Monsters Inc. Up, Inside Out, and Soul. All four of these movies, critically-claimed

box office smashers, are the brainchild of Pete Docter. Fresh out of college, you

took a job as an animator at a small struggling firm that built computer hardware and made

TV commercials. 30 years later, that same firm Pixar is one of the most successful film

studios on the planet, and Pete Docter is its chief creative officer.

Welcome to People I mostly admire, with Steve Levitt.

Pete Docter already has two Academy Awards, and he's nominated for another this year for

directing the movie Soul. How does a mild-mannered Minnesota boy rise to the pinnacle of the film

industry? I have no idea. I'm also a mild-mannered Minnesota boy, almost the exact same age

as Pete Docter, and it's really hard for me to imagine how he pulled it off. And I have

to say, I'm a little bit jealous.

Pete Docter, it is an absolute joy to get to talk to you today. I've got six kids, and

I suspect I've spent more time watching your movies than just about anyone else. Thanks

for being here.

It's a pleasure to be here. Man, I'm sorry, six kids, it is a lot of kids.

I started over, which is a really unique situation where I've got four teenagers and two

toddlers, so I'm one of those rare people who gets the second chance to do better than

I did the first time.

There's a different the second time, and you feel like I'm a different parent.

You know, I really expected to feel very different, and I thought that I would be so much better,

but the reality is I was so sleep deprived the first time through. I can't remember any

of the lessons I was supposed to have learned. I think I'm just repeating almost all the

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