Andrew Stanton facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Andrew Stanton
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![]() Stanton at the 2009 Venice Film Festival
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Born |
Andrew Ayers Stanton
December 3, 1965 Rockport, Massachusetts, U.S.
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Alma mater | California Institute of the Arts (BFA) |
Occupation |
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Years active | 1981–present |
Employer | Pixar Animation Studios (1990–present) |
Spouse(s) |
Julie Stanton
(m. 1989) |
Children | 2 |
Awards |
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Andrew Ayers Stanton (born December 3, 1965) is a famous American filmmaker and voice actor. He is best known for his amazing work at Pixar, which he joined way back in 1990.
He helped create and direct many popular Pixar movies. These include A Bug's Life (1998), Finding Nemo (2003), and its sequel Finding Dory (2016). He also directed the beloved robot movie WALL-E (2008).
Andrew Stanton has won two Academy Awards for Best Animated Feature. He won for Finding Nemo and WALL-E. He was also nominated for other awards for writing Finding Nemo, WALL-E, and Toy Story (1995). His movie WALL-E is even kept in the National Film Registry because it's so important.
Besides movies, Stanton has directed episodes for TV shows. Some of these include Stranger Things, Better Call Saul, and Obi-Wan Kenobi.
Contents
Early Life and Family
Andrew Stanton was born on December 3, 1965, in Rockport, Massachusetts. His dad, Ron Stanton, started a company that worked on radar systems. His mom, Gloria Stanton, was an actress before she became a homemaker.
When he was in high school, Andrew loved acting and directing. He even made short comedy films using a special camera called Super 8. A play he acted in, Hello, Dolly!, later gave him ideas for his movie WALL-E.
He studied at the California Institute of the Arts, a famous school for artists. He earned his degree in 1987. In 1989, Andrew married his high school sweetheart, Julie. They settled in Los Angeles and have two children, Ben and Audrey.
His Career in Animation
Andrew Stanton started his animation career in the late 1980s. He worked as an animator for different studios. He even worked on a cartoon called Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures.
After trying three times, Stanton was finally hired by Pixar in 1990. He was only the second animator to join the company! At first, Pixar wasn't making feature films. Their animation team created TV commercials. This was a step towards their goal of making the first computer-animated movie.
Stanton, along with John Lasseter and Pete Docter, came up with the first ideas for Toy Story. The movie's story changed a lot over time. After a difficult test screening, Stanton worked hard to rewrite the script. The final screenplay was nominated for an Academy Award. This was the first time an animated film was nominated for Best Original Screenplay.
Stanton had a special idea for WALL-E. He wanted to show how a machine could be the most "human" thing in the universe. He explained that the movie shows how "irrational love defeats the world's programming." It's about two robots trying to go beyond their basic instructions to experience love.
He also helped create the story for Ralph Breaks the Internet. He co-wrote Toy Story 4, which came out in 2019. He started writing ideas for Toy Story 4 secretly while Toy Story 3 was still being made. He felt that Toy Story 3 was a good ending for Woody's time with Andy, but not for Woody's whole story.
Andrew Stanton is interested in directing more live-action movies. He says it's quicker than animation and offers more spontaneity. He loves science fiction movies like Star Wars and Blade Runner. He is set to direct Toy Story 5, which is planned for release in 2026.
