Madeline Sharafian | |
|---|---|
 Sharafian in November 2019 | |
| Born | February 1, 1993 Alameda, California |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | CalArts [1] |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 2013−present |
| Employers |
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Madeline Sharafian (born February 1, 1993) [2] is an American film director, screenwriter, and storyboard artist. She is best known for her work at Pixar, including directing the short film Burrow (2020) and the upcoming feature film Elio (2025).
Sharafian was born in Alameda, California, [2] and is of Armenian descent. [3] By 2013, she was enrolled in CalArts. [1]
In 2013, Sharafian wrote and directed the short film Omelette. [4] [5] In 2014, she served as a storyboard artist, writer, and character designer on the Cartoon Network series We Bare Bears . [4] In 2017, she storyboarded sequences for Coco and Dante's Lunch . [6] [7] In 2020, she wrote and directed a 2D animated Pixar short film titled Burrow , originally slated to play in theaters before the feature film Soul . [8] In October 2020, it was announced the short would instead premiere on Disney+. [9] [10] In 2022, she served as a storyboard artist for Turning Red . [1] In August 2024, she was announced to be making her feature directorial debut with Elio , alongside Domee Shi, replacing original director Adrian Molina. [11]
| Year | Title | Director | Story artist | Notes/Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Coco | No | Yes | [7] |
| 2022 | Turning Red | No | Yes | [1] |
| 2025 | Elio | Yes | No | Post-production [11] |
| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Other | Notes/Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Omelette | Yes | Yes | Yes | Producer [4] |
| 2017 | Weekends | No | No | Yes | Animator Cel painter [12] |
| Dante's Lunch | No | No | Yes | Story artist [6] | |
| 2018 | Purl | No | No | Yes | Story trust [13] |
| 2020 | Burrow | Yes | Yes | Yes | Animator [8] |
| 2021 | Twenty Something | No | No | Yes | Story trust |
| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Story artist | Other | Notes/Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014–17 | We Bare Bears | No | 20 episodes | 17 episodes | Yes | Character designer [4] |
| 2016 | Goodnight, Ice Bear | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Editor [14] |
| Award | Date | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Academy Awards | April 25, 2021 | Best Animated Short | Burrow | Nominated | [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] |
| Annie Awards | February 6, 2016 | Outstanding Achievement for Storyboarding in an Animated Television/Broadcast Production | We Bare Bears | Nominated | [21] |
| February 3, 2018 | Outstanding Achievement for Storyboarding in a Feature Production | Coco | Nominated | [7] | |
| Hollywood Critics Association | March 5, 2021 | Best Short Film | Burrow | Nominated | [22] |
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. Pixar is a subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, a division of Disney Entertainment, a segment of The Walt Disney Company.
Ronaldo del Carmen is a Filipino writer, director, storyboard artist, illustrator, and voice actor. He co-directed and co-wrote the story for the Pixar film Inside Out (2015), for which he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, the first Filipino to do so.
Brenda Chapman is an American animator, screenwriter, storyboard artist, and director. In 1998, she became the first woman to direct an animated feature from a major studio, DreamWorks Animation's The Prince of Egypt. In 2012, she directed the Disney/Pixar film Brave with Mark Andrews, becoming the first woman to win the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.
Mark Elliott Andrews is an American filmmaker, animator, and storyboard artist. He is best known for directing the 2012 Pixar feature film Brave. He was the story supervisor for The Incredibles, directed the short film One Man Band and co-wrote the short films Jack-Jack Attack and One Man Band.
Enrico Casarosa is an Italian director, screenwriter and storyboard artist. Best known for his work at Pixar, he has directed the short film La Luna (2011) and the feature film Luca (2021), which both were nominated for Academy Awards.
