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Pete Docter

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Template:Short description Template:Use American English Template:Use mdy dates


Peter Hans Docter[1] (born October 9, 1968) is an American filmmaker and animator, who has served as chief creative officer (CCO) of Pixar since 2018.[2][3] He has directed the company's animated films Monsters, Inc. (2001), Up (2009), Inside Out (2015), and Soul (2020). From his nine Academy Award nominations, he is a record-three time recipient of Best Animated Feature for Up, Inside Out and Soul. Docter has also won six Annie Awards from nine nominations, a BAFTA Children's Film Award and a Hochi Film Award.[4] He describes himself as a "geeky kid from Minnesota who likes to draw cartoons".[3]

Early life

Docter was born on October 9, 1968 in Bloomington, Minnesota, the son of Rita Margaret (Kanne) and David Reinhardt Docter.[5] His mother's family is Danish American.[6] He grew up introverted and socially isolated, preferring to work alone and having to remind himself to connect with others. He often played in the creek beside his house, pretending to be Indiana Jones and acting out scenes.[7] A junior-high classmate later described him as "this kid who was really tall, but who was kind of awkward, maybe getting picked on by the school bullies because his voice change at puberty was very rough."[3]

Both his parents worked in education: his mother, Rita, taught music and his father, Dave, was a choral director at Normandale Community College. Docter and his two sisters took music lessons at the MacPhail Center for Music, where they were taught the violin and viola in the Suzuki method. Unlike his two sisters, Kirsten Docter, who was the violist and a founding member of the Cavani String Quartet, and Kari Docter, a cellist with the Metropolitan Opera, Docter was not particularly interested in music as he didn't like to practice the violin, although he learned to play the double bass and played with the orchestras for the soundtracks of Monsters, Inc.[8] and Up.[9]

Docter attended Nine Mile Elementary School, Oak Grove Junior High, and John F. Kennedy High School in Bloomington. He taught himself cartooning, making flip books and homemade animated shorts with a family movie camera.[3] He later described his interest in animation as a way to "play God", making up nearly living characters. Cartoon director Chuck Jones, producer Walt Disney, and cartoonist Jack Davis were major inspirations.[10]

He spent about a year at the University of Minnesota[3] studying both philosophy and making art[10] before transferring to the California Institute of the Arts, where he won a Student Academy Award for his production "Next Door" and graduated in 1990 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts.[11] Although Docter had planned to work for Walt Disney Animation Studios, his best offers came from Pixar and from the producers of The Simpsons.[3] He did not think much of Pixar at that time,[10] and later considered his choice to work there a strange and unusual one.[12]

Career

Docter in 2009 promoting the film Up

Before joining Pixar, Docter had created three non-computer animations, Next Door, Palm Springs, and Winter.[13] All three shorts were later preserved by the Academy Film Archive.[14] He was a fan of the company's early short films, but he knew nothing about them otherwise. He commented in an October 2009 interview, "Looking back, I kind of go, what was I thinking?"[15]

He started at Pixar in 1990 at the age of 21 after John Lasseter asked his former classmate the late Joe Ranft, who was one of Docter's teachers at CalArts, to recommend any students who would be a good fit for the company.[16][7][17][18] Deciding to follow his instincts and what "felt right" at the time, he accepted the job offer from then obscure Pixar and began work there the day after his college graduation[16][12] as the tenth employee at the company's animation group[10] and its third animator.[19] Docter instantly felt at home in the tight-knit atmosphere of the company. He has said, "Growing up ... a lot of us felt we were the only person in the world who had this weird obsession with animation. Coming to Pixar you feel like, 'Oh! There are others!'"[3]

Docter had been brought in with limited responsibilities, but Lasseter quickly assigned him larger and larger roles in writing, animation, sound recording, and orchestra scoring.[15] He was one of the three key screenwriters behind the concept of Toy Story, and partially based the character of Buzz Lightyear on himself.[10] He had a mirror on his desk and made faces with it as he conceptualized the character.[15]

Docter's fascination with character development was further influenced by a viewing of Paper Moon, he told journalist Robert K. Elder in an interview for The Film That Changed My Life.[20]

I like the more character-driven stuff, and Paper Moon brought that home to me in a way that I had not seen in live action, really focusing on the whole story just about characters. It was almost theatrical in the same way you might see a stage show because you're locked in a room. It's got to be about characters, and yet it was so cinematic, a film that couldn't be done in any other medium. It just kind of blew my socks off.[21]