Filmography
Films
Year | Title | Director | Writer | Executive Producer |
Other | Voice Role | Notes |
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1995 | Toy Story | No | Yes | No | Yes | Commercial Chorus 2 | Story Artist, Character Designer |
1998 | A Bug's Life | Co-Director | Yes | No | Yes | Bug Zapper Bug 1 Singing Grasshopper 2 |
Story Artist |
1999 | Toy Story 2 | No | Yes | No | Yes | Emperor Zurg | |
2000 | Buzz Lightyear of Star Command: The Adventure Begins |
No | No | No | Yes | Hamm | Direct-to-video |
2001 | Monsters, Inc. | No | Screenplay | Yes | No | ||
2003 | Finding Nemo | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Crush/Lobster/Seagulls | |
2004 | The Incredibles | No | No | No | Yes | Additional Voices | |
2006 | Cars | No | No | No | Yes | Fred | Additional Screenplay Material |
2007 | Ratatouille | No | No | Yes | No | ||
2008 | WALL-E | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Axiom Passenger 2 | Pixar Senior Creative Team - uncredited on WALL-E |
2009 | Up | No | No | Yes | Yes | ||
2010 | Toy Story 3 | No | Story | No | Yes | ||
2011 | Cars 2 | No | No | No | Yes | ||
2012 | John Carter | Yes | Screenplay | No | No | ||
Brave | No | No | Yes | Yes | Pixar Senior Creative Team | ||
2013 | Monsters University | No | No | Yes | Yes | ||
2015 | Inside Out | No | No | Yes | Yes | ||
The Good Dinosaur | No | No | Yes | Yes | |||
2016 | Finding Dory | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Crush/Clam/Seagulls | |
2017 | Cars 3 | No | No | No | Yes | ||
Coco | No | No | No | Yes | |||
2018 | Incredibles 2 | No | No | No | Yes | ||
Ralph Breaks the Internet | No | No | No | Yes | Narrative Guru | ||
2019 | Toy Story 4 | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Pixar Senior Creative Team | |
2020 | Onward | No | No | No | Yes | ||
Soul | No | No | No | Yes | |||
2021 | Luca | No | No | No | Yes | ||
2022 | Turning Red | No | No | No | Yes | ||
Lightyear | No | No | Yes | Yes | Additional Screenplay Material Pixar Senior Creative Team |
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2023 | Elemental | No | No | No | Yes | Pixar Senior Creative Team | |
2024 | Inside Out 2 | No | No | No | Yes | ||
2025 | Elio | No | No | No | Yes | ||
2026 | Hoppers | No | No | No | Yes | ||
Toy Story 5 | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | |||
TBA | Incredibles 3 | No | No | No | Yes | ||
In the Blink of an Eye | Yes | No | No | No | Post-production |
Short films
Year | Title | Director | Writer | Executive Producer |
Voice |
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1986 | Somewhere in the Arctic | Yes | Yes | No | Bahr |
1987 | A Story | Yes | Yes | Producer | Randy / Goon Squad |
1991 | Light & Heavy | Yes | No | No | |
2003 | Exploring the Reef with Jean-Michel Cousteau | No | No | Yes | |
2008 | Presto | No | No | Yes | |
BURN-E | No | Story | Yes | ||
2009 | Partly Cloudy | No | No | Yes | |
2016 | Piper | No | No | Yes | |
Marine Life Interviews | No | Yes | No |
TV episodes and specials
Year | Title | Director | Writer | Executive Producer |
Story Artist |
Voice | Notes |
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1987 | Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures | No | Yes | No | No | 13 episodes | |
1994 | 2 Stupid Dogs | No | No | No | Yes | Episode: "Cookies, Ookies, Blookies" | |
1995 | The Lion King's Timon & Pumbaa | No | No | No | Yes | Episode: "Good Mousekeeping" | |
2010 | Fetch! with Ruff Ruffman | No | No | No | No | Crush | Episode: "The Ol' Shell Game" |
2013 | Toy Story of Terror! | No | No | Yes | No | TV special | |
2017 | Stranger Things 2 | Yes | No | No | No | Episodes: "Chapter Five: Dig Dug" and "Chapter Six: The Spy" | |
2018 | Better Call Saul | Yes | No | No | No | Episode: "Piñata" | |
2019 | Legion | Yes | No | No | No | Episode: "Chapter 20" | |
2020 | Tales from the Loop | Yes | No | No | No | Episode: "Echo Sphere" | |
2021–22 | For All Mankind | Yes | No | No | No | Directed four episodes | |
2022 | Obi-Wan Kenobi | No | Yes | No | No | Episodes: "Part V" and "Part VI" | |
2024 | 3 Body Problem | Yes | No | Co-Executive | No | Directed episode: "Destroyer of Worlds" | |
2025 | Win or Lose | No | No | Yes | No |
Video games
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
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1998 | A Bug's Life | Hopper | Replacing Kevin Spacey |
1999 | Toy Story 2: Buzz Lightyear to the Rescue | Emperor Zurg | |
2003 | Finding Nemo | Crush | |