Harley Jessup is an American production designer and visual effects art director who has been nominated for two visual effects Academy Awards, and won once. Currently working at Pixar Animation Studios, Jessup has served as production designer for Monsters, Inc., Ratatouille, Cars 2, Presto, The Good Dinosaur and Pixar's animated feature, Coco. Before coming to Pixar, Jessup was production designer on Walt Disney Pictures' James and the Giant Peach.
Coco is a 2017 American animated fantasy comedy-drama film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for 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.
Joshua Cooley is an American filmmaker and storyboard artist. He is best known for directing the animated films Toy Story 4 (2019) and Transformers One (2024), with the former winning the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. He also co-wrote the screenplay for the film Inside Out (2015), which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay.
Adrian Molina 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.
Domee Shi is a Canadian animator, film director and screenwriter. She has directed the short film Bao (2018) and the feature films Turning Red (2022) and the upcoming Elio (2025), becoming the first woman to direct a short film and then the first woman with sole director's credit on a feature film for Pixar.
SparkShorts is a series of American independent animated short films produced by Pixar Animation Studios. It consists of a program in which Pixar's employees are given six months and limited budgets to develop animated short films that were originally released on Pixar's YouTube channel, and later on Disney+.
Rosana Sullivan is an American filmmaker and storyboard artist. Since 2011, she has worked for Pixar Animation Studios. She wrote and directed her first animated short film, Kitbull (2019), for which she received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film at the 92nd Academy Awards.
Soul is a 2020 American animated fantasy comedy-drama film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. It was directed by Pete Docter and co-directed by Kemp Powers, both of whom co-wrote it with Mike Jones, and produced by Dana Murray. The film stars the voices of Jamie Foxx, Tina Fey, Graham Norton, Rachel House, Alice Braga, Richard Ayoade, Phylicia Rashad, Donnell Rawlings, Questlove, and Angela Bassett. It follows Joe Gardner (Foxx), a middle school teacher and aspiring pianist who falls into a coma following an accident and seeks to reunite his separated soul and body in time for his big break as a jazz musician.
Out is a 2020 American animated short film directed and written by Steven Clay Hunter, produced by Max Sachar, and distributed by Pixar Animation Studios and Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. The plot features a young gay man who has not yet come out to his parents, who unexpectedly has his mind magically swapped with his dog's. The seventh short film in the SparkShorts series, it is both Disney's and Pixar's first short to feature a gay main character and storyline, including an on-screen same-sex kiss. The short was released on Disney+ on May 22, 2020. The short was shortlisted for the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film at the 93rd Academy Awards.
Burrow is a 2020 American animated short film written and directed by Madeline Sharafian, produced by Michael Capbarat at Pixar Animation Studios, and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. The plot features a young rabbit as she tries to build the burrow of her dreams, becoming embarrassed each time she accidentally digs into a neighbor's home. The eighth short film in the SparkShorts series, the short was released on Disney+ on December 25, 2020, and later in theaters on January 12, 2024 alongside Soul. The short was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film at the 93rd Academy Awards.
Elio is an upcoming American animated science fiction adventure film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. It is being directed by Domee Shi and Madeline Sharafian with initial direction by Adrian Molina, and produced by Mary Alice Drumm. The film stars the voices of Yonas Kibreab, Jameela Jamil, Brad Garrett, Zoe Saldaña, Remy Edgerly, and Shirley Henderson. It follows an eleven-year-old boy named Elio Solis (Kibreab) who accidentally becomes the intergalactic Ambassador of planet Earth after being beamed up to the Communiverse by aliens for making contact. Elio must form new bonds with eccentric alien lifeforms and navigate a crisis of intergalactic proportions.
Inside Out is an American media franchise created by Pete Docter and Ronnie del Carmen. It takes place inside the mind of a girl named Riley Andersen, where multiple personified emotions administer her thoughts and actions. The franchise is produced by Pixar Animation Studios and distributed by its parent company Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. It began with the 2015 film of the same name, and was followed by Inside Out 2 (2024). The franchise also includes a short film, an animated series, several video games, and two theme park attractions.
