Joshua Cooley (born May 23, 1979) is an American filmmaker and storyboard artist. He is best known for directing the animated films ''

Toy Story 4 ''Toy Story 4'' is a 2019 American animated comedy-drama film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. It is the fourth installment in Pixar's ''Toy Story'' series and the sequel to ''Toy Story 3'' (2010). It was dire ...

'' (2019) and ''

Transformers One ''Transformers One'' is a 2024 American animated science fiction action film based on Hasbro's ''Transformers'' toy line. It was directed by Josh Cooley from a screenplay by Eric Pearson, Andrew Barrer and Gabriel Ferrari, the latter two of ...

'' (2024), with the former winning the

Academy Award for Best Animated Feature The Academy Award for Best Animated Feature is an Academy Awards, Academy Award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) for the best animation, animated feature film. An animated feature is defined by the a ...

. He also co-wrote the screenplay for the film '' Inside Out'' (2015), which was nominated for the

Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay The Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay is the Academy Award (also known as an Oscar) for the best screenplay not based upon previously published material. It was created in 1940 as a separate writing award from the Academy Award for Best ...

Career

Cooley was recruited by Joe Ranft at Pixar, where he started his career as an intern, mostly working as a storyboard artist on films including ''

The Incredibles ''The Incredibles'' is a 2004 American animated superhero film written and directed by Brad Bird. Produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures, the film stars the voices of Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter, Sarah Vowell, Spencer ...

'' (2004), ''

Cars A car, or an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people rather than cargo. There are around one billio ...

'' (2006), ''

Ratatouille Ratatouille ( , ; ) is a French Provençal dish of stewed vegetables that originated in Nice and is sometimes referred to as ''ratatouille niçoise'' (). Recipes and cooking times differ widely, but common ingredients include tomato, garlic ...

'' (2007), '' Up'' (2009), and ''

Cars 2 ''Cars 2'' is a 2011 American animated spy comedy film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. It is the sequel to '' Cars'' (2006), the second film in the ''Cars'' franchise, and the 12th animated film from the studio ...

'' (2011). In 2009, Cooley wrote and directed a short film '' George & A.J.'' for Pixar and

Walt Disney Pictures Walt Disney Pictures is an American film Film production company, production company and subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios (division), the Walt Disney Studios, a division of Disney Entertainment, which is owned by the Walt Disney Company. The st ...

. Cooley worked as a screenwriter and storyboard supervisor on the film '' Inside Out'' (2015), which was released to financial success with audiences. Cooley received an Academy Award nomination for

Best Original Screenplay The Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay is the Academy Award (also known as an Oscar) for the best screenplay not based upon previously published material. It was created in 1940 as a separate writing award from the Academy Award for Best ...

for his work on the film, alongside

Pete Docter Peter Hans Docter (born October 9, 1968) is an American filmmaker and animator, who has served as chief creative officer (CCO) of Pixar since 2018. He has directed the company's animated films ''Monsters, Inc.'' (2001), ''Up (2009 film), Up'' ( ...

(the film's director), Ronnie Del Carmen (co-director), and Meg LeFauve. The same year, he wrote and directed another short film titled '' Riley's First Date?'' Following completion of Cooley's work on ''Inside Out'' in 2015, he was tapped by

John Lasseter John Alan Lasseter ( ; born January 12, 1957) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and animator. He was previously the chief creative officer of Pixar Animation Studios, Walt Disney Animation Studios, and Disneytoon Studios, a ...

and

Andrew Stanton Andrew Ayers Stanton (born December 3, 1965) is an American filmmaker. He is best known as the director and co-writer of the Pixar animated films ''Finding Nemo'' (2003), ''WALL-E'' (2008), ''Finding Dory'' (2016), and the upcoming ''Toy Story 5 ...

to co-direct ''

''. In 2016, Cooley replaced Lasseter as the film's director. ''Toy Story 4'' was Cooley's directorial debut. Upon release, the film received critical acclaim, and Cooley took home his first Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. Cooley left Pixar in March 2020. In 2024, Cooley directed the animated ''

Transformers ''Transformers'' is a media franchise produced by American toy company Hasbro and Japanese toy company Tomy, Takara Tomy. It primarily follows the heroic Autobots and the villainous Decepticons, two Extraterrestrials in fiction, alien robot fac ...

'' film, titled ''

'', for

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...

. The film is set on the Transformers home planet of Cybertron and focuses on the origins of Optimus Prime and

Megatron Megatron is a fictional character and the main antagonist of the ''Transformers'' media franchise produced by the American toy company Hasbro and the Japanese toy company Takara Tomy. He is the tyrannical leader of the Decepticons, a villaino ...

. On May 19, 2020, it was reported that Cooley will write and direct a live-action adaptation of the children's book ''Malamander'' by Thomas Taylor for

Sony Pictures Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. is an American diversified multinational mass media and entertainment studio conglomerate that produces, acquires, and distributes filmed entertainment (theatrical motion pictures, television programs, and rec ...

, marking his first live-action film. In addition, on July 10, 2020, it was announced that Cooley would be the writer and director of the film ''Little Monsters'', starring

Universal Monsters The Universal Monsters (also known as Universal Classic Monsters and Universal Studios Monsters) is a media franchise comprising various horror film series distributed by Universal Pictures. It consists of different horror creature characters o ...

characters, for

Universal Pictures Universal City Studios LLC, doing business as Universal Pictures (also known as Universal Studios or simply Universal), is an American filmmaking, film production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered at the 10 Universal Ci ...

. On June 23, 2021, Cooley was set to write a film based on the Disney Parks attraction Tower of Terror, with

Scarlett Johansson Scarlett Ingrid Johansson (; born November 22, 1984) is an American actress and singer. The List of highest-paid film actors, world's highest-paid actress in 2018 and 2019, she has been featured multiple times on the Forbes Celebrity 100, ''F ...

starring and producing the project, after previously working together on ''Transformers One''. In June 2025, Cooley entered talks to direct a film adaptation of the children's book ''I Eat Poop: A Dung Beetle Story'' for

Paramount Animation Paramount Animation is an American animation studio, serving as the animation division and label of Paramount Pictures, a subsidiary of Paramount Global. The division was founded on July 6, 2011, following the critical and commerical success of P ...

and Maximum Effort.

Filmography

Films

Shorts

Other credits

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cooley, Josh 1979 births Film directors from California American male screenwriters American male voice actors American storyboard artists American animated film directors Animation screenwriters Animators from California Annie Award winners Living people Pixar people Directors of Best Animated Feature Academy Award winners