Walt Disney names creative heads of animation studios

(Reuters) - Walt Disney Co on Tuesday split the role of its outgoing creative head John Lasseter and appointed two Academy award winners to spearhead its two animation studios.

Jennifer Lee will be the Chief Creative Officer of Walt Disney Animation Studios and Pete Docter will take over the same role at Pixar Animation Studios.

Lasseter will leave at the end of the year, the company had said earlier this month.

Lasseter, the creative force behind movie hits like "Toy Story," "Frozen," and "Finding Nemo," was on a six-month leave of absence after what he called "missteps," including unwanted hugs that made employees uncomfortable.

Lee joined Walt Disney Animation Studios in 2011 as co-writer of "Wreck-It Ralph" and writer of "Frozen." Docter joined Pixar in 1990 and directed animated films such as "Up" and "Inside Out."

(Reporting by Supantha Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur)