Joe Ranft. Phineas and Ferb the Movie: Candace Against the Universe, High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, Buzz Lightyear of Star Command: The Adventure Begins, Eric Larson, Disney Family Album: Part Three. He worked on The Lion King, The Brave Little Toaster, Toy Story, A Bug's Life, Cars, Monsters, Inc and Finding Nemo. On August 16, 2005, Ranft and his friend Eric Frierson were passengers in Ranft's 2004 Honda Element, which was being driven by another friend, Elegba Earl. You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times. Will the luck of the Irish affect the Oscars? Close Search. He was big, funny and had the most joy and life in him that I have seen in anybody before or since. Frierson survived by escaping through the sun roof, though he . [10] John Lasseter has cited Ranft as being one of the main inspirations for the character of Mater from those films, and described his influence as being "all over Cars 2". Update (12:41pm): A remembrance by Sputnik on Animation Nation: I was already working for Disney features when this new guy showed up one day from CALARTS. REST IN PEACE. Rest in peace.. i just watched cars and at the end i saw a dedication to joe rafnt so i checked him out on my net and now i know who is that guy..i feel sory for his family and relatives and also to pixar and pixar fans (me)T_T. 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 and Disney at Disney Animation and Disney Television Animation. Manage all your favorite fandoms in one place! "A spokeswoman for the Mendocino County Sheriff-Coroner's Office confirmed Wednesday that Ranft was one of two people who died when the 2004 Honda Element they were traveling in veered off the road while heading . Earl suddenly lost control and crashed through a guard rail while northbound on Highway 1. On Toy Story, his boards for the army man sequence, which went into film pretty much unchanged, became the model we aspired to on the film., Docter added: On Monsters, he was a great mentor: constructive and supportive and always a pleasure to be around. Earl, the driver, mismanaged a hairpin turn and the car spun off of the roadside cliff, crashing onto the banks of the Navarro River. Another passenger, Eric Frierson, 39, also of Los Angeles, was hospitalized with moderate injuries at Mendocino Coast District Hospital in Fort Bragg, according to the sheriff-coroners office. In addition to his story credits on TOY STORY, TOY STORY 2, A BUGS LIFE and MONSTERS, INC., Ranft has provided voices for a variety of Pixar characters, including Lenny the Binoculars in TOY STORY, the insatiably ravenous Heimlich the caterpillar in A BUGS LIFE, Wheezy the asthmatic squeeze-toy penguin in TOY STORY 2, Pete Claws Ward in MONSTERS, INC. and Jacques, the over eager cleaner shrimp in FINDING NEMO. Rich L.A. homeowners are snapping them up, Column: Supreme Court conservatives may want to block student loan forgiveness. Elegba Earl and Eric Frierson, were traveling in a 2004 Honda Element north along the tortuous Highway 1, 130 feet above the rocky Southern California coastline. i am so glad he made the movie CARS! The driver, identified by the Coroner's Office as Elegba Earl, 32, of Los Angeles, also was killed in the crash. During the 1980s, he was writing stories for Disney . Its hard to imagine a world without Joe Ranft and the joy and fun he brought to all of us on a daily basis. The car plunged 130 feet into the mouth of the Navarro River in Mendocino County, California. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Joe Ranft, Pixar Animation Studios' head of story for more than a decade and a cornerstone of the company's creative team, died Tuesday when the car he was riding in plunged into the ocean after running off the road in Mendocino County, Calif. That is a seperate loss. He was one of seven writers nominated for an Academy Award for best original screenplay for 1995s Toy Story.. Joseph Henry "Joe" Ranft was an American magician, animator, storyboard artist, and voice actor who worked for Pixar and Disney. Joe Ranft Dies in a Car Crash. The car's driver, Elegba Earl, was also killed, while another passenger, Eric Frierson, survived the accident. Joseph Henry Ranft (March 13, 1960 - August 16, 2005) was an American screenwriter, animator, storyboard artist, and voice actor, who worked for Pixar Animation Studios and Disney at Walt Disney Animation Studios and Disney Television Animation. Ranft and Earl were both killed instantly. As a child, Ranft developed a love for magic, storytelling, film and comedy. [11] 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",[12] according to co-director Ronnie del Carmen and story artist Domee Shi. The film and tie-in game are dedicated to his memory, as is Tim Burton's Corpse Bride, on which Ranft was executive producer. Ranft reunited with Lasseter when he was hired by Pixar in 1991 as their head of story. He had already worked for Disney and I believe I saw him on TV win an Oscar for his work at Pixar, but the few times I saw him over the years he was just Joe. As always with Joe it was about accentuating the positive and finding what works with people. type: 'profile',
