Lee Unkrich

Lee Edward Unkrich (born August 8, 1967) is an American 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.

Lee Unkrich
Unkrich at the 2009 Venice Film Festival
Born
Lee Edward Unkrich

(1967-08-08) August 8, 1967
Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
Alma materUniversity of Southern California
OccupationFilm director, editor, screenwriter, animator
Years active1990–2019
EmployerPixar Animation Studios (1994–2019)
Known forToy Story 3
Coco
Spouse(s)
Laura Century
​
(m. 1993)​
[1]
Children3[1]

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 the studio for twenty-five years, Unkrich left Pixar and the film industry in January 2019 to be able to spend more time with his wife and three children.[2][3]

Early life and career

Unkrich was raised in Chagrin Falls, Ohio. His father Bob Unkrich, a World War II Veteran ("He stormed the beach at Normandy") and artist, who later converted to his mothers religion, is originally from a family of German-Catholic descent, whereas his mother is from a Jewish background.[4] He spent his youth acting at The Cleveland Play House. Unkrich graduated from the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts in 1990.[5]

Unkrich was Vice-President of Editorial and Layout at Pixar. 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.

On January 18, 2019, Unkrich announced he was leaving Pixar and the film industry to spend time with his family.[6][7]

Personal life

Unkrich is married to Laura Century and they have three children: Hannah, Alice, and Max.[1]

Filmography

Feature Films
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 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 Brain Trust - uncredited
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

Television
  • 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)

Other credits
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
Soul Special Thanks

References
  1. 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. Retrieved January 26, 2013.
  2. "'Toy Story 3,' 'Coco' Director Lee Unkrich Leaving Pixar After 25 Years (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter.
  3. Seddon, Dan (January 20, 2019). "Toy Story 3 and Coco director Lee Unkrich leaves Disney Pixar". Digital Spy.
  4. "'Coco' Ready for Thanksgiving Weekend Fireworks at the Box Office". 21 November 2017.
  5. Notable Alumni Archived 2009-08-26 at the Wayback Machine, USC School of Cinematic Arts; accessed March 10, 2008.
  6. Welk, Brian (January 18, 2019). "Lee Unkrich, Director of 'Coco' and 'Toy Story 3,' to Leave Pixar After 25 Years". The Wrap. Retrieved January 18, 2019.
  7. Evangelista, Christiano (January 18, 2019). "'Coco' and 'Toy Story 3' Director Lee Unkrich Leaving Pixar After 25 Years". slashfilm.com. Retrieved August 23, 2020. After twenty-five incredible years, I’ve decided to leave Pixar. The time has come for new adventures.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.