At Disney, Ranft worked on Oliver & Company (1988), Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988), Beauty and the Beast (1991), The Lion King (1994) and Fantasia/2000. He oversaw the story on The Rescuers Down Under (1990) and was co-writer and supervising animator on The Brave Little Toaster (1987). But fans of the patented Pixar magic will most likely remember Joe Ranft for his superlative character work: he provided the voice for Heimlich (the caterpillar) in "A Bugs Life," Wheezy (the penguin) in "Toy Story 2," and Jacques (the fish) in "Finding Nemo.". "A spokeswoman for the Mendocino County Sheriff-Coroners 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 north on Highway 1. He was a classic example of a maladjusted child with a dark imagination finding great success in the film industry. . Earl suddenly lost control and crashed through a guard rail while northbound on Highway 1. In 1990, Ranft moved to Seattle for a year to write a childrens book, and relocated to the San Francisco area the following year to work with Pixar on TOY STORY and with director Henry Selick on THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS. Producers: Walt Disney Ron Miller Ken Anderson Don Duckwall Perce Pearce Margaret J. Winkler, Story Trust Directors: Ron Clements Chris Buck Byron Howard Don Hall Chris Williams Rich Moore Stephen J. Anderson Was First Look at Sebastian Discovered by Eagle-Eyed The Little Mermaid Fans? theme: { Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas, 10 Movies That Were Rated R for Basically No Reason, YA Dystopian Movie Adaptations, Ranked from Worst to Best, Jung So-mins Best Movies and TV Shows, Ranked. Joseph Henry Ranft [1] byl americk scenrista, animtor, tvrce storyboard a dabr, jen pracoval pro Pixar Animation Studios a Disney ve Walt Disney Animation Studios a Disney Television Animation. California. Public records show that the phone number (360) 825-1891 is linked to L Ranft, Jill M Ranft, Jill Ranft. The SUV tumbled down a cliff and plunged 130 feet (40 m) into the mouth . Manage all your favorite fandoms in one place! [citation needed], His favorite writers were Kurt Vonnegut, Hunter S. Thompson, and Tom Wolfe. Red Jerry Recycled Batteries Cars (co-director, writer, and voice actor) Cars was the last film that Ranft worked on, and it was very dedicated to him. [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. Home; Products; About Us; Support. Who gave Hemlich a funney and sweet personallity The SUV tumbled down a cliff and plunged 130 feet (40m) into the mouth of the Navarro River where it meets the Pacific Ocean in Mendocino County, killing both Ranft and Earl instantly. Directors: Clyde Geronimi Hamilton Luske Jack Kinney Ted Berman Richard Rich Nathan Greno George Scribner Riley Thomson Dick Lundy Jack King Burt Gillett Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, Buzz Lightyear of Star Command: The Adventure Begins, "Eric Larson, Disney Family Album: Part Three", https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-EMZrbS7N_k, "John Lasseter Talks Cars 2 and the Memory of His Friend and Collaborator, Joe Ranft", https://www.comingsoon.net/movies/news/553767-pixar-head-john-lasseter-remembers-good-pal-late-great-joe-ranft, https://web.archive.org/web/20021211090732/http://www.pixar.com/artistscorner/joe/index.html, Pixar's Joe Ranft Falls to a Tragic Death, With 'Cars,' Pixar Revs Up to Outpace Walt Disney Himself, Joe Ranft, 45; Artist for Pixar Animated Films, Voice of Heimlich in 'A Bug's Life', http://legends.disney.go.com/legends/detail?key=Joe+Ranft, https://catalog.afi.com/Person/192980-Joe-Ranft, https://www.salon.com/1999/11/23/story_2/, https://variety.com/2005/film/news/pixar-exec-dies-in-car-accident-1117927706/, https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2ba99d2cad, https://variety.com/2006/film/awards/cars-3-1200515758/. When i saw i the movie cars. Both Ranft and Earl were killed instantly. 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. He is best known as one of the writers of 'Toy Story' and a co-director of the 'Disney' film 'Cars.' . The 2010 Blu-Ray and DVD re-release of Toy Story 2 includes a special feature that focuses on Ranft and his accomplishments titled "Celebrating Our Friend Joe Ranft". [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 for Best Original Screenplay) and A Bug's Life, as the co-story writer and others as story supervisor. Nobody appreciated or loved Joe more than John. All rights reserved. Joseph Henry "Joe" 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. His spirit and legacy will live on through the hundreds of stories that are being told and will be told by all the artists and directors he mentored and inspired. Earl suddenly lost control and crashed through . 