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| caption = Joe Ranft
| caption = Joe Ranft
| birthname = Joseph Henry Ranft
| birthname = Joseph Henry Ranft
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1960|3|13}}
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1959|3|13}}
| birth_place = [[Pasadena, California]], {{nowrap|[[United States]]}}
| birth_place = [[Pasadena, California]], {{nowrap|[[United States]]}}
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2005|8|16|1960|3|13}}
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2005|8|16|1959|3|13}}
| death_place = [[Mendocino County, California]], [[United States]]
| death_place = [[Mendocino County, California]], [[United States]]
| death_cause = Car crash
| death_cause = Car crash
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'''Joseph Henry''' "'''Joe'''" '''Ranft''' (March 13, 1960 – August 16, 2005) was an [[United States|American]] [[screenwriter]], [[animator]], [[storyboard artist]] and [[voice actor]] who worked for [[Pixar]] and [[The Walt Disney Company|Disney]]. His brother, Jerome Ranft, is a sculptor who also worked on several Pixar movies.
'''Joseph Henry''' "'''Joe'''" '''Ranft''' (March 13, 1959 – August 16, 2005) was an [[United States|American]] [[screenwriter]], [[animator]], [[storyboard artist]] and [[voice actor]] who worked for [[Pixar]] and [[The Walt Disney Company|Disney]]. His brother, Jerome Ranft, is a sculptor who also worked on several Pixar movies.


==Early life==
==Early life==
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|ALTERNATIVE NAMES=Ranft, Joseph Henry
|ALTERNATIVE NAMES=Ranft, Joseph Henry
|SHORT DESCRIPTION=American writer, animator and voice actor
|SHORT DESCRIPTION=American writer, animator and voice actor
|DATE OF BIRTH=March 13, 1960
|DATE OF BIRTH=March 13, 1959
|PLACE OF BIRTH=[[Pasadena, California]], [[United States]]
|PLACE OF BIRTH=[[Pasadena, California]], [[United States]]
|DATE OF DEATH=August 16, 2005
|DATE OF DEATH=August 16, 2005

Revision as of 22:58, 29 June 2012

Joe Ranft
Joe Ranft
Born
Joseph Henry Ranft

(1959-03-13)March 13, 1959
Pasadena, California, United States
DiedAugust 16, 2005(2005-08-16) (aged 46)
Mendocino County, California, United States
Cause of deathCar crash
NationalityAmerican
EducationMonte Vista High School
Alma materCalifornia Institute of the Arts
Occupation(s)Screenwriter, animator, storyboard artist, voice actor, director, magician
Years active1989-2005
Spouse(s)Sue Barry (1985-2005) (his death)
2 children

Joseph Henry "Joe" Ranft (March 13, 1959 – August 16, 2005) was an American screenwriter, animator, storyboard artist and voice actor who worked for Pixar and Disney. His brother, Jerome Ranft, is a sculptor who also worked on several Pixar movies.

Early life

Ranft was born in Pasadena,[1] and raised in Whittier. As a child, Ranft developed a love for magic, storytelling, film and comedy. At 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.[1] After two years, Ranft's student film Good Humor caught the attention of Disney animation executives, who offered him a job.

Career

In 1980, Joe Ranft joined Disney as a writer and storyboard artist. During his first five years with Disney, Joe worked on a number of television projects[1] 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 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?'"[2] 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.[1]

Ranft reunited with Lasseter when he was hired by Pixar in 1991 as their head of story.[1] There he worked on all of their films produced up to 2006; this included Toy Story (for which he received an Academy Award nomination) and A Bug's Life, as the co-story writer and others as story supervisor. His final film was Cars. 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 Jacques the shrimp in Finding Nemo.[1]

In the movie Monsters, Inc., Joe Ranft had a monster named after him (J.J. Ranft) as most of the scarers in the film were named for Pixar staff.

He voiced the following Pixar characters:

Ranft used a German accent to voice Heimlich the caterpillar in A Bug's Life and a French accent to voice Jacques the shrimp in Finding Nemo. He was also given lead story credit on 1987's The Brave Little Toaster and voiced Elmo St. Peters, the appliance salesman.

His favorite writers were Kurt Vonnegut, Hunter S. Thompson, and Tom Wolfe. His favorite magicians were John Carney, Daryl, Michael Ammar, Ricky Jay, and Jimmy Grippo.[3]

Death

On August 16, 2005, Ranft was riding as a passenger in his 2005 Honda Element when the driver, Elegba Earl, lost control and crashed through the guard rail while heading northbound on Highway 1. The car plunged 130 feet into the mouth of the Navarro River in Mendocino County, California. Both Ranft and Earl were killed. Another passenger, Eric Frierson, survived by escaping through the sun roof and received moderate injuries.[4][5]

Ranft was survived by his wife of 20 years, Sue Barry, and their children, Jordan and Sophia as well as his brother. He died during production of Cars, which he co-directed and was dedicated to him. His remains were cremated. The film and tie-in game are dedicated to his memory, as is Tim Burton's Corpse Bride, which Ranft executive produced. Henry Selick called him "the story giant of our generation."[5]

In Selick's production of Coraline, the moving SUV that moves Coraline into her new apartment is emblazoned with a "Ranft Moving, Inc." logo, named in honor of the late animator. The movers themselves are modeled after Joe and Jerome, and Jerome Ranft voices one of the movers.

Selected filmography

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Woollcombe, Alan (2005-08-23). "Joe Ranft". The Independent. Retrieved 2010-01-24.
  2. ^ "Eric Larson, Disney Family Album: Part Three".
  3. ^ http://www.pixar.com/artistscorner/joe/index.html
  4. ^ Scott Weinberg (2005-08-19). "Pixar's Joe Ranft Falls to a Tragic Death". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2008-06-26.
  5. ^ a b Sheigh Crabtree (2005-08-18). "Pixar Animation's Joe Ranft, 45". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 2007-07-02.
  6. ^ http://legends.disney.go.com/legends/detail?key=Joe+Ranft

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