Lee Unkrich facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Lee Unkrich
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Unkrich at the 2009 Venice Film Festival
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| Born |
Lee Edward Unkrich
August 8, 1967 |
| Alma mater | University of Southern California |
| Occupation |
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| Years active | 1990–present |
| Employer | Pixar Animation Studios (1994–2019) |
| Spouse(s) |
Laura Century
(m. 1993) |
| Children | 3 |
| Awards | Academy Award for Best Animated Feature Toy Story 3 (2010) Coco (2017) |
Lee Edward Unkrich (born August 8, 1967) is an American film editor and director. He was a longtime member of the creative team at Pixar, where he started in 1994 as a film editor. He later began directing, first as co-director of Toy Story 2 (1999).
After co-directing Toy Story 2, Monsters, Inc. (2001) and Finding Nemo (2003), Unkrich made his solo directorial debut with Toy Story 3 (2010), and most recently directed Coco (2017), both of which won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature and the Academy Award for Best Original Song.
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.
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Early life and career
Unkrich was raised in Chagrin Falls, Ohio, the only child of Emilie Unkrich and Robert Unkrich. His father 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. Unkrich graduated from the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts in 1990.
Unkrich was Vice-President of Editorial and Layout at Pixar. Before joining the studio, Unkrich worked for several years in television as an editor and director. In 1994 he was hired by Pixar as a short-term employee for a period of four weeks, but ended up staying for 25 years. He is the 2011 recipient of the University of Southern California'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."
In late 2022 he announced he had completed editing a book about The Shining, written by J. W. Rinzler.
In 2023, Taschen released Unkrich’s book “Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining” in a limited collector’s edition. The book was edited by Unkrich, and written by J. W. Rinzler and Unkrich.
Personal life
Unkrich is married to Laura Century and they have three children: Theo, Alice, and Max. Unkrich came out as bisexual to his family and friends in 2021 and came out publicly in 2022.
Filmography
Features
| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Editor | Producer | Other | Voice role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Toy Story | No | No | Film | No | No | ||
| 1998 | A Bug's Life | No | No | Film | No | Yes | Additional Voices | Supervising |
| 1999 | Toy Story 2 | Co-Director | No | Film | No | Yes | Red Rocker | Additional Story Material |
| 2001 | Monsters, Inc. | Co-Director | No | Additional | No | Yes | Additional Voices | |
| 2003 | Finding Nemo | Co-Director | No | Film | No | Yes | Additional Voices | Supervising |
| 2004 | The Incredibles | No | No | No | No | No | Brain Trust - uncredited | |
| 2006 | Cars | No | No | Additional | No | No | ||
| 2007 | Ratatouille | No | No | No | No | No | ||
| 2008 | WALL-E | No | No | No | No | Yes | Pixar Senior Creative Team | |
| 2009 | Up | No | No | No | No | Yes | ||
| 2010 | Toy Story 3 | Yes | Story | Yes | No | Yes | Jack-In-The-Box / Scotch-Taped Monkey | Additional Screenplay Material Pixar Senior Creative Team |
| 2011 | Cars 2 | No | No | No | No | Yes | Pixar Senior Creative Team | |
| 2012 | Brave | No | No | No | No | Yes | ||
| 2013 | Monsters University | No | No | No | Executive | Yes | ||
| 2015 | Inside Out | No | No | No | No | Yes | ||
| The Good Dinosaur | No | No | No | Executive | Yes | |||
| 2016 | Finding Dory | No | No | No | No | Yes | ||
| 2017 | Cars 3 | No | No | No | No | Yes | ||
| Coco | Yes | Original Story | Yes | No | Yes | Elote Skeleton | ||
| 2018 | Incredibles 2 | No | No | No | No | Yes | ||
| 2019 | Toy Story 4 | No | No | Additional | Executive | Yes | ||
| 2020 | Onward | No | No | Additional | No | Yes | ||
| Soul | No | No | No | No | Yes | Special Thanks | ||
| 2021 | Luca | No | No | No | No | Yes | Pixar Senior Creative Team | |
| 2022 | Turning Red | No | No | No | No | Yes | ||
| Lightyear | No | No | No | No | Yes | |||
| 2023 | Elemental | No | No | No | No | Yes |
Television
- Prison Stories: Women on the Inside (1991) (TV) (production assistant)
- Silk Stalkings (1991) (TV Series) (assistant editor, editor, director)
- Renegade (1993) (TV series) (assistant editor)
- Betrayed by Love (1994) (TV) (assistant editor)
- Separated by Murder (1995) (TV) (editor)
Documentaries
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2007 | The Pixar Story | Himself |
| 2022 | Beyond Infinity: Buzz and the Journey to 'Lightyear' |
Shorts and TV specials
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | For the Birds | Thanks |
| 2002 | Mike's New Car | Special Thanks |
| 2008 | Presto | |
| 2011 | Toy Story Toons: Hawaiian Vacation | |
| 2013 | The Blue Umbrella | |
| Toy Story of Terror! | Extra Special Thanks | |
| 2014 | Toy Story That Time Forgot | |
| Lava | Special Thanks | |
| 2015 | Sanjay's Super Team | |
| 2016 | Piper | |
| 2018 | La Noria | |
| 2019 | Float | |
| 2020 | Loop | Story Trust |
| 2021 | Pixar Popcorn: A Day in the Life of the Dead | Special Thanks |
| 2022 | Cars on the Road: Gettin' Hitched | Pixar Senior Creative Team |
See also
In Spanish: Lee Unkrich para niños