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. He was a big part of our lives, and we loved him and loved working with him. At 15, he became a member of the Magic Castle Junior Group. Ranft reunited with Lasseter when he was hired by Pixar in 1991 as their head of story. Goes Out newsletter, with the week's best events, to help you explore and experience our city. You know, it's like, animation is so complex; 'How many drawings are in there?' . The car plunged 130 feet into the mouth of the Navarro River in Mendocino County, California. "Joe was really a major part of Pixar's soul - he was one of the key players who made all the films what they are." Pete Docter Joseph Henry "Joe" Ranft (March 13, 1960 - August 16, 2005) was an American screenwriter, animator, storyboard artist, voice actor, and magician, who was the key creative member of Pixar and was one of the original members of the Brain Trust. He received an Academy Award for Best . Another passenger, Eric Frierson, survived by escaping through the sun roof; he received moderate injuries. Aug. 19, 2005. Cars was dedicated to his memory. Even though they were just still drawings, they screamed to be animated, Ranft recalled. 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 . During his first five years with Disney, Joe worked on a number of television projects[1] that were never produced. Producers: Peter Del Vecho Clark Spencer Roy Conli Dorothy McKim Don Hahn [1] Around this time, he studied under and began performing with the improvisational group, The Groundlings. His younger brother Jerome Ranft is a sculptor who also worked on several Pixar films. The car plunged 130 feet and crashed into the ocean. Joe Ranft was riding as a passenger with his friend Eric Frierson in his Honda Element which was being driven by . In lieu of flowers, the Ranft family respectfully requests that donations be made to the Joseph Henry Ranft Memorial Fund, and sent care of Pixar Animation Studios, 1200 Park Avenue, Emeryville, California, 94608. All rights reserved. Discovery Sues Paramount For An Illicit Conspiracy To Circumvent $500M South Park Deal, Dilbert Creator Scott Adams Dropped By Syndicate After Posting Racist Youtube Rant, Stop Motion Rules At 50th Annie Awards As Pinocchio And Marcel The Shell With Shoes On Top Winners List Analysis, My Sunny Maad, Grannys Sexual Life Score French Academy Csar Awards, The Animation That Changed Me: Bruce Smith On One Hundred And One Dalmatians, Know Your Indie Filmmaker: Cristbal Len And Joaqun Cocia, Government Cuts $2M Check For The Restoration Of Walt Disneys Laugh-O-Gram Studio In Kansas City, Missouri. On August 18, 2005, he and two friends, 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. "We'd do hundreds of drawings, and Joe was always the guy who was able to go back in and say, 'This is about the process; let's try it again.' John and I had a pact that when he directed his first feature, I was going to work on it, Ranft told The Times. Later in his Disney career, he was promoted into the Feature Animation department, where he was mentored by Eric Larson. [1] After two years, Ranft's student film Good Humor caught the attention of Disney animation executives, who offered him a job. While at Disney, Ranft became friends with John Lasseter, who later became a top executive at Pixar Animation Studios. Disney Wiki is a FANDOM Movies Community. }, Sorry for his family. Ed Catmull, visibly shaken walked out to deliver the sad news. Joe Ranft Dies in a Car Crash. Joes contribution to Animation has been immense and far reaching. And after the story was toldwe had met new animated friends that would be with us for our entire lives. I make tons of straight-to-video movies you can find at Amazon & Vimeo. [5][6] Ranft, who was 45, died during the production of Cars, which he co-directed and voice acted in. Visual Development, Layout, Background Artists and Character Designers: Gustaf Tenggren Mary Blair Marjorie Ralston Lillian Bounds Joe Grant Mel Shaw Claude Coats Don DaGradi John Hench Eyvind Earle Ken O'Connor Thor Putnam Albert Hurter John Hubley Herbert Ryman Don Griffith Basil Davidovich Jack Boyd Peter Ellenshaw Ruthie Tompson Earl Duvall Retta Davidson " " Pete Docter Joe Ranft (13 1960 - 16 . During the 1980s, he was writing stories for Disney . }, Will be forever greatful at PIXAR STUDIOS "He could do these beautiful sweet gags for a family film and then do these weird, depraved cartoons of anyone who needed to be skewered," Selick said. Both Ranft and Earl were killed instantly. To those who didn't know him, he is most famous for his many voice roles; Lenny and Wheezy in the Toy Story series, Heimlich the caterpillar in A Bug's Life, Jaques the shrimp in Finding Nemo, amongst many others. 