Photo: nicolas genin from Paris, France / CC BY-SA 2.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
Lee Unkrich is, to me, one of the unsung architects of Pixar's golden run. As an editor turned director, he brought a craftsman's precision to films that somehow also gutted you emotionally. Toy Story 3 had me, a grown adult, weeping at an incinerator and then a bedroom handoff, and Coco managed to make an entire theater cry about memory and family while celebrating Mexican culture with real care. Two Best Animated Feature Oscars is no fluke. What I admire is how invisible his control is; you never feel the editing, you just feel the story land. He is a quiet master.
Overview
Lee Unkrich is an American film director, editor and animator born in 1967 in Cleveland, Ohio. A longtime Pixar Animation Studios filmmaker, he co-directed Toy Story 2 and Monsters, Inc. and solo-directed Toy Story 3 and Coco, the latter two winning the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature in 2011 and 2018 respectively. A graduate of the University of Southern California, he is also known for his meticulous editing.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Lee Unkrich
- Name (Japanese)
- リー・アンクリッチ
- Reading
- りー・あんくりっち
- Born
- August 8, 1967 (age 58)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Leo / Sheep
- Origin
- Cleveland, Ohio, United States
- Blood type
- Private
- Height
- Private
- Agency
- Private
- Occupation
- Film director / Editor / Animator / Voice actor / Screenwriter
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Private
- High school
- Private
- University
- University of Southern California
Awards & achievements
- Annie Award
- 2011 Academy Award for Best Animated Feature
- 2018 Academy Award for Best Animated Feature
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Private
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Motto
Private
5. Works & records
| Category | Title | Role | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Notable work | Toy Story 2 | — | Unknown |
6. Links
Film director — see all → · Editor — see all → · More people from United States →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-02
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.