Adrian Molina

Last updated

Adrian Molina
Adrian Molina 2017.jpg
Born (1985-08-23) August 23, 1985 (age 39)
Alma mater California Institute of the Arts
Occupations
  • Screenwriter
  • storyboard artist
  • animator
Years active2006–present
Employer Pixar Animation Studios (2007–present)
Spouse
Ryan Dooley
(m. 2011)

Adrian Molina (born August 23, 1985) is an American animator, storyboard artist and screenwriter who works for Pixar. He co-wrote the screenplay and story of Coco (2017), which he also co-directed.

Contents

Early life and education

Molina was born in Yuba City, California to a Mexican family, and raised in Grass Valley, and he graduated from Bear River High School in 2003, to subsequently attend and graduate from the California Institute of the Arts in 2007. [1]

Career

Molina has joined at Pixar since 2007, where he started as a 2D animator on Ratatouille . He later moved on to be a storyboard artist, working on Toy Story 3 and Monsters University . [1] Molina also illustrated the Little Golden Book for Toy Story 3. [2] After writing for The Good Dinosaur , Molina started his first assignment as a screenwriter, for Coco , and later went on to co-direct the film. He also wrote several lyrics for the film. [1] [3] [4]

Following the success of Coco and the D23 Expo announcement in September 2022, Molina was announced to direct the upcoming feature film Elio , set to release on June 13, 2025. [5] [6] [7] [8] However in August 2024, Molina left Elio to work on another original film with Domee Shi and Madeline Sharafian directing instead. [9] Nevertheless, he is reportedly retaining his director credit because of the amount of work he directed that is being kept in the film. [10]

Personal life

Molina is gay. He has been married to Ryan Dooley since 2011. [11]

Filmography

YearTitle Director Writer Executive
Producer
Story
Artist
OtherNotes
2007 Ratatouille NoNoNoNoYes Animator: End Titles
2010 Toy Story 3 NoNoNoYesNo
2013 Monsters University NoNoNoYesYesAdditional Screenplay Material
Opening Title Designer and Director
2015 The Good Dinosaur NoNoNoNoYesAdditional Screenplay Material
2017 Coco Co-DirectorYesNoNoYesAdditional Voices, Songwriter
2019 Toy Story 4 NoNoNoNoYesPixar Senior Creative Team
2020 Onward NoNoNoNoYes
Soul NoNoNoNoYes
2021 Luca NoNoNoNoYesAdditional Story Contributions
Pixar Senior Creative Team
2022 Turning Red NoNoAssociateNoYesPixar Senior Creative Team
Lightyear NoNoNoNoYes
2023 Elemental NoNoNoNoYes
2024 Inside Out 2 NoNoNoNoYes
2025 Elio YesNoNoNoYes

Accolades

Accolades received by Adrian Molina
AwardDate of ceremonyCategoryFilmResultRef.
Academy Awards March 4, 2018 Best Animated Feature CocoWon [12]
Annie Awards February 3, 2018 Directing in an Animated Feature Production CocoWon [13]
Music in an Animated Feature Production CocoWon
Writing in an Animated Feature Production CocoWon
Humanitas Prize February 16, 2018Feature – FamilyCocoNominated [14]
Imagen Awards August 25, 2018Best DirectorCocoWon [15]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 "'Coco's Mexican-American Co-Director Adrian Molina Reveals Origins of Pixar's Día de Muertos Film".
  2. Spring Into Action! (Disney/Pixar Toy Story 3) by Annie Auerbach | PenguinRandomHouse.com.
  3. "Pixar Coco plot details revealed | EW.com". Entertainment Weekly . Retrieved December 7, 2016.
  4. Robinson, Joanna. "Pixar's Coco Is a "Love Letter to Mexico" When It's Needed Most". HWD. Retrieved December 7, 2016.
  5. "'Elio': Pixar Sets New Pic About 11-Year-Old Boy Beamed Into Space; America Ferrera Stars & 'Coco's Adrian Molina Directs". Deadline Hollywood . September 9, 2022. Retrieved September 9, 2022.
  6. Meyer, Joshua (September 9, 2022). "Disney Announces New Pixar Sci-Fi Adventure Comedy, Elio[D23]". /Film . Archived from the original on October 2, 2022. Retrieved December 8, 2022.
  7. Trench, Mikael (June 20, 2023). "Pixar's Elio - Everything You Need To Know". Looper . Retrieved August 27, 2023. The aforementioned director Adrian Molina is currently the only credited writer for Pixar's Elio.
  8. McClintock, Pamela (October 27, 2023). "Disney Delays 'Snow White' and 'Elio' a Year, Removes Jonathan Majors' 'Magazine Dreams' From Calendar". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved October 27, 2023.
  9. Taylor, Drew (August 10, 2024). "Pixar Chief Pete Docter Talks New 'Elio' Directors, Story and Casting Changes | Exclusive". TheWrap. Retrieved August 10, 2024.
  10. Julie & T.J. (August 9, 2024). "Pixar at the 2024 D23 Expo – News Consolidation". Pixar Post. Retrieved August 10, 2024.
  11. Crispim, Fabio (June 30, 2018). "'Coco' co-director Adrian Molina is 'all for' an LGBT Pixar film". attitude . Retrieved June 30, 2018.
  12. "Oscars: The Complete Winners List". The Hollywood Reporter . March 4, 2018. Archived from the original on March 5, 2018. Retrieved August 29, 2024.
  13. Giardina, Carolyn (February 4, 2018). "Annie Awards: 'Coco' Tops the Animation Celebration". The Hollywood Reporter . Archived from the original on February 4, 2018. Retrieved August 29, 2024.
  14. Pedersen, Erik (January 9, 2018). "Humanitas Prize Finalists Announced; Feature Awards Split Into 3 Categories". Deadline Hollywood . Archived from the original on January 9, 2018. Retrieved August 29, 2024.
  15. Ramos, Dino-Ray (August 26, 2018). "Imagen Awards: 'One Day At A Time', 'Coco' Among Honorees – Full Winners List". Deadline Hollywood . Archived from the original on August 26, 2018. Retrieved August 29, 2024.