Docter has been an integral part of some of Pixar's most seminal works, including Toy Story, Toy Story 2, A Bug's Life and Monsters, Inc., all of which received critical acclaim and honors. He contributed to these animated films as a co-author to the scripts, and worked with CGI stalwarts such as Lasseter, Ronnie del Carmen, Bob Peterson, Andrew Stanton, Brad Bird, and Joe Ranft. Docter has referred to his colleagues at Pixar as a bunch of "wild stallions".[12] He is also one of the five founding members of the Pixar Braintrust, which came together during the making of Toy Story (the other four being Lasseter, Stanton, Ranft and Unkrich).[22]

Docter made his directorial debut with Monsters, Inc.—the first Pixar film not directed by Lasseter—which occurred right after the birth of his first child, Nick. Docter has said that the abrupt move from a complete, single-minded devotion to his career to parenting drove him "upside down" and formed the inspiration for the storyline.[23] In 2004, he was asked by Lasseter to direct the English translation of Howl's Moving Castle.[24] Docter then directed the 2009 film Up, released on May 29, 2009. He based the protagonist of Up partially on himself, based on his frequent feelings of social awkwardness and his desire to get away from crowds to contemplate.[7] Following the success of Up, Docter and fellow Pixar veterans Lasseter, Stanton and Lee Unkrich as well as long-time collaborator and director Brad Bird were honored with the Golden Lion Honorary Award for Lifetime Achievement at the 66th Venice International Film Festival.[25][26] Docter directed the 2015 film Inside Out to critical acclaim.[27] His next film, Soul, was released on Disney+ on December 25, 2020, to critical acclaim.[28][29]

Docter appeared at Comic-Con 2008 and the 2009 WonderCon.[30]

In May 2009, Docter remarked retrospectively to Christianity Today that he had lived "a blessed life" so far.[7] The A.V. Club has called him "almost universally successful".[12] He has been nominated for eight Oscars (winning three), three Annie Awards (winning two), four BAFTA Film Awards (winning two), a British Academy Children's Award (which he won), and a Hochi Film Award (which he won).[4] Accepting his first Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, he said, "Never did I dream that making a flip book out of my third-grade math book would lead to this."[31] Docter served as Vice-President of Creativity at Pixar Animation Studios through June 2018, and following Lasseter stepping down from the role, became the studio's chief creative officer.[2][32] TheWrap reported that Docter planned to complete the film he began working on in 2016, which ultimately became Soul.[33]

Docter received the Winsor McCay Award at the 2023 Annie Awards ceremony along with fellow animators Craig McCracken and Evelyn Lambart, for his "unparalleled achievement and exceptional contributions to animation".[34]

Personal life

Docter is married to Amanda Docter and has two children, Nicholas and Elie.[7] Elie has a speaking part in Up and was the inspiration for the character of Riley in Inside Out.[35]

Docter is a fan of anime, particularly the work of Hayao Miyazaki. Docter has said that Miyazaki's animation has "beautifully observed little moments of truth that you just recognize and respond to".[24] He is also a fan of the filmography of Pixar competitor DreamWorks. Referring to the competitive environment, he has said: "I think it's a much healthier environment when there is more diversity".[12]

During an interview in 2009, Docter confirmed that he is a Christian and said that it influences his work. However, he went on to say that he did not envision himself ever creating a Christian film.[10] About the relationship between his faith and his filmmaking, Docter has said:Template:Blockquote

