Joe Ranft facts for kids

Joseph Henry "Joe" Ranft (March 13, 1960 – August 16, 2005) was an American screenwriter, animator, storyboard artist, voice actor and magician. He worked for Pixar Animation Studios and The Walt Disney Company. 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 (1995). He was also a story supervisor for the film. He had just finished his assignment as head of story for the 2006 movie Cars, when he was killed in a car crash.

Selected filmography

• Cattle Annie and Little Britches (1981 - Special Thanks)
• Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981 - Special Thanks)
• My Dinner with Andre (1981 - Story)
• Halloween II (1981 - Story Artist)
• E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982 - Special Thanks)
• Friday the 13th Part III (1982 - Special Thanks)
• Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982 - Storyboard Artist)
• Airplane II: The Sequel (1982 - Story)
• Sahara (1983 - Story)
• The Black Stallion Returns (1983 - Special Thanks)
• Trading Places (1983 - Animation Screenplay)
• The Right Stuff (1983 - Story Supervisor)
• Deal of the Century (1983 - Animator)
• Repo Man (1984 - Screenplay)
• Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984 - Special Thanks)
• Sixteen Candles (1984 - Storyboard Supervisor)
• Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984 - Additional Producer)
• Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984 - Additional Story Material)
• Gremlins (1984 - Story Supervisor)
• Red Dawn (1984 - Animation Screenplay)
• The Terminator (1984 - Supervising Technical Support)
• Back to the Future (1985 - Story Artist)
• The Brave Little Toaster (1987 - voice of Elmo St. Peters, Screenplay and Story, directing animator)
• Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988 - Story Artist)
• Oliver & Company (1988 - Story)
• The Little Mermaid (1989 - Storysketch Artist: animation)
• The Rescuers Down Under (1990 - Animation Screenplay, Story Supervisor)
• Beauty and the Beast (1991 - Story and provided several cartoon screams)
• Rugrats (1992 - voice of Man SWAT Officer #1)
• Aladdin (1992 - Story and provided several cartoon screams)
• The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993 - Storyboard Supervisor, voice of Igor)
• The Lion King (1994 - Story)
• James and the Giant Peach (1996 - Storyboard Supervisor)
• A Night at the Roxbury (1998 - voice of Hottie Dancer)
• A Bug's Life (1998 - voice of Heimlich, Story, Story Supervisor)
• The Prince of Egypt (1998 - Special Thanks)
• Tarzan (1999 - voice of Pirate)
• The Iron Giant (1999 - voice of Squad Leader; uncredited)
• Fantasia 2000 (1999 - Additional Art: story)
• Maggie and the Ferocious Beast (2000-2005 - voice of The Ferocious Beast)
• Rugrats in Paris: The Movie (2000 - voice of Passenger #2)
• Buzz Lightyear of Star Command: The Adventure Begins (2000 - voice of Wheezy)
• Shrek (2001 - Production Designer)
• Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001 - voice of James)
• Monsters, Inc. (2001 - voice of Pete "Claws" Ward, Story Artist)
• Monkeybone (2001 - Streetsquash Rabbit)
• Treasure Planet (2002 - voice of Pirates)
• Finding Nemo (2003 - voice of Jacques)
• Rugrats Go Wild (2003 - voice of Ship Captain)
• The Incredibles (2004 - Additional Voices)
• Corpse Bride (2005 - Executive Producer)
• Mater and the Ghostlight (2006 - Story)