Joe Ranft Biography

Joe Ranft was a screenwriter, comedian, animator, voice actor, director and magician nominated for the American ‘ Academy Award.’ He is best known as one of’ Toy Story ‘ writers and co-director of’ Disney ‘ film’ Cars.’ Joe was born in Pasadena, California, and raised in Whittier. As a child, he became interested in magic, animation, movies, and storytelling. He also enrolled in the character animation program at the’ California Institute of Arts.’

Joe Ranft Death

Joe is 59 years old as of 2019. She was born on March 13, 1960.

Joe Ranft Wife | Children

joe Ranft married Sue Barry in 1985. The couple had two children: a son, Jordan, and a daughter, Sophia.

Joe Ranft Career

In 1980, Joe formally joined’ Disney’ as a storyboard artist and writer. Joe spent his first 5 years working on their animated TV programs with’ Disney.’ None of those shows, however, made it to TV. Joe was promoted to the feature films department in the mid-1980s, where he worked under legendary animator Eric Larson.

Under Eric’s tutelage, Joe grew up as a talented writer and voice artist making his debut with the 1987′ Disney ‘ film’ The Brave Little Toaster.’ Besides performing the voice role of’ Elmo St. Peters,’ Joe also worked as one of the film’s director animators and screenwriter. The film received critical acclaim and was a decent success in the box office.

The live action / animated film ‘ Who Framed Roger Rabbit ‘ was released in 1988. Joe had worked as one of the film’s story artists. The film was praised for its highly innovative premise and was a major commercial and critical success. Joe worked as one of the story sketch artists for the 1989 film ‘ The Little Mermaid. ‘ Another success for ‘ Disney ‘ was the film.

Joe was involved in two big’ Disney ‘ projects in the early 1990s. One of them was’ Aladdin’ and the other was’ Beauty and the Beast.’ While he had a role in writing the stories of both films, he also gave his voice to several characters from the films. Both films became iconic’ Disney ‘ ventures and greatly contributed to the ever-growing influence of’ Disney’ on the American entertainment market.

Joe served as one of the story writers for the ‘ Disney ‘ film ‘ The Lion King ‘ in 1994. The film was set in Africa and was influenced by the classic play ‘ Hamlet ‘ by William Shakespeare. The film broke many records and became the highest – grossing all – time animation film. The film has won two ‘ Academy Awards ‘ and one ‘ Golden Globe Award ‘ and is now considered a cult classic.

Joe moved away from ‘ Disney ‘ for a while and worked for their film ‘ Toy Story ‘ with ‘ Pixar Studios. ‘ The film was released in 1995. Besides playing a voice role in the film, Joe also worked on it as a story writer and a story supervisor.

The film was a mega success and won three nominations for the ‘ Academy Award. ‘ It was also the first animated film to be nominated in the writing category for an ‘ Academy Award. ‘

In the second half of the 1990s, Joe took on voice roles for many films. His voice was featured in movies like ‘ Mulan, ‘ ‘ A Night at the Roxbury, ‘ and ‘ A Bug’s Life. ‘

Joe had another roaring success working as a story artist for the ‘ Disney ‘ film ‘ Monsters, Inc. ‘ He played a voice role in the film in 2001. The film was yet another critical and commercial success.

During the later part of his career, Joe focused solely on voice roles and voiced major characters in animated films such as ‘The Incredibles,’ ‘Corpse Bride,’ and ‘Robot.’

He had worked on the screenplay of the ‘ Disney ‘ film ‘ Cars ‘ before he died in an unfortunate car accident and had also voiced two characters in it. He also co-directed the film, which later turned out to be a huge commercial and critical success.

Joe Ranft Film

Joe Ranft Death |  Cause Of Death

Ranft and his friend Eric Frierson were passengers in Ranft’s 2004 Honda Element on August 16, 2005, driven by another friend, Elegba Earl. Earl suddenly lost control and crashed through a guardrail on Highway 1. The SUV plunged 130 feet into the Navarro River mouth in Mendocino County, California. Both Ranft and Earl were killed instantly.
Frierson survived by escaping through the sunroof, although he received moderate injuries. Joe, who was 45, died during the production of Cars, in which he co-directed and in which voice acted. The film and tie-in game are dedicated to his memory, as is Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride, where Ranft was executive producer. Joe is survived by his wife Sue and their two children, Jordan and Sophia, and his brother Jerome.

Joe Ranft Interview