Joe Ranft - wikipedia Joe Ranft Joe Ranft Joseph Henry Ranft ( 1960 - 03 - 13 ) March 13, 1960 Pasadena, California, U.S. August 16, 2005 ( 2005 - 08 - 16 ) ( aged 45 ) Mendocino County, California, U.S. Cause of death Injuries sustained in a single - vehicle traffic collision Nationality American Education Monte Vista High School Alma mater California Institute of the Arts Occupation Screenwriter animator storyboard artist voice actor director magician Years active 1980 -- 2005 Spouse ( s ) Sue Barry ( m. 1985 ; his death 2005 ) Children Joseph Henry Ranft ( March 13, 1960 -- August 16, 2005 ) was an American screenwriter, animator, storyboard artist, voice actor and magician who worked for Pixar Animation Studios and Disney at Walt Disney Animation Studios and Disney Television Animation. His brother, Jerome Ranft, is a sculptor who also worked on several Pixar movies. He received an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay nomination as one of the writers of Toy Story ( 1995 ), and was also co-director on Cars ( 2006 ), his final work. Contents 1 Early life 2 Career 3 Death 4 Selected filmography 5 References 6 External links Early Life Ranft was born in Pasadena, California, and raised in Whittier. As a child, Ranft developed a love for magic, storytelling, film and comedy. At age 15, he became a member of the Magic Castle Junior Group. 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. After two years, Ranft 's student film Good Humor caught the attention of Disney animation executives, who offered him a job. Career In 1980, Ranft joined Disney as a writer and storyboard artist. During his first five years with Disney, Joe worked on a number of television projects 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 's 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 ? ' '' 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. Ranft reunited with Lasseter when he was hired by Pixar in 1991 as their head of story. 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. 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. 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 The Brave Little Toaster ( 1987 ) 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. He was posthumously honored in 2006 as a Disney Legend and in 2016 with the Winsor McCay Award, the lifetime achievement award for animators. Death 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. Earl suddenly lost control and crashed through the guard rail while northbound on Highway 1. The SUV plunged 130 feet into the mouth of the Navarro River in Mendocino County, California. Ranft and Earl were both killed instantly. Frierson survived by escaping through the sun roof, though he received moderate injuries. Ranft, who was 45, died during the production of Cars, which he co-directed and voice acted in. 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 is survived by his wife Sue and their two children, Jordan and Sophia, and his brother Jerome. Henry Selick called him `` the story giant of our generation. '' In honor of Ranft, in Selick 's animated film production Coraline, the moving SUV that moves Coraline into her new apartment is emblazoned with a `` Ranft Moving, Inc. '' logo. The movers themselves are modeled after Ranft himself and his brother Jerome ; Jerome Ranft voiced one of the movers. In the 2010 DVD re-release of Toy Story 2, there is a special feature that talks about Ranft and his life and accomplishments. Selected filmography Luau ( 1982 - actor `` I.Q. '' ) The Brave Little Toaster ( 1987 - voice of Elmo St. Peters, Screenplay and Story, directing animator ) Who Framed Roger Rabbit ( 1988 - story artist ) Oliver & Company ( 1988 - Story ) The Little Mermaid ( 1989 - Storysketch Artist : animation ) The Rescuers Down Under ( 1990 - Animation Screenplay, Story Supervisor ) Beauty and the Beast ( 1991 - Story and provided several cartoon screams ) Aladdin ( 1992 - Story and provided several cartoon screams ) The Nightmare Before Christmas ( 1993 - Storyboard Supervisor, voice of Igor ) The Lion King ( 1994 - Story ) Toy Story ( 1995 - voice of Lenny the Binoculars, Story / Story Supervisor ) James and the Giant Peach ( 1996 - Storyboard Supervisor ) Toy Story Animated Storybook ( 1996 - voice of Lenny the Binoculars ) A Bug 's Life ( 1998 - voice of Heimlich, Story / Story Supervisor ) A Bug 's Life ( video game ) ( 1998 - voice of Heimlich ) Toy Story 2 ( 1999 - voice of Wheezy, Additional Story Material ) Fantasia 2000 ( 1999 - Additional Art : story ) The Emperor 's New Groove ( 2000 - Special Thanks ) Buzz Lightyear of Star Command : The Adventure Begins ( 2000 - voice of Wheezy ) Monsters, Inc. ( 2001 - voice of Pete `` Claws '' Ward, Story Artist ) Monkeybone ( 2001 - Streetsquash Rabbit ) Treasure Planet ( 2002 - voice of Pirates ) Finding Nemo ( video game ) ( 2003 - voice of