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

film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, p ...

film editor Film editing is both a creative and a technical part of the post-production process of filmmaking. The term is derived from the traditional process of working with film which increasingly involves the use of digital technology. The film edit ...

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

, and

animator An animator is an artist who creates multiple images, known as frames, which give an illusion of movement called animation when displayed in rapid sequence. Animators can work in a variety of fields including film, television, and video gam ...

. He was a longtime member of the creative team at

Pixar Pixar Animation Studios (commonly known as Pixar () and stylized as P I X A R) is an American computer animation studio known for its critically and commercially successful computer animated feature films. It is based in Emeryville, Californi ...

, where he started in 1994 as a

. He later began directing, first as co-director of ''

Toy Story 2 ''Toy Story 2'' is a 1999 American computer-animated film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. The second installment in the Toy Story (franchise), ''Toy Story'' franchise and the sequel to ''Toy Story'' (1995), it wa ...

''. After co-directing ''Toy Story 2'', ''

Monsters, Inc. ''Monsters, Inc.'' (also known as ''Monsters, Incorporated'') is a 2001 American computer-animated Monster movie, monster comedy film produced by Pixar, Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. Featuring the voices of John Goodman, B ...

'' and ''

Finding Nemo ''Finding Nemo'' is a 2003 American computer-animated comedy-drama adventure film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. Directed by Andrew Stanton with co-direction by Lee Unkrich, the screenplay was writ ...

'', Unkrich made his solo directorial debut with ''

Toy Story 3 ''Toy Story 3'' is a 2010 American computer-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 d ...

'' in 2010, and most recently directed '' Coco'' in 2017, both of which won the

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

for Best Animated Feature and the

for

Best Original Song This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

. 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.

Early life and career

Unkrich was raised in

Chagrin Falls, Ohio Chagrin Falls is a village in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States and is a suburb of Cleveland in Northeast Ohio's Cleveland-Akron-Canton metropolitan area, the 19th-largest Combined Statistical Area nationwide. The village was established and h ...

. His father, Bob Unkrich, was a World War II veteran ("He stormed the beach at Normandy") and artist. Unkrich was raised in the Jewish faith. He spent his youth acting at

The Cleveland Play House Cleveland Play House (CPH) is a professional regional theater company located in Cleveland, Ohio. It was founded in 1915 and built its own noted theater complex in 1927. Currently the company performs at the Allen Theatre in Playhouse Square whe ...

. Unkrich graduated from the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

School of Cinematic Arts The University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts (SCA) houses seven academic divisions: Film & Television Production; Cinema & Media Studies; John C. Hench Division of Animation + Digital Arts; John Wells Division of Writing for Sc ...

in 1990.Notable Alumni
, USC School of Cinematic Arts; accessed March 10, 2008. Unkrich was Vice-President of Editorial and Layout at

. Before joining Pixar in 1994, Unkrich worked for several years in television as an editor and director. He is the 2011 recipient of the

's Mary Pickford Distinguished Alumni Award recognizing alumni contributions to the cinematic arts. 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."

Personal life

Unkrich is married to Laura Century and they have three children: Hannah, Alice, and Max. Unkrich came out as bisexual to his family and friends in 2021 but only revealed it to the public in 2022.

Filmography

Features

Television

*''Prison Stories: Women on the Inside'' (1991) (TV) (production assistant) *''

Silk Stalkings ''Silk Stalkings'' is an American crime drama television series that premiered on CBS on November 7, 1991, as part of the network's late-night ''Crimetime After Primetime'' programming package. Broadcast for two seasons until CBS ended the ''Crim ...

'' (1991) (TV Series) (assistant editor, editor, director) *''

Renegade Renegade or The Renegade may refer to: Aircraft *Lake Renegade, an American amphibious aircraft design *Murphy Renegade, a Canadian ultralight biplane design *Southern Aeronautical Renegade, an American racing aircraft design Games *'' Comman ...

'' (1993) (TV series) (assistant editor) *''Betrayed by Love'' (1994) (TV) (assistant editor) *''Separated by Murder ''(1995) (TV) (editor)

Documentaries

Shorts and TV specials

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Unkrich, Lee 1967 births Animators from Ohio Animation screenwriters Living people Contestants on American game shows USC School of Cinematic Arts alumni People from Chagrin Falls, Ohio Pixar people American animated film directors American male voice actors Annie Award winners Directors of Best Animated Feature Academy Award winners Film directors from Ohio Jewish American writers Jewish film people Jews and Judaism in Ohio Male actors from Ohio American film editors 21st-century American male actors 20th-century American male actors LGBT animators LGBT film directors LGBT Jews