Lee Unkrich | |
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![]() Unkrich at the 2009 Venice Film Festival | |
Born | Lee Edward Unkrich August 8, 1967 |
Alma mater | University of Southern California |
Occupations |
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Years active | 1990–present |
Employer | Pixar Animation Studios (1994–2019) |
Spouse | Laura Century (m. 1993) |
Children | 3 [1] |
Awards | Academy Award for Best Animated Feature Toy Story 3 (2010) Coco (2017) |
Lee Edward Unkrich (born August 8, 1967) is an American film director, editor and writer. He is best known for his work with animation studio Pixar, which he joined in 1994 as an editor before being credited as a co-director on Toy Story 2 (1999).
Following the film's success, Unkrich served a similar role for the films Monsters, Inc. (2001) and Finding Nemo (2003) before making his solo directorial debut with Toy Story 3 (2010). The film, along with the second of which he directed, Coco (2017), both won two Academy Awards: Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song.
After his 25-year tenure at the company, Unkrich retired in January 2019 to spend more time with his family and pursue other interests. [2] [3]
Unkrich was raised in Chagrin Falls, Ohio, the only child of Emilie Unkrich and Robert Unkrich. His father was a World War II veteran ("He stormed the beach at Normandy") and artist. [4] Unkrich was raised in the Jewish faith. [5] He spent his youth acting at The Cleveland Play House. Unkrich graduated from the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts in 1990. [6]
Unkrich was Vice-President of Editorial and Layout at Pixar.[ citation needed ] Before joining the studio, Unkrich worked for several years in television as an editor and director. In 1994 he was hired by Pixar as a short-term employee for a period of four weeks, but ended up staying for 25 years. [7] He is the 2011 recipient of the University of Southern California's Mary Pickford Distinguished Alumni Award recognizing alumni contributions to the cinematic arts.[ citation needed ]
On January 18, 2019, Unkrich announced he was leaving Pixar to spend time with his family and pursue interests that have "long been back-burnered." [8] [9] In 2023, Unkrich was revealed to have occasionally consulted at Pixar since leaving in 2019. [10]
In late 2022 he announced he had completed editing a book about The Shining , written by J. W. Rinzler. [11]
In 2023, Taschen released Unkrich's book "Stanley Kubrick's The Shining" in a limited collector's edition. The book was edited by Unkrich, and written by J. W. Rinzler and Unkrich.
Unkrich is married to Laura Century and they have three children. [1] Unkrich came out as bisexual to his family and friends in 2021 and came out publicly in 2022. [12] [13]
Year | Title | Director | (Original) Story by | Film Editor | Executive Producer | Other | Voice Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1995 | Toy Story | No | No | Yes | No | No | ||
1998 | A Bug's Life | No | No | Supervising | No | Yes | Additional Voices | |
1999 | Toy Story 2 | Co-Director | No | Yes | No | Yes | Red Rocker [14] | Additional Story Material |
2001 | Monsters, Inc. | Co-Director | No | Additional | No | Yes | Additional Voices | |
2003 | Finding Nemo | Co-Director | No | Supervising | No | Yes | Additional Voices | |
2004 | The Incredibles | No | No | No | No | No | Brain Trust - uncredited | |
2006 | Cars | No | No | Additional | No | No | ||
2007 | Ratatouille | No | No | No | No | No | ||
2008 | WALL-E | No | No | No | No | Yes | Pixar Senior Creative Team | |
2009 | Up | No | No | No | No | Yes | ||
2010 | Toy Story 3 | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Jack-In-The-Box / Scotch-Taped Monkey | Additional Screenplay Material Pixar Senior Creative Team |
2011 | Cars 2 | No | No | No | No | Yes | Pixar Senior Creative Team | |
2012 | Brave | No | No | No | No | Yes | ||
2013 | Monsters University | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | ||
2015 | Inside Out | No | No | No | No | Yes | ||
The Good Dinosaur | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | |||
2016 | Finding Dory | No | No | No | No | Yes | ||
2017 | Cars 3 | No | No | No | No | Yes | ||
Coco | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Elote Skeleton | ||
2018 | Incredibles 2 | No | No | No | No | Yes | ||
2019 | Toy Story 4 | No | No | Additional | Yes | Yes | ||
2020 | Onward | No | No | Additional | No | Yes | ||
Soul | No | No | No | No | Yes | Special Thanks | ||
2021 | Luca | No | No | No | No | Yes | Pixar Senior Creative Team | |
2022 | Turning Red | No | No | No | No | Yes | ||
Lightyear | No | No | No | No | Yes | |||
2023 | Elemental | No | No | No | No | Yes |
Year | Title | Role |
---|---|---|
2007 | The Pixar Story | Himself |
2022 | Beyond Infinity: Buzz and the Journey to 'Lightyear' [15] |
Year | Title | Role |
---|---|---|
2000 | For the Birds | Thanks |
2002 | Mike's New Car | Special Thanks |
2008 | Presto | |
2011 | Toy Story Toons: Hawaiian Vacation | |
2013 | The Blue Umbrella | |
Toy Story of Terror! | Extra Special Thanks | |
2014 | Toy Story That Time Forgot | |
Lava | Special Thanks | |
2015 | Sanjay's Super Team | |
2016 | Piper | |
2018 | La Noria | |
2019 | Float | |
2020 | Loop | Story Trust |
2021 | Pixar Popcorn: A Day in the Life of the Dead | Special Thanks |
2022 | Cars on the Road: Gettin’ Hitched | Pixar Senior Creative Team |
Toy Story is a 1995 American animated comedy film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. The first installment in the franchise of the same name, it was the first entirely computer-animated feature film, as well as the first feature film from Pixar. The film was directed by John Lasseter, written by Joss Whedon, Andrew Stanton, Joel Cohen, and Alec Sokolow based on a story by Lasseter, Stanton, Pete Docter, and Joe Ranft, produced by Bonnie Arnold and Ralph Guggenheim, and features the voices of Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Annie Potts, John Ratzenberger, Don Rickles, Wallace Shawn and Jim Varney.
