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And a decade later, after that Wish screening, Lee who also served as the films co-writer and executive producer offered Veerasunthorn a directing role alongside Buck in early 2022. It was similar to the transition Lee herself had made on Frozen, when she joined Buck as a director midway through that production.

Talent is universal, I always say, but access hasnt always been, Lee said. If you give people a chance, theyll rise to the occasion. That happened to me.

Historically, Disney animated films have been the domain of male directors. Lee became the first woman at the studio to direct an animated feature with Frozen in 2013 and Frozen II in 2019. Since then, only Charise Castro Smith, a co-director on Encanto, and now Veerasunthorn, have joined the ranks. (At the Disney-owned Pixar, Brenda Chapman was replaced by a male director before the completion of Brave, in 2011. Domee Shi became that studios first solo female director on a feature, with Turning Red in 2022.)

For Buck, who made his directorial debut on the 1999 Disney film Tarzan, forgoing solo duties again was a welcome reprieve.

These movies are such monsters that, hats off to someone who can do it by themselves. I cant, he said, adding that he needs the support. I love the collaboration.

Away from the studio, Veerasunthorn and her husband, Ryan Green, whom she met in college and who also works in animation at Disney, share a daughter, Kina, who is 7. Shes one of the production babies listed in the end credits of Moana, and she provided valuable input on Wish. When Kina first watched the films ending, she was left bawling. Further test screenings would lead the directors to alter the finale to be less traumatic.

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Disney Rejected Her a Few Times. The 'Wish' Director Just Kept ... - The New York Times