This article says it well:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/robcain/2017/11/24/pixar-will-be-better-off-with-lasseter-gone/

“John jumped the shark with Cars (Lasseter’s 2006 passion project which he turned into a 3-picture franchise) and after that Pixar became a toy company. It was the opposite of what the company had set out to be.”

No one would disagree that Lasseter was an invaluable contributor to Pixar’s launch and long-term success, along with Ed Catmull, Pete Docter, Lee Unkrich, Andrew Stanton, Joe Ranft, Brad Bird and Steve Jobs. As Sokolow says, “He was integral in setting the company’s initial culture along with Ed Catmull. John made it a place that stood for quality.”

But as often happens with communist dictatorships and Hollywood studios, Pixar gradually became more and more subject to the influence of one man, with unfortunate results. “Like a lot of kingdoms in show business, it’s a cult of personality,” Sokolow told me. “An autonomous empire where one person is in charge. And that can become a platform for abuse.”

Aside from his apparently career-jeopardizing transgressions in his personal relations with staffers, Lasseter also oversaw a watering down of his studio’s creative ambitions, and with that came a decline in the originality and impact of Pixar’s stories.

With Lasseter’s departure due to his self-described “missteps” in his physical and verbal interactions with his employees, Pixar will have an opportunity to make a fresh start and, many hope, to start making great movies again.

You don’t know him personally; you’re not in a position to dispute the claims made against him. He’s a middle-aged man and he knew what he was doing. He presents an image of being a goofy, likable guy with silly Hawaiian shirts, because that’s what you do when you’re talking to interviewers and doc crews, when you’re promoting a movie. He would never show his worst side to the public, just to the women he was harassing. He knows damn well how sliding his hand up a woman’s thigh is going to affect her. He knows that if you can’t be trusted alone with voice actresses much younger than you, something’s seriously wrong. You can’t set him apart from the others who have been accused just because he’s been involved in some movies you like. He never did this stuff because he thought it was acceptable behavior; he did it because he thought he could get away with it. I love Disney and Pixar and I appreciate the contributions he’s made to the animation industry, but it’s not worth it if he’s sustaining an unsafe work environment. If he doesn’t return, I say good riddance. At this point, they’ll be fine without him.

That’s pretty much my view on the whole matter; as far as I can tell, John Lasseter is a well-meaning soul, and he would never do anything with the intent of making someone feel unsafe or otherwise uncomfortable. And you can’t deny the fact that he was honest and morally upright enough to admit that what he did was wrong, and to apologize SINCERELY for his actions. For that reason, I, for one, am willing to forgive him, and hope that, when he returns (although part of me worries that he might not), he will be more careful in the future.

I agree wholeheartedly.

Assuming that John Lasseter is guilty of what he has been accused of, why would you want Disney to maintain a relationship with him because after all, as you say, he would have done inexcusable things? Wouldn’t it put a pall over every future movie he had a hand in that was trying to make a progressive point? I get that people are complex creatures who could happily maintain a cognitive dissonance about supporting women in public but also groping women in private (In John’s case, also in public) but wouldn’t it be difficult to celebrate a Disney movie about a wonderful heroine with the knowledge that the women who worked on it weren’t treated with a baseline of respect?

Here is the thing. Lasseter is an adult. At this point, he should be very well aware that one keeps one’s hands to themselves. You don’t touch anyone who doesn’t want to be touched by you. It’s a basic lesson children learn in kindergarten. Lasseter, supposedly, has a record of not understanding this especially in relation to young female employees. It wasn’t a one time, drunken indiscretion that he never again repeated. He either knew or should know that making passes to employees/subordinates or actually touching employees in an inappropriate way is a no go. It’s being reported that upper Disney execs would sometimes attach a “minder” to Lasseter at some events to prevent him from being alone with certain women and taking things too far. When a grown-ass adult needs a chaperone to prevent him from being a lecherous creep, you know something is very wrong.

DIsney is going to have to make a decision on whether Lasseter is worth risking Disney’s family friendly image over. His little leave of absence is less for Lasseter’s benefit and more for Disney’s benefit. It’s a way to let things cool down and figure out what to do with Lasseter and manage damage control. Don’t be too surprised if Lasseter “voluntarily” steps down as some face-saving measure.

Well, the official statement was that he would be taking a leave of absence for six months, so that gives me hope that he’ll come back. At the same time, though, I can’t shake the nagging fear that, for whatever reason, he may POTENTIALLY decide to resign permanently.

Consider, if you will, what happened when Kevin Clash– one of the key Muppet performers for SESAME STREET– was accused of improper conduct: The charges were ultimately dropped, but because of the controversy that the incident aroused, he ultimately severed his ties with Sesame Workshop.

(As you can probably tell, I most definitely do NOT want John Lasseter to suffer the same fate as Kevin Clash, however inexcusable his actions may have been in and of themselves…)

I know, that John should know that what he ultimately did was wrong, that is assuming if the allegations are completely true, that is why John is leaving for 6 months to hopefully reflect and how he can change into a better and more considerate man. Yeah I know, his “unawareness” isn’t really an excuse, but again, John really does not seem like a person with sinister, malicious intent, so his actions could possibly be benign, even if they are wrong. But in the end, John’s supposed actions, are still no where among the actual crimes of actual rapists and predators like Weinstein and Kevin Spacey. So, in the end, lets just see in 6 months.

Unless you know him in person, I don’t think you can make that call, or say he shouldn’t be in the same “boat” as other men who have also harassed or abused women. Just because he seems like a good guy, and hopefully IS for the most part, it doesn’t mean he shouldn’t be called out, or given lenience as opposed to any other person. You may feel you know him because of course in any interview or public appearance, he’s going to give off positive vibes and seem genuine and good. We’ve only ever seen the good things he’s contributed to as a creative in this industry. Of course, we don’t have every single detail of this situation, but if women have had to deal with any harassment, large or small, it doesn’t matter. They shouldn’t have to feel uncomfortable or unsafe, or even just irritated by a man ignorantly thinking he was doing nothing wrong. Also, because of his insanely huge and powerful position, it makes it that much harder for women to want or be able to speak up or take action on things said to them, no matter how large or small the incident. Can you imagine having to report someone with that much power and significance in a workplace? Whether it was his “intention” or if he was ignorant about anything he said or did, that doesn’t matter. In fact, that’s the problem. Being unaware that something he says or does is inappropriate is unacceptable. He SHOULD know what is and isn’t okay, and if he truly doesn’t, that doesn’t give him a free pass. I totally understand where you’re coming from, and it’s awful to see something like this come from a person we’ve looked up to and admired for so long (I always thought of him positively and as an inspiration, so I know how you feel; it’s really upsetting for me.) I just don’t think we can treat him differently because of previous feelings we’ve had. I hope this helps.

Aside from that, yes, the studios can be better. I, too, was disappointed with what happened.