Pixar Animation Studios, known simply as Pixar, is an American animation studio based in Emeryville, California, known for its critically and commercially successful computer-animated feature films. Since 2006, Pixar has been a subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, a division of Disney Entertainment, a segment of the Walt Disney Company.
Buzz Lightyear is a fictional character in the Disney–Pixar Toy Story franchise. He is a superhero action figure from an in-universe media franchise. Buzz is recognizable by his lime green, purple, and white space suit. Originating as a one-man band toy named Tinny, he evolved into a space ranger action figure during the development of Toy Story, a decision made by director John Lasseter. He is named after American astronaut Buzz Aldrin, the second person to walk on the Moon. Buzz Lightyear is a recurring character in all of the Toy Story franchise's animated feature films, including spin-offs. In the Toy Story films he is voiced by Tim Allen.
Toy Story 2 is a 1999 American animated adventure comedy film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. It is the sequel to Toy Story (1995) and the second installment in the Toy Story franchise. The film was directed by John Lasseter, co-directed by Ash Brannon and Lee Unkrich, and produced by Helene Plotkin and Karen Robert Jackson, from a screenplay written by Andrew Stanton, Rita Hsiao, Doug Chamberlin, and Chris Webb, and a story conceived by Lasseter, Stanton, Brannon, and Pete Docter. Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Don Rickles, Jim Varney, Wallace Shawn, John Ratzenberger, Annie Potts, R. Lee Ermey, John Morris, Laurie Metcalf and Jeff Pidgeon reprise their roles from the first film. In the film, Woody is stolen by a greedy toy collector, prompting Buzz Lightyear and his friends to save him, but Woody is then tempted by the idea of immortality in a museum.
Toy Story 3 is a 2010 American animated comedy-drama film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. It is the third installment in the Toy Story series and the sequel to Toy Story 2 (1999). It was directed by Lee Unkrich, the editor of the first two films and the co-director of Toy Story 2, produced by Darla K. Anderson, and written by Michael Arndt, while Unkrich wrote the story along with John Lasseter and Andrew Stanton, respectively, director and co-writer of the first two films. The film's ensemble voice cast includes Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack, Don Rickles, Wallace Shawn, John Ratzenberger, Estelle Harris, Jeff Pidgeon, Jodi Benson, John Morris, Laurie Metcalf and R. Lee Ermey. In Toy Story 3, Andy Davis (Morris), now a teenager, is going to college. Woody (Hanks), Buzz Lightyear (Allen), and the other toys are accidentally donated to Sunnyside Daycare, a daycare center, by Andy's mother (Metcalf), and the toys must decide where their loyalties lie.
John Alan Lasseter is an American film director, producer, and animator. He has served as the Head of Animation at Skydance Animation since 2019. Previously, he acted as the chief creative officer of Pixar Animation Studios, Walt Disney Animation Studios, and Disneytoon Studios, as well as the Principal Creative Advisor for Walt Disney Imagineering.
Peter Hans Docter is an American filmmaker and animator. He was credited as the director for the Pixar animated feature films Monsters, Inc. (2001), Up (2009), Inside Out (2015), and Soul (2020), and has served as the company's chief creative officer (CCO) since 2018. From his nine Academy Award nominations, he is a record-three time recipient of Best Animated Feature for Up, Inside Out and Soul. Docter has also won six Annie Awards from nine nominations, a BAFTA Children's Film Award and a Hochi Film Award. He describes himself as a "geeky kid from Minnesota who likes to draw cartoons".
Andrew Ayers Stanton is an American filmmaker and voice actor based at Pixar, which he joined in 1990. His film work includes co-writing and co-directing Pixar's A Bug's Life (1998), directing Finding Nemo (2003) and its sequel Finding Dory (2016), WALL-E (2008), and the live-action film, Disney's John Carter (2012), and co-writing all four and directing the upcoming fifth in Toy Story films (1995–2026) and Monsters, Inc. (2001).
Sheriff Woody Pride is a fictional pull-string cowboy doll who appears in the Disney–Pixar Toy Story franchise. In the films, Woody is one of the main protagonists, alongside Buzz Lightyear and Jessie. He is primarily voiced by Tom Hanks, who voices him in the Toy Story films, short films, and TV specials. Tom Hanks' brother, Jim Hanks, voices him in Lamp Life, video games, attractions, and other merchandise.