As a child, Ranft developed a love for magic, storytelling, film and comedy. . After graduating from Monte Vista High School, Whittier, in 1978, Ranft began studying in the character animation program at the California Institute of the Arts alongside John Lasseter and Brad Bird. His first five years at Disney, Joe Ranft worked on a number of television projects that never got made. Longtime Movieweb contributor that was uploading 1-minute movie reviews to the world wide web via AOL before Youtube or social media existed. "This is not only a huge personal loss for all of us at Pixar, but a tremendous loss to moviegoers the world over," said John Lasseter, Pixar's creative head and a close friend of Mr. Ranft's since their student days at Los Angeles' CalArts in the late 1970s. height: 350,
Update (12:21pm): A report on this blog by Tara about the scene at Pixar: Yesterday the main story guy at Pixar, Joe Ranft, passed away in a car accident near Mendocino. Sorry for his family. Born in Pasadena in 1960, Ranft was raised in Whittier, Calif., where as a child he developed a fondness for performing magic tricks. He watches it at least twice a day, everyday. Resides in Covington, GA. width: 'auto',
I actually cried at the end. Joe Ranft, an Oscar-nominated writer and a founding member of the Pixar Animation Studios creative team, was killed on Aug. 16 in a car accident. Earl suddenly lost control and crashed through a guard rail while northbound on Highway 1. Earl suddenly lost control and . Another passenger, Eric Frierson, survived by escaping through the sun roof and received moderate injuries. Jeho mlad bratr Jerome Ranft je socha, kter rovn pracoval na nkolika filmech spolenosti Pixar. at the end i was curious aboub Joe Ranft i got some details about him great man Also known as Erick J Frieson, Eric Jary Frieson. Joe Ranft remembers his training under the Disney Legend as, "[Eric] always reminds me of just the fundamental things that I tend to forget. It proved to be an invaluable experience for Ranft. Bill Plympton took me there to meet him and the 3 of us had a lovely lunch together. Joseph Henry Ranft was born in Pasadena, California, on March 13, 1960, and raised in Whittier. "Joe had a great passion for telling stories, and he told them better than anyone," Lasseter said in a statement. Joe Ranft. I knew thats what I wanted to try to accomplish.. A second passenger, Eric T. Frierson, 39, of Los Angeles, who was riding in the back seat, survived the crash with relatively minor injuries, the California Highway Patrol reported. Last week, Ranft and his friends, Elegba Earl, 32, and Eric Frierson, 39, were driving northbound on Highway 1 in Mendocino County, Calif., en route to take part in a retreat for a mentoring program. Joes contribution to Animation has been immense and far reaching. For the last 13 years, he worked in story development and provided the voices of Heimlich the caterpillar in A Bugs Life, Wheezy the asthmatic penguin in Toy Story 2 and Jacques the cleaner fish in Finding Nemo. For co-writing the 1995 film Toy Story, Ranft earned an Academy Award nomination. He worked on story development for all of Pixar's feature film releases, most recently as Head of Story on Cars. Lenny the Binoculars in Toy Story (1995), Fa Lang in Mulan (1998), Heimlich the caterpillar in A Bug's Life (1998), Wheezy the toy penguin in Toy Story 2 (1999), Pete "Claws" Ward in Monsters Inc (2001), Jacques the shrimp in Finding Nemo (2003), Universal Man and One of Syndrome's guards in . [3] 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. Ranft was a passenger in the car. He was funny, poignant, original, and he had an infallible sense for how to structure a story.. Later in his Disney career, he was promoted into the Feature Animation department, where he was mentored by Eric Larson. More recently, he served as executive producer on Tim Burtons Corpse Bride, due this fall. Visual Development & Storyboard Artists: Dean DeBlois Claire Keane Brittney Lee Jin Kim Shiyoon Kim. The last meeting I had with Joe was a Story Lead meeting where we share the collective known knowlege of those of us whove done Head of story jobs. Directors: Clyde Geronimi Hamilton Luske Jack Kinney Ted Berman Richard Rich Nathan Greno George Scribner Riley Thomson Dick Lundy Jack King Burt Gillett I knew him as a warm, friendly nice guy who didnt let his success fill him up with self-importance. The population at work had never been this silent except for the sound of grief. Perhaps best remembered by those who knew him for his kindness, generosity, positivity, sense of humor, and his fatherly mentoring ability. Who gave Hemlich a funney and sweet personallity He was 45. Joe Ranft was an American screenwriter, animator, storyboard artist and voice actor, . 