Confirming rumors we’ve been hearing all day, The Hollywood Reporter and AWN report that Joe Ranft was killed Tuesday afternoon in a car accident. Ranft worked on many of the most beloved modern classics out of Disney and Pixar, including: writing for The Brave Little Toaster, Oliver & Company, The Rescuers Down Under, Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, Toy Story (for which he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay), A Bug’s Life, and Fantasia 2000; as storyboard supervisor for The Nightmare Before Christmas and James and the Giant Peach; and voicing parts in A Bug’s Life, Toy Story 2, and Finding Nemo. Ranft was also working as head of story on Pixar’s next film, Cars. In a statement released Wednesday, Pixar said “Joe was an important and beloved member of the Pixar family, and his loss is of great sorrow to all of us and to the animation industry as a whole”. A Pixar spokesman added, “Joe was a big part of Pixar’s soul”. An interview from 2002 is available in Pixar’s Artist Corner. Cartoon Brew has running updates with news and responses to Ranft’s passing. Ranft is survived by his wife, Su, and two children, Jordy, 13, and Sophia 9.
UPDATE: The San Francisco Chronicle has the response from Pixar’s John Lasseter: “This is not only a huge personal loss for all of us at Pixar, but a tremendous loss to moviegoers the world over. Joe had a great passion for telling stories, and he told them better than anyone. He was funny, poignant, original, and he had an infallible sense for how to structure a story. Joe helped to make Pixar what it is today, and he helped us to elevate the craft of storytelling. He was a big part of our lives, and we loved him and loved working with him. It’s hard to imagine a world without Joe Ranft and the joy and fun he brought to all of us on a daily basis”.
UPDATE: More information about the memorial services is now available:
Joe Ranft’s private Memorial Services, for close friends and family, will be held Sunday, August 21, 2005, in Mill Valley, California.
A ‘Friends and Colleagues’ Memorial Service will be held Saturday, September 17, 2005. Details regarding the time and location of the ‘Friends and Colleagues’ Memorial Service are available by calling (510) 752-4455.
In lieu of flowers, the Ranft family respectfully requests that donations be made to the “Joseph Henry Ranft Memorial Fund”, c/o Pixar Animation Studios, 1200 Park Ave., Emeryville, CA 94608. Details about donations also are available by calling (510) 752-4455.
