Lee Unkrich
Lee Unkrich | |
|---|---|
 Unkrich at the 2009 Venice Film Festival | |
| Born | Lee Edward Unkrich August 8, 1967 Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. |
| Alma mater | University of Southern California |
| Occupation | Film director, editor, screenwriter, animator |
| Years active | 1990–present |
| Employer | Pixar Animation Studios (1994–2019) |
| Known for | Toy Story 3 Coco |
| Spouse(s) | Laura Century (m. 1993) |
| Children | 3[1] |
Lee Edward Unkrich (born August 8, 1967) is an American retired film director, film editor, screenwriter, and animator. He was a longtime member of the creative team at Pixar, where he started in 1994 as a film editor. He later began directing, first as co-director of Toy Story 2.
After co-directing Toy Story 2, Monsters, Inc. and Finding Nemo, Unkrich made his solo directorial debut with Toy Story 3 in 2010, and most recently directed Coco in 2017, both of which won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature and the Academy Award for Best Original Song.
After working at Pixar for 25 years, Unkrich retired from the company in January 2019 to spend more time with his family and pursue other interests.[2][3]
Early life and career[edit]
Unkrich was raised in Chagrin Falls, Ohio. His father, Bob Unkrich, 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 Pixar in 1994, Unkrich worked for several years in television as an editor and director. 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."[7][8]
Personal life[edit]
Unkrich is married to Laura Century and they have three children: Hannah, Alice, and Max.[1]
Filmography[edit]
Feature Films[edit]
| Year | Title | Director | Writer | 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[9] | Additional Story Material |
| 2001 | Monsters, Inc. | Co-Director | No | Additional | No | Yes | Additional Voices | Brain Trust - uncredited |
| 2003 | Finding Nemo | Co-Director | No | Supervising | No | Yes | Additional Voices | |
| 2004 | The Incredibles | No | No | No | No | No | ||
| 2006 | Cars | No | No | Additional | No | No | ||
| 2007 | Ratatouille | No | No | No | No | No | ||
| 2008 | WALL-E | No | No | No | No | Yes | Senior Creative Team | |
| 2009 | Up | No | No | No | No | Yes | ||
| 2010 | Toy Story 3 | Yes | Story | Yes | No | Yes | Jack-In-The-Box / Scotch-Taped Monkey | Additional Screenplay Material Senior Creative Team |
| 2011 | Cars 2 | No | No | No | No | Yes | 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 | Original Story | 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 | Senior Creative Team | |
| 2022 | Turning Red | No | No | No | No | Yes |
Television[edit]
- Prison Stories: Women on the Inside (1991) (TV) (production assistant)
- Silk Stalkings (1991) (TV Series) (assistant editor, editor, director)
- Renegade (1993) (TV series) (assistant editor)
- Betrayed by Love (1994) (TV) (assistant editor)
- Separated by Murder (1995) (TV) (editor)
Short Films and Television Specials[edit]
| 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 | Lava | Special Thanks |
| Toy Story That Time Forgot | Extra Special Thanks | |
| 2015 | Sanjay's Super Team | Special Thanks |
| 2016 | Piper | |
| 2018 | La Noria | |
| 2019 | Float | |
| 2020 | Loop | Story Trust |
| 2021 | Pixar Popcorn: A Day in the Life of the Dead | Special Thanks |
References[edit]
- ^ a b c O'Connor, Michael "Clint" (June 12, 2010). "'Toy Story 3': Director Lee Unkrich, from Chagrin Falls, doesn't want to break Pixar's golden streak". Cleveland.com. City of Cleveland, State of Ohio. Archived from the original on September 10, 2018. Retrieved January 26, 2013.
- ^ "'Toy Story 3,' 'Coco' Director Lee Unkrich Leaving Pixar After 25 Years (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 2019-01-19. Retrieved 2019-01-23.
- ^ Seddon, Dan (January 20, 2019). "Toy Story 3 and Coco director Lee Unkrich leaves Disney Pixar". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on January 23, 2019. Retrieved January 23, 2019.
- ^ Unkrich, Lee [@leeunkrich] (December 10, 2017). "My father, Bob Unkrich, died tonight at 93. He was an artist and a World War II Army hero. He stormed the beach at Normandy" (Tweet). Retrieved September 22, 2021 – via Twitter.
- ^ "'Coco' Ready for Thanksgiving Weekend Fireworks at the Box Office". 21 November 2017. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 27 November 2017.
- ^ Notable Alumni Archived 2009-08-26 at the Wayback Machine, USC School of Cinematic Arts; accessed March 10, 2008.
- ^ Welk, Brian (January 18, 2019). "Lee Unkrich, Director of 'Coco' and 'Toy Story 3,' to Leave Pixar After 25 Years". The Wrap. Archived from the original on January 19, 2019. Retrieved January 18, 2019.
- ^ Evangelista, Christiano (January 18, 2019). "'Coco' and 'Toy Story 3' Director Lee Unkrich Leaving Pixar After 25 Years". slashfilm.com. Archived from the original on October 26, 2020. Retrieved August 23, 2020.
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.
- ^ "Beloved Pixar Characters Voiced by Pixar Filmmakers". Oh My Disney. August 26, 2016. Archived from the original on February 24, 2021. Retrieved March 11, 2021.
External links[edit]
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lee Unkrich. |
- Lee Unkrich at IMDb
- Lee Unkrich at AllMovie
- Lee Unkrich on Twitter
| General | |
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- 1967 births
- Animators from Ohio
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- Contestants on American game shows
- USC School of Cinematic Arts alumni
- People from Chagrin Falls, Ohio
- Pixar people
- American animated film directors
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- Annie Award winners
- Directors of Best Animated Feature Academy Award winners
- Film directors from Ohio
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