Joe Ranft

Joseph Henry "Joe" Ranft (March 13, 1960 – August 16, 2005) was an American animator, screenwriter, storyboard artist, and voice actor. He is best known for voicing Elmo St. Peters in The Brave Little Toaster, Heimlich in A Bug's Life (1998), Wheezy in Toy Story 2 (1999) and the spin-off film Buzz Lightyear of Star Command: The Adventure Begins (2000), and Jacques in Finding Nemo (2003), as well as providing vocalizations for Red in Cars (2006). He worked for Pixar Animation Studios and Disney at Walt Disney Animation Studios and Disney Television Animation. His younger brother Jerome Ranft is a sculptor who also worked on several Pixar films.

Ranft's first film credit was a writer for Fun with Mr. Future (1982), followed by his first feature film The Brave Little Toaster in 1987. He received an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay nomination as one of the writers of Toy Story (1995), and was also the co-director on Cars (2006), his final work before his death.

Early life Joseph Henry Ranft was born in Pasadena, California, on March 13, 1960,

Around this time, he studied under and began performing with the improvisational group, The Groundlings. Ranft stayed with Disney throughout the 1980s, writing the story on many animated features, including Oliver & Company, The Lion King and Beauty and the Beast. He also worked on The Brave Little Toaster in 1987 for Hyperion Animation and James and the Giant Peach in 1996 for Allied Filmmakers. There he worked on all of their films produced up to 2006; this included Toy Story (for which he received an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay) and A Bug's Life, as the co-story writer and others as story supervisor. He also voiced characters in many of the films, including Heimlich the caterpillar in A Bug's Life, Wheezy the penguin in Toy Story 2 and its spin-off film Buzz Lightyear of Star Command: The Adventure Begins, and Jacques the shrimp in Finding Nemo, as well as providing vocalizations for Red the fire truck in Cars, which was released posthumously in 2006.

Ranft was posthumously honored in 2006 as a Disney Legend and in 2016 with the Winsor McCay Award, the lifetime achievement award for animators.

Death On August 16, 2005, Ranft, 45, and his friend Eric Frierson, 39, were passengers in Ranft's 2004 Honda Element, which was being driven by another friend, Elegba Earl, 32. Earl suddenly lost control and crashed through a guard rail while northbound on Highway 1 in Mendocino County, California. The SUV tumbled down a cliff and plunged into the mouth of Navarro River, killing Ranft and Earl instantly. Frierson was injured, but survived by escaping through the sunroof. Cars (2006) and Corpse Bride (2005), for which he was respectively a director and producer, were released posthumously and dedicated to him. His remains were cremated.

Legacy Ranft has been recognized by colleagues and in various tributes in animated films released after his death. Henry Selick called him "the story giant of our generation." Ranft did early drawings for the character of Finn McMissile in an unused scene from the film Cars, and his drawings were later used in creating the character for Cars 2. John Lasseter has cited Ranft as being one of the main inspirations for the character of Mater from the Cars films and described his influence as being "all over Cars 2". In the film Inside Out, the character of Jangles the Clown is based on a character created by Ranft outside of Pixar named "Buttocks the Clown", according to co-director Ronnie del Carmen and story artist Domee Shi. The end credits of the Pixar film Coco showcase a digital ofrenda with pictures of many Pixar employees and their loved ones who had previously died, including Ranft. Additionally, the 2020 film Soul includes his name on a wall of previous mentors to the character 22.

Personal life

Ranft's younger brother, Jerome (born 1966), is a character sculptor and voice actor. Ranft married Sue Barry in 1985. They had two children, Jordan "Jordy" and Sophia. Jordan (born 1991), is a actor and poet who performed voice roles during his childhood as Dot's Friend in A Bug's Life (1998) and Tad the longnose butterflyfish in Finding Nemo (2003, credited as Jordy Ranft), and he later appeared in the live-action short The Newish Testament (2018) as God, and Sophia (born 1995), is a voice actress who voiced Baby Smitty, the slug monster in Monsters, Inc. (2001).

Filmography

Film Year Title Director Writer StorySupervisor StoryArtist Animator ExecutiveProducer Other Voice Role Notes 1987 The Brave Little Toaster Elmo St. Peters / Clown Animation Screen Story 1988 Who Framed Roger Rabbit Animation: Storysketch Oliver & Company 1989 The Little Mermaid 1995 Toy Story Lenny Monsters, Inc. Pete "Claws" Ward Additional story material Red / Peterbilt Original Story, End credits designer

TV specials Year Title Writer Puppeteer 1983 Hansel and Gretel 1987Sport Goofy in Soccermania

Documentaries Year Title Role Notes 2007 The Pixar Story Himself Film dedicated in memory 2009 Waking Sleeping Beauty caricaturist

Video games Year Title Voice Role Notes 1996 Toy Story Animated Storybook Lenny 1998 A Bug's Life: The Video Game Heimlich