- published: 15 Feb 2011
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Joseph Henry "Joe" Ranft (March 13, 1960 – August 16, 2005) was an American screenwriter, animator, storyboard artist, voice actor, and magician who worked for Pixar and Disney at Disney Animation and Disney Television Animation. His brother, Jerome Ranft, is a sculptor who also worked on several Pixar movies.
He received an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay nomination as one of the writers of Toy Story, and was also co-director on Cars, his final work.
Ranft was born in Pasadena, California, and raised in Whittier. As a child, Ranft developed a love for magic, storytelling, film and comedy. At 15, he became a member of the Magic Castle Junior Group. After graduating from Monte Vista High School, Whittier, in 1978, Mr. Ranft began studying in the character animation program at the California Institute of the Arts alongside John Lasseter and Brad Bird. After two years, Ranft's student film Good Humor caught the attention of Disney animation executives, who offered him a job.
John Alan Lasseter (born January 12, 1957) is an American animator, film director, screenwriter, producer and the chief creative officer of Pixar Animation Studios, Walt Disney Animation Studios, and DisneyToon Studios. He is also the Principal Creative Advisor for Walt Disney Imagineering.
Lasseter began his career as an animator with The Walt Disney Company. After being fired from Disney for promoting computer animation, he joined Lucasfilm, where he worked on the then-groundbreaking use of CGI animation. The Graphics Group of the Computer Division of Lucasfilm was sold to Steve Jobs and became Pixar in 1986. Lasseter oversees all of Pixar's films and associated projects as executive producer. In addition, he directed Toy Story (1995), A Bug's Life (1998), Toy Story 2 (1999), Cars (2006), and Cars 2 (2011). He is currently directing Toy Story 4, scheduled for 2018 release. Since 2007, he also oversees all of Walt Disney Animation Studios' (and its division DisneyToon Studios') films and associated projects as executive producer.