Filmography

Films

Year Title Director Writer Executive
Producer 		Other Voice Role Notes
1995 Toy Story Template:No Template:Yes Template:No Template:Yes Supervising Animator, Story Artist
1998 A Bug's Life Template:No Template:No Template:No Template:Yes Additional Storyboarding
1999 Toy Story 2 Template:No Template:Yes Template:No Template:No
2001 Monsters, Inc.[36] Template:Yes Template:Yes Template:No Template:Yes CDA Agent 00002 Animator - uncredited
2003 Finding Nemo Template:No Template:No Template:No Template:No Brain Trust - uncredited
2004 The Incredibles Template:No Template:No Template:No Template:Yes Additional Voices
2005 Howl's Moving Castle[24] Template:No Template:No Template:No Template:Yes Director: English Dub, U.S. Version
2006 Cars Template:No Template:No Template:No Template:No Brain Trust - uncredited
2007 Ratatouille Template:No Template:No Template:No Template:Yes Pixar Productions
2008 WALL-E Template:No Template:Yes Template:No Template:Yes Additional Voices Pixar Senior Creative Team
2009 Up[37] Template:Yes Template:Yes Template:No Template:Yes Campmaster Strauch, Kevin (uncredited) Animator, Pixar Senior Creative Team - uncredited
2010 Toy Story 3 Template:No Template:No Template:No Template:Yes Pixar Senior Creative Team [38] -
uncredited on Inside Out
2011 Cars 2 Template:No Template:No Template:No Template:Yes
2012 Brave Template:No Template:No Template:Yes Template:Yes
2013 Monsters University Template:No Template:No Template:Yes Template:Yes
2015 Inside Out Template:Yes Template:Yes Template:No Template:Yes Dad's Anger
The Good Dinosaur Template:No Template:No Template:No Template:Yes
2016 Finding Dory Template:No Template:No Template:No Template:Yes
2017 Cars 3 Template:No Template:No Template:No Template:Yes
Coco Template:No Template:No Template:No Template:Yes
2018 Incredibles 2 Template:No Template:No Template:No Template:Yes
2019 Toy Story 4 Template:No Template:No Template:Yes Template:Yes
2020 Onward Template:No Template:No Template:Yes Template:Yes
Soul Template:Yes Template:Yes Template:No Template:Yes
2021 Luca Template:No Template:No Template:Yes Template:Yes
2022 Turning Red Template:No Template:No Template:Yes Template:Yes
Lightyear Template:No Template:No Template:Yes Template:Yes
2023 Elemental Template:No Template:No Template:Yes Template:Yes
2024 Inside Out 2 Template:No Template:No Template:Yes Template:Yes Dad's Anger
2025 Elio Template:No Template:No Template:Yes Template:Yes
2026 Hoppers[39] Template:No Template:No Template:Yes Template:Yes
Toy Story 5 Template:No Template:No Template:Yes Template:Yes
Template:TBA Incredibles 3[40] Template:No Template:No Template:Yes Template:Yes

Shorts and series

Year Title Director Writer Executive
Producer 		Animator Other Role Notes
1985 Behind the Scenes at Camelot Template:No Template:No Template:No Template:No Template:Yes Himself [41]
1988 Winter Template:Yes Template:Yes Template:Yes Template:Yes Template:No [13]
1989 Palm Springs Template:Yes Template:No Template:No Template:Yes Template:Yes Sigmond Dinosaur [13]
Cranium Command Template:No Template:No Template:No Template:Yes Template:No
1990 Next Door[13] Template:Yes Template:No Template:No Template:Yes Template:Yes Old Man Composer
1997 Geri's Game Template:No Template:No Template:No Template:Yes Template:No
2002 Mike's New Car Template:Yes Template:Yes Template:No Template:No Template:No
2005 Mr. Incredible and Pals Template:No Template:No Template:No Template:No Template:Yes Mr. Incredible
2009 Dug's Special Mission Template:No Template:No Template:Yes Template:No Template:No
George and A.J. Template:No Template:No Template:Yes Template:No Template:No
Let's Pollute Template:No Template:No Template:No Template:No Template:Yes Musician: Bass
2013 Party Central Template:No Template:No Template:Yes Template:No Template:No
2015 Riley's First Date? Template:No Template:No Template:Yes Template:No Template:Yes Dad's Anger
2017 Lou Template:No Template:No Template:Yes Template:No Template:No
2018 Bao Template:No Template:No Template:Yes Template:No Template:No
2019–20 Forky Asks a Question Template:No Template:No Template:Yes Template:No Template:No
2020 Loop Template:No Template:No Template:No Template:No Template:Yes Story Trust
Lamp Life Template:No Template:No Template:Yes Template:No Template:No [42]
Dory's Reef Cam Template:No Template:No Template:Yes Template:No Template:No [43]
2021 Pixar Popcorn Template:No Template:No Template:Yes Template:No Template:No [44]
22 vs. Earth Template:No Template:No Template:Yes Template:No Template:No [45]
2021-23 Dug Days Template:No Template:No Template:Yes Template:No Template:No [46]
2024 Dream Productions Template:No Template:No Template:Yes Template:No Template:Yes Pixar Senior Creative Team[47]
2025 Win or Lose Template:No Template:No Template:Yes Template:No Template:Yes