Jacques the Shrimp ) Finding Nemo ( 2003 - voice of Jacques the Shrimp ) Disney 's Extreme Skate Adventure ( 2003 - voice of Wheezy ) The Incredibles ( 2004 - Additional Voices ) Corpse Bride ( 2005 - Executive Producer, Dedication ) Cars ( 2006 - Co-Director, voice of Red and Peterbilt, Screenplay, Dedication, Final roles ) Mater and the Ghostlight ( 2006 - Story ) References ^ Jump up to : Woollcombe, Alan ( August 23, 2005 ). `` Joe Ranft ''. The Independent. Archived from the original on May 14, 2010. Retrieved January 24, 2010. Jump up ^ `` Eric Larson, Disney Family Album : Part Three ''. Jump up ^ `` Pixar Artist 's Corner - Joe ''. Pixar. Archived from the original on December 11, 2002. Retrieved September 5, 2015. Jump up ^ Scott Weinberg ( August 19, 2005 ). `` Pixar 's Joe Ranft Falls to a Tragic Death ''. Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved June 26, 2008. ^ Jump up to : Sheigh Crabtree ( August 18, 2005 ). `` Pixar Animation 's Joe Ranft, 45 ''. The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on July 2, 2007. Jump up ^ Solomon, Charles ( May 28, 2006 ). `` With ' Cars, ' Pixar Revs Up to Outpace Walt Disney Himself ''. New York Times. Retrieved May 20, 2017. Jump up ^ Solomon, Charles ( August 18, 2005 ). `` Joe Ranft, 45 ; Artist for Pixar Animated Films, Voice of Heimlich in ' A Bug 's Life ' ''. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 20, 2017. Jump up ^ `` Disney Legends `` Disney D23 ''. Legends.disney.go.com. Retrieved May 18, 2013. ^ Jump up to : `` Joe Ranft at Behind the Voice Actors ''. Retrieved 2017 - 11 - 04. External links Joe Ranft on IMDb Pixar Artist 's Corner with Joe Michael Sragow ( November 23, 1999 ) `` Toy '' Story Man. Salon. Peter Hartlaub ( September 17, 2003 ) The secret of Pixar 's magic can be found at CalArts... San Francisco Chronicle. Remembrance by Ronnie del Carmen Obituary by the former President of the Northern California Disneyana Enthusiasts club, citing comments made at Joe Ranft 's memorial Disney Legends profile Remembrance by James S. Baker Joe Ranft at Find a Grave Remembering Joe Ranft by John Musker, via Pixar Planet. Critics ' Choice Movie Award for Best Animated Feature 1998 -- 2000 A Bug 's Life -- John Lasseter and Andrew Stanton / The Prince of Egypt -- Simon Wells, Brenda Chapman, and Steve Hickner ( 1998 ) Toy Story 2 -- John Lasseter, Lee Unkrich, and Ash Brannon ( 1999 ) Chicken Run -- Peter Lord and Nick Park ( 2000 ) 2001 -- 2010 Shrek -- Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson ( 2001 ) Spirited Away -- Hayao Miyazaki ( 2002 ) Finding Nemo -- Andrew Stanton and Lee Unkrich ( 2003 ) The Incredibles -- Brad Bird ( 2004 ) Wallace & Gromit : The Curse of the Were - Rabbit -- Nick Park and Steve Box ( 2005 ) Cars -- John Lasseter and Joe Ranft ( 2006 ) Ratatouille -- Brad Bird and Jan Pinkava ( 2007 ) WALL - E -- Andrew Stanton ( 2008 ) Up -- Pete Docter and Bob Peterson ( 2009 ) Toy Story 3 -- Lee Unkrich ( 2010 ) 2011 -- present Rango -- Gore Verbinski ( 2011 ) Wreck - It Ralph -- Rich Moore ( 2012 ) Frozen -- Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee ( 2013 ) The Lego Movie -- Phil Lord and Christopher Miller ( 2014 ) Inside Out -- Pete Docter and Ronnie del Carmen ( 2015 ) Zootopia -- Byron Howard and Rich Moore ( 2016 ) Coco -- Lee Unkrich ( 2017 ) VIAF : 5140089 LCCN : no2004041012 ISNI : 0000 0000 5940 7252 GND : 1061935981 SUDOC : 088969762 BNF : cb141307729 ( data ) IATH : w6b59vgp Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Joe_Ranft&oldid=819249440 '' Categories : 1960 births 2005 deaths American animators American magicians American film directors American male voice actors American male film actors American storyboard artists Walt Disney Animation Studios people Pixar people Road incident deaths in California Accidental deaths in California California Institute of the Arts alumni Writers from Pasadena, California Animated film directors Film directors from California Male actors from Pasadena, California Hidden categories : Use mdy dates from September 2015 Pages to import images to Wikidata Articles with hCards All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from November 2014 Find a Grave template with ID same as Wikidata Wikipedia articles with VIAF identifiers Wikipedia articles with LCCN identifiers Wikipedia articles with ISNI identifiers Wikipedia articles with GND identifiers Wikipedia articles with BNF identifiers Wikipedia articles with SNAC - ID identifiers Talk Contents About Wikipedia Català Cymraeg Deutsch Español فارسی Français 한국어 Italiano Malagasy Nederlands 日本 語 Occitan Polski Português Русский Simple English Suomi Tagalog Українська Edit links This page was last edited on 8 January 2018, at 08 : 58. 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Question: who does the voice of the caterpillar in a bug's life
Answer: Ranft