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. Director Henry Selick, Ranft's friend and longtime collaborator, called him "the story giant of our generation.". 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. new TWTR.Widget({ Warmer storms could cause problems, This isnt Rocky: How Michael B. Jordan seized the reins of a legendary franchise, Concerns about Bruce Willis declining cognitive state swirled around sets in recent years, Everything Everywhere All at Once explained: Hot dog hands, empathy challenges and meaning in the absurd, He put $40,000 on credit cards to make his first film. Ranft, who was 45, died during the production of Cars, which he co-directed and voice acted in. "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. "I've never seen anyone try to improve himself as much as Joe did over the years.". He was . He studied for two years at CalArts, a breeding ground for gifted filmmakers who were using 3-D computer technology, art and storytelling in fresh ways that re-energized the moribund world of animated movies and made them hugely profitable. He was one of seven writers nominated for an Academy Award for best original screenplay for 1995s Toy Story.. Born in Pasadena in 1960, Ranft was raised in Whittier, Calif., where as a child he developed a fondness for performing magic tricks. 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. AIDB.com: Animation Industry Database | Production Companies | VFX Houses | Schools, 2017 AWN, Inc. AWN.com - Part of the Animation World Network - 13300 Victory Blvd. Ranft died during the production of Cars, which he co-directed and voice acted in. Earl, who was driving, lost control of their 2004 Honda Element, veered off the road and over a cliff. His brother, Jerome Ranft, is a sculptor who also worked on several Pixar movies. 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. [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". Ranft worked for Pixar Animation Studios and for Disney at Disney Television Animation and Disney Animation. Your email address will not be published. I was watching Cars when I found this out way past this death and I actually began to get teary eyed because I am a Pixar film lover! 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. Thank you Mr. Ranft for your creativity and your love to this industry. Joesph Henry "Joe" Ranft (born March 13, 1960 - August 16th, 2005) was an American Screenwriter, Animator, Storyboard . 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. rpp: 5, His brother, Jerome Ranft is a sculptor and voice actor who also worked on several Pixar movies. Joseph Henry "Joe" Ranft was an American magician, animator, storyboard artist, and voice actor who worked for Pixar and Disney. Joe Ranft died at the age 45 Mendocino County, California, United States of car crash August 16, 2005. His brother, Jerome Ranft, is a sculptor who also worked on several Pixar movies. Search; Search. Share Joe's life story with friends and family. Interesting case though, in light of the recent hand-wringing about rear-seat . Im sorry for the family left behind. As always with Joe it was about accentuating the positive and finding what works with people. And we earmark things we want to improve. As a child, Ranft developed a love for magic, storytelling, film and comedy. He was a story giant of our generation.". Joseph Henry Ranft (March 13, 1960 August 16, 2005) was an American screenwriter, animator, storyboard artist and voice actor. A gentle soul with a heart of gold who magically knew how to make us interested in any stories he wanted to tell us. Chief Creative Officer: Jennifer Lee Earl suddenly lost control and crashed through a guard rail while northbound on Highway 1. Joe Ranft was an American screenwriter, animator, storyboard artist and voice actor, . He watches it at least twice a day, everyday. On August 16, 2005, Ranft, 45, and his friend Eric Frierson, were . 