Other credits

Year Title Role
2003 Boundin' Special Thanks
2007 Fog City Mavericks
The Pixar Story Himself; Very Special Thanks
2008 Presto Special Thanks
2009 Partly Cloudy
2010 Day & Night
2011 La Luna
2013 The Blue Umbrella
Toy Story of Terror! Extra Special Thanks
2014 Toy Story That Time Forgot
Lava Special Thanks
2015 Sanjay's Super Team
2016 Piper
2017 Baby Driver[48] Special Thanks - uncredited
2019 Purl Special Thanks
Kitbull
Float
Frozen II
Wind
2020 Out
One Night in Miami...
Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
Canvas
Burrow
2020–2021 Inside Pixar[49]
2021 Monsters at Work
Twenty Something
Nona
A Spark Story Himself; Special Thanks
Ciao Alberto Special Thanks
Pixar 2021 Disney+ Day Special Himself[50]
2022 Embrace the Panda: Making 'Turning Red' Special Thanks[51]
Beyond Infinity: Buzz and the Journey to 'Lightyear' Himself; Special Thanks[52]
Cars on the Road Special Thanks; Pixar Senior Creative Team
2023 Good Chemistry: The Story of 'Elemental'[53] Special Thanks
2024 Self

Reception

Critical, public and commercial reception to films Docter has directed as of January 9, 2021.

Film Rotten Tomatoes[54] Metacritic[55] CinemaScore[56] Budget Box office[57]
Monsters, Inc. 96% (196 reviews) 79 (35 reviews) A+ $115 million $577.4 million
Up 98% (295 reviews) 88 (37 reviews) A+ $175 million $735.1 million
Inside Out 98% (369 reviews) 94 (55 reviews) A $175 million $857.6 million
Soul 95% (309 reviews) 83 (55 reviews) N/A $150 million $120.9 million

Awards and nominations

Academy Awards

Template:Awards table !Ref. |- ! scope="row"| 1995 | Toy Story | Best Original Screenplay | Template:Nom | style="text-align:center;"|[58] |- ! scope="row"| 2001 | Monsters, Inc. | Best Animated Feature | Template:Nom | style="text-align:center;"|[59] |- ! scope="row"| 2002 | Mike's New Car | Best Animated Short Film | Template:Nom | style="text-align:center;"|[60] |- ! scope="row"| 2008 | WALL-E | rowspan="1"| Best Original Screenplay | Template:Nom | style="text-align:center;"|[61] |- ! rowspan="2" scope="row"| 2009 | rowspan="2"| Up | rowspan="1"| Best Animated Feature | Template:Won | rowspan="2" style="text-align:center;"|[62] |- | rowspan="1"| Best Original Screenplay | Template:Nom |- ! rowspan="2" scope="row"| 2015 | rowspan="2"| Inside Out | rowspan="1"| Best Animated Feature | Template:Won | rowspan="2" style="text-align:center;"|[63] |- | Best Original Screenplay | Template:Nom |- ! scope="row"| 2020 | Soul | Best Animated Feature | Template:Won | style="text-align:center;"|[64] |}

Annie Awards

Template:Awards table !Ref. |- ! scope="row"| 1996 | Toy Story | Best Individual Achievement in Animation | Template:Won | style="text-align:center;"| |- ! scope="row"| 2000 | Toy Story 2 | Outstanding Achievement in Writing | Template:Won | style="text-align:center;"| |- ! scope="row"| 2002 | Monsters, Inc. | Directing in a Feature Production | Template:Nom | style="text-align:center;"| |- ! rowspan="2" scope="row"| 2010 | rowspan="2" | Up | Directing in a Feature Production | Template:Won | style="text-align:center;"| |- | Writing in a Feature Production | Template:Nom | style="text-align:center;"| |- ! rowspan="2" scope="row"| 2016 | rowspan="2"| Inside Out | Directing in a Feature Production | Template:Won | style="text-align:center;"| |- | Writing in a Feature Production | Template:Won | style="text-align:center;"| |- ! rowspan="2" scope="row"| 2021 | rowspan="2"| Soul | Directing in a Feature Production | Template:Nominated | style="text-align:center;"| |- | Writing in a Feature Production | Template:Won | style="text-align:center;"| |}

