This is a man that has spent the majority of
his life with his eyes fixed on sheets of paper just inches from his
nose, as he brings to life phantasmagorical stories that seem to touch
upon an elemental yearning in his audience. “He can come
off pessimistic and cynical about modern society,” said Unkrich. “I
think he’s trying to chase a kind of purity, and a way of life and
another time, when things maybe weren’t so hectic and commercial.”

(The Greatest Living Animation Director Explains Why He’s Retiring)