English actress Emma Thompson has revealed she quit an animated film over the production company's hiring of former Pixar executive and filmmaker John Lasseter.

Mrs Thompson was one of the voice actors set to take part in the upcoming film Luck, the first production from the Skydance Animation studio.

In January, it was revealed Skydance had hired John Lasseter - the director of Toy Story, Cars and other Pixar hits - as the head of its new animation department.

The veteran animator left Disney and Pixar permanently last year in the wake of allegations of unwanted physical contact with employees.

John Lasseter arrives at Disney Pixar's "Coco" Los Angeles Premiere held at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, CA on Wednesday, November 8, 2017. (Photo By Sthanlee B. Mirador/Sipa USA)

In a memo to employees in 2017, he apologised to "anyone who has ever been on the receiving end of an unwanted hug or any other gesture they felt crossed the line in any way, shape, or form".

Skydance head David Ellison said Lasseter had "apologised for his mistakes... [and] has endeavored to address and reform them."

However, the hire was met with some opposition - most prominently from Emma Thompson, who quietly left the production of Luck following the announcement.

'Taking a stand'

In an open letter to Skydance published in the Los Angeles Times, the actress has now opened up about her departure.

The Oscar winner said she "regrets" having to step away from the opportunity of working with Luck director Alessandro Carloni, but said she had several questions about the hiring of John Lasseter.

She observed: "It feels very odd to me that you and your company would consider hiring someone with Mr Lasseter’s pattern of misconduct given the present climate in which people with the kind of power that you have can reasonably be expected to step up to the plate.

"I am well aware that centuries of entitlement to women’s bodies whether they like it or not is not going to change overnight. Or in a year.

"But I am also aware that if people who have spoken out - like me - do not take this sort of a stand then things are very unlikely to change at anything like the pace required to protect my daughter’s generation."

Production on Luck is continuing, with the film scheduled for release in 2021.

Emma Thompson, meanwhile, is among the voice actors in the soon-to-be-released animated film Missing Link - the latest feature from US animation studio Laika.