Other awards

Year Award Category Work Result Template:Tooltip
1995 Hugo Awards Best Dramatic Presentation Toy Story Template:Nom
2001 Critics' Choice Movie Awards Best Animated Feature Monsters, Inc. Template:Nom
2001 Hugo Awards Best Dramatic Presentation Template:Nom
2008 Nebula Award for Best Script WALL-E Template:Won
2008 Hugo Awards Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form Template:Won
2009 Critics' Choice Movie Awards Best Animated Feature Up Template:Won
Best Original Screenplay Template:Nom
2009 Golden Globe Awards Best Animated Feature Film Template:Won
2009 British Academy Film Awards Best Animated Film Template:Won [65]
Best Original Screenplay Template:Nom
2009 Ray Bradbury Award for Outstanding Dramatic Presentation Template:Nom
2009 Hugo Awards Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form Template:Nom
2009 Satellite Awards Best Original Screenplay Template:Nom
2015 Golden Globe Awards Best Animated Feature Film Inside Out Template:Won [66]
2015 Critics' Choice Movie Awards Best Animated Feature Template:Won
Best Original Screenplay Template:Nom
Best Comedy Template:Nom
2015 British Academy Film Awards Best Animated Film Template:Won [67]
Best Original Screenplay Template:Nom
2015 Satellite Awards Best Animated or Mixed Media Feature Template:Won
Best Original Screenplay Template:Nom
2015 Ray Bradbury Award for Outstanding Dramatic Presentation Template:Nom
2020 Golden Globe Awards Best Animated Feature Film Soul Template:Won
2021 NAACP Image Awards Outstanding Writing in a Motion Picture Template:Nominated [68]

Collaborators (actors)

Pete Docter has cast certain actors and crew members in multiple of the films he has directed.

Monsters, Inc. Up Inside Out Soul
Mary Gibbs Template:Center Template:Center
Bob Peterson Template:Center Template:Center
John Ratzenberger Template:Center Template:Center Template:Center
Frank Oz Template:Center Template:Center
Jeff Pidgeon Template:Center Template:Center
Himself Template:Center Template:Center Template:Center
Danny Mann Template:Center Template:Center
Mickie McGowan Template:Center Template:Center
Josh Cooley Template:Center Template:Center
John Cygan Template:Center Template:Center
Ronnie del Carmen Template:Center Template:Center

See also

References

Template:Reflist

External links

Template:Commons category

Template:Pete Docter Template:Navboxes Template:Pixar

Template:Portalbar

Template:Authority control

  1. ↑ Template:Cite web
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Template:Cite news
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 Template:Cite web
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Awards for Peter Docter. Imdb.com Accessed June 8, 2009.
  5. ↑ Template:Cite web
  6. ↑ Template:Cite web
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 What's Up, Doc(ter)? By Mark Moring. Christianity Today. Published May 26, 2009.
  8. ↑ Template:Cite newsTemplate:Cbignore
  9. ↑ Up Blu-Ray extra features
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 10.5 Template:Cite journal
  11. ↑ Template:Cite web
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 12.4 Pete Docter. by Tasha Robinson. The A.V. Club. Published May 28, 2009.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 Template:Cite web
  14. ↑ Template:Cite web
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 Pixar Movies Are Lousy ... at First. The Wrap
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 Template:Cite web
  17. ↑ Template:Cite news
  18. ↑ To Infinity and Beyond!: The Story of Pixar Animation Studios
  19. ↑ Going 'Up' with Minnesotan Pete Docter. By Euan Kerr. Minnesota Public Radio. Published May 29, 2009.
  20. ↑ Template:Cite web
  21. ↑ Docter, Pete. Interview by Robert K. Elder. The Film That Changed My Life. By Robert K. Elder. Chicago: Chicago Review Press, 2011. N. p171. Print.
  22. ↑ Inside The Pixar Braintrust - Fast Company
  23. ↑ Template:Cite news
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 24.2 Interview with Up Director Peter Docter. By Beth Accomando. KPBS. Published May 29, 2009.
  25. ↑ Template:Cite news
  26. ↑ Template:Cite web
  27. ↑ Template:Cite news
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  31. ↑ Notable quotes from the 82nd annual Academy Awards The Associated Press, March 9, 2010.
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