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. My kids asked me who JOE RANFT WAS, WELL KNOW WE ALL KNOW. He was the co-director and writer of Cars, and performed the voice of Red in the film. His brother, Jerome Ranft, is a sculptor who also worked on several Pixar movies. Joe Ranft. At age 15, he became a member of the Magic Castle Junior Group. Earl suddenly lost control and crashed through a guard rail while northbound on Highway 1. Selick met Ranft at Disney in the early 1980s, and his first impression of Ranft was that he was "a huge guy" who was well over 6 feet tall. If you didn't make the list remember we have a waitlist and will get you moved up as soon as we can. Joe Ranft reunited with John Lasseter, whom he had previously met at California Institute of the Arts during the late '70s, when he joined Pixar in 1992. [13] 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. Majorhythm: 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. Joe Ranft. [1], In the movie Monsters, Inc., Ranft had a monster named after him (J.J. Ranft) as most of the scarers in the film were named for Pixar staff. Joesph Henry "Joe" Ranft (born March 13, 1960) was an American screenwriter, animator, storyboard artist, voice actor, and magician who had a net worth of $5 million. Their paths had diverged when Lasseter went to Pixar to direct a series of innovative computer-animated shorts while Ranft did story work at Skellington Productions on Tim Burtons The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) and James and the Giant Peach (1996), which were distributed by Disney. The other passenger, Eric Frierson, 39, was able to escape through the vehicle's moon roof. He received an Academy Award for Best . Joe Ranft, one of the key . Joseph Henry Ranft (March 13, 1960 - August 16, 2005) was an American screenwriter, comedian, animator, storyboard artist, voice actor and magician who worked for Pixar Animation Studios and Disney at Walt Disney Animation Studios and Disney Television Animation. Ranft and Earl died from injuries sustained in the accident. Joseph Henry Ranft[1] was born in Pasadena, California, on March 13, 1960,[1] and raised in Whittier. CHP investigators said Earl apparently had driven slightly off the roadway on the right, overcompensated when he turned the wheel to the left to straighten out, and veered over the cliff. Earl, who was driving, lost control . The cars driver, Elegba Earl, was also killed, while another passenger, Eric Frierson, survived the accident. Mr. Ranft was born in Pasadena and raised in the Southern California town of Whittier. Joe was always sought after by every top director at the studioincluding John Lasseter. In the movie Monsters, Inc., Ranft had a monster named after him (J.J. Ranft) as most of the scarers in the film were named for Pixar staff. After graduating from Monte Vista High School, Whittier, in 1978, Ranft began studying in the character animation program at the California Institute of the Arts alongside John Lasseter and Brad Bird. Joseph Ranft was an American writer, voice actor, animator, storyboard artist and magician. His brother, Jerome Ranft, is a sculptor who also worked on several Pixar movies. . Earl suddenly lost control and crashed through a guard rail while northbound on Highway 1. Screenwriter, animator, storyboard artist, director, comedian, voice actor, magician. He worked on some of the most beloved animated films of the past thirty years including The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, The Brave Little Toaster, The Lion King, Toy Story and Toy Story 2, A Bug's Life, Monsters, Inc., Finding Nemo and Cars. Mr. Ranft is survived by his wife of 20 years, Su, a son, Jordan, a daughter, Sophia, two brothers, Jerome and James, and a sister, Ruth. Joseph Henry Ranft (March 13, 1960 August 16, 2005) was a beloved god of animation, Pixarian, Disney animator and writer, magician, impressionist, actor, and prankster extraordinaire. Also killed was the driver, Elegba Earl, 32, of Los Angeles. Joseph Henry Ranft (March 13, 1960 - August 16, 2005) was an American screenwriter, animator, storyboard artist, director, voice actor and magician, who worked for Pixar Animation Studios and Disney at Walt Disney Animation Studios and Disney Television Animation. Home; Products; About Us; Support. The . Share Joe's life story with friends and family. 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