Sanjay Patel is an American

animator An animator is an artist who creates images, known as frames, which give an illusion of movement called animation when displayed in rapid sequence. Animators can work in a variety of fields including film, television, and video games. Animat ...

, illustrator and author who has worked in the animation department of various projects, most of them animated films released by

Pixar Pixar (), doing business as Pixar Animation Studios, is an American animation studio based in Emeryville, California, known for its critically and commercially successful computer-animated feature films. Pixar is a subsidiary of Walt Disney ...

Background

Born in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

Gujarati Gujarati may refer to: * something of, from, or related to Gujarat, a state of India * Gujarati people, the major ethnic group of Gujarat * Gujarati language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by them * Gujarati languages, the Western Indo-Aryan sub- ...

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Associated with India * of or related to India ** Indian people ** Indian diaspora ** Languages of India ** Indian English, a dialect of the English language ** Indian cuisine Associated with indigenous peoples o ...

parents, Patel moved to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

with his family at the age of four. His father bought a motel in

San Bernardino, California San Bernardino ( ) is a city in and the county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States. Located in the Inland Empire region of Southern California, the city had a population of 222,101 in the 2020 census, making it the List of ...

and Patel grew up there.

Career

He is best known for directing the short animated film ''

Sanjay's Super Team ''Sanjay's Super Team'' is an animated short film produced by Pixar Animation Studios. Written and directed by Sanjay Patel, and based on his childhood, it premiered on June 15, 2015 at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival in France, ...

'' (2015) inspired by Patel's own childhood. The film received a nomination in the category of

Best Animated Short Film The Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film is an award given by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) as part of the annual Academy Awards, or Oscars, since the 5th Academy Awards (with different names), covering the year 1 ...

at the

88th Academy Awards The 88th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 2015 and took place on February 28, 2016, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, 5:30 p.m. PST. D ...

and for Best Animated Short Subject at the

43rd Annie Awards The 43rd Annual Annie Awards honoring excellence in the field of animation of 2015 was held on February 6, 2016, at the University of California, Los Angeles's Royce Hall in Los Angeles, California, presenting in 36 categories. This year, a new ...

. Since 1996, Patel has worked as an animator on numerous Pixar films such as ''Monsters, Inc.'' (2001), ''Ratatouille (film), Ratatouille'' (2007), ''Cars (film), Cars'' (2006), ''Monsters University'' (2013), ''Toy Story 2'' (1999) and ''The Incredibles'' (2004) and served as a character developer on the latter two films. He also authored ''Ramayana: Divine Loophole'', lending a whimsical illustration style and lighthearted voice to the Hindu mythology, Hindu epic Ramayana. Patel also created ''Ghee Happy'', a brand that celebrates Indian mythology and culture through design and storytelling and produces books, exhibits, and apparel. The animated show reimagines Hindu deities as little kids discovering their powers in the titular deity daycare. The series was picked up by Netflix Animation in 2019. However, the series was dropped due to leadership changes at Netflix Animation. In 2023, ''Ghee Happy'' was later reworked as an online series for YouTube. In June 2024, it was announced that Patel was developing an animated film with Warner Bros. Animation, Warner Bros Animation. Titled ''Bad Karma'', the movie follows the young demon princess Chandra and the legendary demi-god Hanuman on an epic tale about courage, loyalty and an unlikely friendship.

Filmography

*''The Simpsons'' (TV Series) (character layout artist - 2 episodes) **"Grade School Confidential" (1997) ... (character layout artist) **"A Milhouse Divided" (1996) ... (character layout artist) *''A Bug's Life'' (1998) Additional Character Designer / Animator *''Toy Story 2'' (1999) Story Artist / Animator *''Monsters, Inc.'' (2001) Story Artist / Animator *''The Incredibles'' (2004) Story Artist / Animator *''Cars (film), Cars'' (2006) Animator *''Ratatouille (film), Ratatouille'' (2007) Animator *''Your Friend the Rat'' (2007) Additional Character Designer *''Toy Story 3'' (2010) Fix & Additional Animation *''Cars 2'' (2011) Fix & Additional Animation *''Monsters University'' (2013) Character Development & Animation *''

'' (2015) Writer & Director *''Incredibles 2'' (2018) Story Artist *''Ghee Happy'' (2023) Creator *''Bad Karma'' (TBA) Director

References

External links

* Living people American animated film directors Pixar people Year of birth missing (living people) Gujarati people British people of Indian descent British people of Gujarati descent American people of Indian descent American people of Gujarati descent {{US-film-bio-stub