of his vision for the stunning and innovative ‘Paperman,’” said a spokesperson for the studio. Adding, too, the business boilerplate of “we wish him the best in his future endeavors.” But, for the record, so do we.

Amidst all the talk of micromanagement, artistic stifling, doom and gloom, and generally glum hyperbole (watch this, by the way), it's refreshing to hear of a parting like this that's not steeped in controversy.