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Joe Ranft

Joe Ranft
JoeRanft.jpg
Joe Ranft
Born Joseph Henry Ranft
(1960-03-13)March 13, 1960
Pasadena, California, United States
Died August 16, 2005(2005-08-16) (aged 45)
Mendocino County, California, United States
Cause of death Car accident
Nationality American
Education Monte Vista High School
Alma mater California Institute of the Arts
Occupation Screenwriter, animator, storyboard artist, voice actor, director, magician
Years active 1980–2005
Spouse(s) Sue Barry (m. 1985; his death 2005)
Children 2

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 Animation Studios and Disney at Walt Disney Animation Studios 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 (1995), and was also co-director on Cars (2006), 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 age 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.

In 1980, Ranft joined Disney as a writer and storyboard artist. During his first five years with Disney, Joe worked on a number of television projects that were never produced. Later in his Disney career, he was promoted into the Feature Animation department, where he was mentored by Eric Larson. Ranft later spoke about training under the Disney legend: "He always reminds me of just the fundamental things that I tend to forget. You know, it's like, animation is so complex; 'How many drawings are in there?' and stuff, but Eric always comes back to like; 'What does the audience perceive?'"


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