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. The car plunged 130 feet into the mouth of the Navarro River in Mendocino County, California. Signature Voice Actors: Jim Cummings Alan Tudyk Katie Lowes John DiMaggio Maurice LaMarche Jodi Benson David Ogden Stiers Jesse Corti Paul Briggs Raymond S. Persi Phil Johnston Frank Welker Bill Farmer Brian Cummings You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times. width: 'auto', A memorial service has been set for Joe Ranft, one of the animation industrys most respected and talented story specialists, who died in a car accident near Mendocino, California, on Aug. 16, 2005 (see AWN report). Ranft, who was 45, died during the production of Cars, which he co-directed and voice acted in. He will be deeply missed. . The cars driver, Elegba Earl, was also killed, while another passenger, Eric Frierson, survived the accident. Copyright 2018 Fandango. Pixar Studios veteran Joe Ranft died on Tuesday after the car he was riding in broke through a guardrail and plummeted over 100 feet into the ocean, says The Hollywood Reporter. His favorite writers were Kurt Vonnegut, Hunter S. Thompson, and Tom Wolfe. 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. In the DVD of Cars, Ranft can be seen in an interview about the movie. Ranft reunited with Lasseter in 1992 to help transform Pixar into a powerhouse animation studio. Joe Ranft. '"[2], Around this time, he studied under and began performing with the improvisational group, The Groundlings. Joe Ranft. Update (3:54pm): Here is the HOLLYWOOD REPORTER obit with scary details of how the auto accident happened. I actually cried at the end. Ranft was survived by his wife of 20 years, Sue Barry, and their . His first five years at Disney, Joe Ranft worked on a number of television projects that never got made. Ranft was born in Pasadena, California,[1] and raised in Whittier. 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 men were on their way to the Mosaic Foundation in Mendocino, where Mr. Ranft attended an annual spiritual retreat, and was sponsoring Earl and Frierson this year. The California Highway Patrol said the crash occurred at about 3 p.m. Tuesday as the driver tried to regain control of the car after swerving when he headed into a tight left curve. [14] Additionally, the 2020 film Soul includes his name on a wall of previous mentors to the character 22. Most recently, he had completed his assignment as head of story for Pixars latest feature, CARS, directed by John Lasseter, and due for release in summer 2006. His younger brother Jerome Ranft is a sculptor who also worked on several Pixar films. Update (4:45pm): Pixar story artist Ronnie del Carmen writes in his BLOG: People cannot say much but just gave each other embraces to quell the sadness. 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. It was a car accident. 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. Joseph Henry Ranft (13. bezna 1960 Pasadena, Kalifornie - 16. srpna 2005 Mendocino County, Kalifornie) byl americk scenrista, animtor, tvrce storyboard a dabr, jen pracoval pro Pixar Animation Studios a Disney ve Walt Disney Animation Studios a Disney Television Animation.Jeho mlad bratr Jerome Ranft je socha, kter rovn pracoval na nkolika filmech spolenosti . at least a tear in his memory its good from all hoo watch his great movies Finishing high school in fall 1978, Joe Ranft began studying in the character animation program at the California Institute of the Arts. In 1980, Ranft joined Disney as a writer and storyboard artist. Ranft also supervised the story for Cars, a Pixar film scheduled for release next summer, and served as an executive producer on Tim Burtons Corpse Bride, which comes out in September. April 2023 List - as of 2/17/2023. Close Search. He previously worked with Burton as a storyboard supervisor on The Nightmare Before Christmas.. Eric has 3239 Larsen Ave, Enumclaw, WA 98022 in his address history. If you mean Eric Frierson, who escaped through the skylight, it's not very probative case because two front-seat occupants died (driver Elegba Earl and passenger Joe Ranft). Henry Selick called him "the story giant of our generation. At 15, he became a . Id never seen an entire company come screeching to a halt the way it did today. }).render().setUser('blogofdeath').start(); Your email address will not be published. Ranft later spoke about Larson's training: "He always reminds me of just the fundamental things that I tend to forget. Frierson, who was riding in the back seat, survived by climbing through the cars sun roof. Ranft's voice-over work for Pixar included such characters as Heimlich in A Bug's Life and Wheezy the Penguin in Toy Story 2. 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