‘Inside Out’ Writer Meg LeFauve Promoted To Director on Disney’s ‘Gigantic’

Meg LeFauve, screenwriter of Inside Out and The Good Dinosaur, will co-direct Gigantic alongside Nathan Greno (Tangled). The Disney animated feature is currently scheduled for release on November 18, 2018.

When the project was officially announced last year, Greno described it as “the definitive version of Jack And The Beanstalk,” while promising that “It’s not what you’ve seen before. It’s not one big castle with one big giant walking around.” In this new version, Jack discovers a world of giants in the clouds and teams up with a 60-foot-tall, 11-year-old girl to find his way back home.

It has previously been announced that Frozen’s husband-and-wife songwriting team Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez will provide songs, and Dorothy McKim (Meet the Robinsons, Get a Horse!) will produce.

The hiring of LeFauve represents a new trend at Walt Disney Animation Studios in which screenwriters ascend into the director’s chair. Jennifer Lee, who wrote the screenplay for Wreck-It Ralph and Frozen, was promoted to director during the production of the latter film. A similar situation appears to have occurred here with LeFauve, who was working on Gigantic’s story before her promotion.

The trend represents a significant departure from Disney tradition, where directors have nearly all been visual artists who started in either animation or story. The strategy worked well on Frozen, which ended up as the highest-grossing animated feature of all-time.

LeFauve’s new directorial role was first announced yesterday by the Hollywood Reporter.