Disney's Extreme Skate Adventure | Emperor Zurg | ||
2006 | Finding Nemo: Escape to the Big Blue | Seagulls | Nintendo DS and Nintendo 3DS only |
2007 | Cars Mater-National Championship | Fred | |
2009 | Cars Race-O-Rama | Fred / Tater Jr. | PS3/Xbox 360/Wii version only |
2010 | Toy Story 3: The Video Game | Emperor Zurg | Uncredited PS3 version only |
2011 | Kinect Disneyland Adventures | Crush / Emperor Zurg | |
2015 | Disney Infinity 3.0 | Crush | |
2018 | Lego The Incredibles | Seagulls |
Theme parks
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
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1989–2007 | The Making of Me | Animator | |
1998–present | It's Tough to Be a Bug! | Hopper | Replacing Kevin Spacey |
2007–present | Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage | Crush, Seagulls |
Other credits
Year | Title | Role |
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1997 | Geri's Game | Very Special Thanks |
2000 | For the Birds | Thanks |
2006 | Lifted | Special Thanks |
2007 | Fog City Mavericks | |
The Pixar Story | Himself; Very Special Thanks | |
2010 | Finding Nico | Special Thanks |
2014 | Lava | |
Toy Story That Time Forgot | Extra Special Thanks | |
2015 | Sanjay's Super Team | Special Thanks |
2016 | Zootopia | Creative Consultant |
2019 | Purl | Kristen Lester's Story Trust |
Frozen II | Special Thanks | |
Spies in Disguise | ||
2021 | Encanto | |
2022 | Beyond Infinity: Buzz and the Journey to 'Lightyear' | Himself |
Cars on the Road | Special Thanks; Pixar Senior Creative Team | |
2023 | Nimona | Special Thanks |
Actors He Works With Often
Andrew Stanton often casts the same actors in his movies. Here are some of the actors he has worked with more than once:
Finding Nemo | WALL-E | John Carter | Finding Dory | In the Blink of an Eye | |
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Albert Brooks |
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Ellen DeGeneres |
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Alexander Gould |
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Willem Dafoe |
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Brad Garrett |
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Allison Janney |
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Austin Pendleton |
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Stephen Root |
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Vicki Lewis |
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Himself |
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Bob Peterson |
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John Ratzenberger |
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Bob Bergen |
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Paul Eiding |
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Jess Harnell |
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Sherry Lynn |
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Mickie McGowan |
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Laraine Newman |
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Jeff Pidgeon |
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Jan Rabson |
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Jim Ward |
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Sigourney Weaver |
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Angus MacLane |
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Dominic West |
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Kate McKinnon |
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Awards and Nominations
Academy Awards
Year | Category | Film | Result | Shared With |
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1995 | Best Original Screenplay | Toy Story | Nominated | Shared With Joss Whedon, Joel Cohen, Alec Sokolow, John Lasseter, Pete Docter, and Joe Ranft |
2003 | Best Animated Feature | Finding Nemo | Won | N/A |
Best Original Screenplay | Nominated | Shared with Bob Peterson and David Reynolds | ||
2008 | Best Animated Feature | WALL-E | Won | N/A |
Best Original Screenplay | Nominated | Shared With Jim Reardon and Pete Docter | ||
2010 | Best Adapted Screenplay | Toy Story 3 | Nominated | Shared With Michael Arndt, John Lasseter, and Lee Unkrich |
Preservation
Two of Stanton's early short films, A Story and Somewhere in the Arctic..., were saved by the Academy Film Archive in 2012. This means they are kept safe for future generations to watch.
See also
In Spanish: Andrew Stanton para niños