Sanjay Patel is an American

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 ...

and illustrator who has worked in the animation department of various projects, most of them animated films released by

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 ...

Background

Born in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

Gujarati Gujarati may refer to: * something of, from, or related to Gujarat, a state of India * Gujarati people, the major ethnic group of Gujarat * Gujarati language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by them * Gujarati languages, the Western Indo-Aryan sub ...

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

parents, Patel moved to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

with his family at the age of four. His father bought a motel in

San Bernardino, California San Bernardino (; Spanish for "Saint Bernardino") is a city and county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States. Located in the Inland Empire region of Southern California, the city had a population of 222,101 in the 2020 cen ...

and Patel grew up there.

Career

He is best known for directing the short animated film '' Sanjay's Super Team'' (2015) inspired by Patel's own childhood, which received a nomination in the category of

Best Animated Short Film The Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film is an award given by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) as part of the annual Academy Awards, or Oscars, since the 5th Academy Awards (with different names), covering the year ...

at the

88th Academy Awards The 88th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 2015 and took place on February 28, 2016, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, 5:30 p.m. PST. Du ...

and for Best Animated Short Subject at the

43rd Annie Awards The 43rd Annual Annie Awards honoring excellence in the field of animation of 2015 was held on February 6, 2016, at the University of California, Los Angeles's Royce Hall in Los Angeles, California, presenting in 36 categories. This year, a new c ...

. Since 1996, Patel has worked as an animator on numerous Pixar films such as ''

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 ...

'' (2001), ''

Ratatouille Ratatouille ( , ), oc, ratatolha , is a French Provençal dish of stewed vegetables which originated in Nice, and is sometimes referred to as ''ratatouille niçoise'' (). Recipes and cooking times differ widely, but common ingredients include ...

'' (2007), ''

Cars A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods. The year 1886 is regarded as t ...

'' (2006), ''

Monsters University ''Monsters University'' is a 2013 American computer-animated monster comedy film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It was directed by Dan Scanlon (in his feature directorial debut) and produced by Kori ...

'' (2013), ''

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 ...

'' (1999) and ''

The Incredibles ''The Incredibles'' is a 2004 American computer-animated superhero film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. Written and directed by Brad Bird, it stars the voices of Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter, Sarah V ...

'' (2004) and served as a character developer on the latter two films. He also authored ''Ramayana: Divine Loophole'', lending a whimsical illustration style and lighthearted voice to the

Hindu epic Mahākāvya (lit. great kāvya, court epic), also known as ''sargabandha'', is a genre of Indian epic poetry in Classical Sanskrit. The genre is characterised by ornate and elaborate descriptions of scenery, love, battles and so on — in short, ev ...

Ramayana The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th ...

. Patel also started Ghee Happy. Ghee Happy is a brand that celebrates Indian mythology and culture through design and storytelling. Ghee Happy produces books, exhibits, and apparel. It is also an original Netflix animated series. The animated show reimagines Hindu deities as little kids discovering their powers in a deity daycare called Ghee Happy. As of 2021, the series has not yet premiered and status is unknown.

Filmography

* The

Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, a ...

(TV Series) (character layout artist - 2 episodes) **

Grade School Confidential "Grade School Confidential" is the nineteenth episode of the eighth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on April 6, 1997.. It was written by Rachel Puli ...

(1997) ... (character layout artist) **

A Milhouse Divided "A Milhouse Divided" is the sixth episode of the eighth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired on the Fox Network in the United States on December 1, 1996. In the episode, Milhouse's parents Kirk ...

(1996) ... (character layout artist) *''

A Bug's Life ''A Bug's Life'' is a 1998 American computer-animated comedy film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. It was the second feature-length film produced by Pixar. Directed by John Lasseter and co-directed by Andrew Stant ...

'' (1998) Additional Character Designer / Animator *''

'' (1999) Story Artist / Animator *''

'' (2001) Story Artist / Animator *''

'' (2004) Story Artist / Animator *''

'' (2007) Animator *''

Your Friend the Rat ''Your Friend the Rat'' is a 2007 American computer animated short film by Pixar. The special takes on the form of an educational film and stars rats Remy and Emile, the main protagonists of ''Ratatouille'', who argue for the reconciliation of hu ...

'' (2007) Additional Character Designer *''

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 ...

'' (2010) Fix & Additional Animation *''

Cars 2 ''Cars 2'' is a 2011 American computer-animated Spy film, spy comedy film produced by Pixar, Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. It is the sequel to ''Cars (film), Cars'' (2006), the second film in the Cars (franchise), ''Cars'' f ...

'' (2011) Fix & Additional Animation *''

'' (2013) Character Development & Animation * Sanjay's Super Team (2015) Writer & Director *

Incredibles 2 ''Incredibles 2'' is a 2018 American computer-animated superhero film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. Written and directed by Brad Bird, it is the sequel to ''The Incredibles'' (2004) and the second fu ...

(2018) Story Artist

References

External links

* Living people American animators American animated film directors Pixar people Year of birth missing (living people) Gujarati people British people of Indian descent British people of Gujarati descent American people of Indian descent American people of Gujarati descent {{US-film-bio-stub