Toy Story is an American media franchise created by Pixar Animation Studios and owned by The Walt Disney Company. It centers on toys that, unknown to humans, are secretly living, sentient creatures. It began in 1995 with the release of the animated feature film of the same name, which focuses on a diverse group of toys featuring a classic cowboy doll named Sheriff Woody and a modern spaceman action figure named Buzz Lightyear.
Toy Story 3 (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the soundtrack album to Disney/Pixar's 2010 film of the same name composed by Randy Newman. The score was composed by recurrent Pixar composer Randy Newman, who also scored for the previous instalments in the franchise. The score album, featuring an original song "We Belong Together" performed by Newman, and instrumental tracks were released on June 15, 2010 by Walt Disney Records. It was also the sixth Pixar film not to be scored by Michael Giacchino or Thomas Newman. The track "You've Got a Friend in Me" from the first instalment is also featured in the album, performed by The Gipsy Kings.
Angus MacLane is an American animator, filmmaker and voice actor, best known for his work at Pixar Animation Studios. He co-directed the film Finding Dory (2016) and made his solo feature directorial debut with the Toy Story spin-off film Lightyear (2022). MacLane is also a Lego enthusiast and created the CubeDudes building format and designed a LEGO WALL-E that has become an official set from The Lego Group.
Coco is a 2017 American animated fantasy comedy-drama film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It was directed by Lee Unkrich, co-directed by Adrian Molina, and produced by Darla K. Anderson, from a screenplay written by Molina and Matthew Aldrich, and a story by Unkrich, Molina, Aldrich, and Jason Katz, based on an original idea conceived by Unkrich. The film stars the voices of Anthony Gonzalez, Gael García Bernal, Benjamin Bratt, Alanna Ubach, Renée Victor, Ana Ofelia Murguía, and Edward James Olmos. The story follows a 12-year-old boy named Miguel (Gonzalez) who is accidentally transported to the Land of the Dead, where he seeks the help of his deceased musician great-great-grandfather to return him to his family and reverse their ban on music.
Toy Story 4 is a 2019 American animated comedy-drama film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. It is the fourth installment in Pixar's Toy Story series and the sequel to Toy Story 3 (2010). It was directed by Josh Cooley from a screenplay by Andrew Stanton and Stephany Folsom; the three also conceived the story alongside John Lasseter, Rashida Jones, Will McCormack, Valerie LaPointe, and Martin Hynes. Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Annie Potts, Don Rickles, Wallace Shawn, John Ratzenberger, Jeff Pidgeon, Laurie Metcalf, John Morris, Joan Cusack, Estelle Harris, Blake Clark, Bonnie Hunt, Jeff Garlin, Kristen Schaal, Timothy Dalton and Lori Alan reprise their character roles from the first three films and Carl Weathers reprised his role from Toy Story of Terror! with Madeleine McGraw replacing Emily Hahn as Bonnie and they are joined by Tony Hale, Keegan-Michael Key, Jordan Peele, Christina Hendricks, Keanu Reeves, and Ally Maki, who voice new characters introduced in this film. Set after the third film, Toy Story 4 follows Woody (Hanks) and Buzz Lightyear (Allen) as the pair and the other toys go on a road trip with Bonnie (McGraw), who creates Forky (Hale), a spork made with recycled materials from her school. Meanwhile, Woody is reunited with Bo Peep (Potts), and must decide where his loyalties lie.
Lightyear is a 2022 American animated science-fiction action-adventure film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The film is a spin-off of the Toy Story film series, but does not take place in the same fictional universe as they do; rather, it is presented as a film that characters in the main Toy Story films have seen. Lightyear centers on the character Buzz Lightyear, who in this film is human and not a toy. The film was directed by Angus MacLane and produced by Galyn Susman, from a screenplay and story written by MacLane and Jason Headley, both of whom co-wrote the latter with Matthew Aldrich; Pete Docter and Andrew Stanton serve as executive producers. It stars Chris Evans as the voice of the title character, with Keke Palmer, Peter Sohn, Taika Waititi, Dale Soules, James Brolin, and Uzo Aduba in supporting roles. The film follows Buzz Lightyear (Evans) operating as a space ranger who, after being marooned on the hostile planet T'Kani Prime with his commander and crew, tries to find a way back home while encountering a threat to the universe's safety.
Lightyear (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the soundtrack album to the 2022 Disney/Pixar film of the same name. The score is composed by Michael Giacchino, in his eighth Pixar film as well as his 50th film as a film score composer. Giacchino stated that the score is a blend of several works based on space opera in various formats, and he experienced in his childhood period. The scoring was held remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic at the Eastwood Scoring Stage and Newman Scoring Stage in Los Angeles for 15 days which required a 39-member choir and 89-member orchestra.
After twenty-five incredible years, I've decided to leave Pixar. The time has come for new adventures. I'm not leaving to make films at another studio; instead, I look forward to spending much-needed time with my family and pursuing interests that have long been back-burnered.