Peter Sohn (born October 18, 1977) is an American filmmaker, animator, storyboard artist, and voice actor. He is best known for his work at
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 ...
, including directing the short film ''
Partly Cloudy'' (2009) and the feature films ''
The Good Dinosaur
''The Good Dinosaur'' is a 2015 American animated comedy-drama adventure film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. The film was directed by Peter Sohn and produced by Denise Ream, from a screenplay written by Meg Le ...
'' (2015) and ''
Elemental
An elemental is a mythic supernatural being that is described in occult and alchemy, alchemical works from around the time of the European Renaissance, and particularly elaborated in the 16th century works of Paracelsus. According to Paracelsu ...
'' (2023), the latter of which was nominated for 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 voiced Emile in ''
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), Squishy in ''
Monsters University
''Monsters University'' is a 2013 American animated Coming-of-age film, coming-of-age comedy film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. A prequel to ''Monsters, Inc.'' (2001), it was directed by Dan Scanlon (in his fea ...
'' (2013), Ciccio in ''
Luca
Luca or LUCA may refer to:
People
* Luca (masculine given name), including a list of people
* Luca (feminine given name), including a list of people
* Luca (surname), including a list of people
Places
* The ancient name of Lucca, an Etruscan ...
'' (2021), and Sox in ''
Lightyear
A light-year, alternatively spelled light year (ly or lyr), is a unit of length used to express astronomical distance, astronomical distances and is equal to exactly , which is approximately 9.46 trillion km or 5.88 trillion mi. As defined by t ...
'' (2022).
Early life
Sohn was born on October 18, 1977, in
The Bronx
The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...
,
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
, the son of
Korean
Korean may refer to:
People and culture
* Koreans, people from the Korean peninsula or of Korean descent
* Korean culture
* Korean language
**Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Korean
**Korean dialects
**See also: North–South differences in t ...
immigrants Yung Tahk Sohn and Hea Ja Sohn. He has a younger brother. He was raised in New York.
While studying at
CalArts
The California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) is a private art school in Santa Clarita, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the US created specifically for students of both the ...
, he got a summer job working on
Brad Bird
Philip Bradley Bird (born September 24, 1957) is an American filmmaker, animator, and voice actor. He has had a career spanning over four decades in both animation and Live action, live-action.
Bird was born in Montana and grew up in Oregon. He ...
's animated feature film, ''
The Iron Giant
''The Iron Giant'' is a 1999 American animated science fiction film directed by Brad Bird and produced by Warner Bros. Feature Animation. It is loosely based on the 1968 novel '' The Iron Man'' by Ted Hughes (which was published in the United ...
'' (1999).
Career
After graduating from school, he worked at
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was founded on October 16 ...
and
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...
before coming to
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 ...
in the art and story departments for ''
Finding Nemo
''Finding Nemo'' is a 2003 American animated comedy-drama adventure film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. The film was directed by Andrew Stanton, co-directed by Lee Unkrich, and produced by Graham Walters, from ...
'' (2003). He also worked on ''
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), ''
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) and ''
WALL-E
''WALL-E'' (stylized with an interpunct as ''WALL·E'') is a 2008 American animated Romance film, romantic science fiction film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. The film was directed by Andrew Stanton, produced b ...
'' (2008). Sohn performed the voice of Emile in ''Ratatouille''. He made his directorial debut with the short film ''
Partly Cloudy'' in 2009 which he also wrote. ''Partly Cloudy'' was included in the
Animation Show of Shows in 2009. Sohn co-directed the English-language version of ''
Ponyo
is a 2008 Japanese animated fantasy film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki. It was animated by Studio Ghibli for the Nippon Television Network, Dentsu, Hakuhodo DY Media Partners, Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Mitsubishi, and distri ...
'' in 2009 with fellow Pixar employees
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
Brad Lewis. Russell, from
''Up'' (2009), was based on Sohn's appearance. He voiced Russell in the corresponding short, ''
George & A.J.'' (2009), and Squishy in the feature ''
Monsters University
''Monsters University'' is a 2013 American animated Coming-of-age film, coming-of-age comedy film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. A prequel to ''Monsters, Inc.'' (2001), it was directed by Dan Scanlon (in his fea ...
'' (2013).
Sohn directed the feature film ''
The Good Dinosaur
''The Good Dinosaur'' is a 2015 American animated comedy-drama adventure film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. The film was directed by Peter Sohn and produced by Denise Ream, from a screenplay written by Meg Le ...
'', which was released in November 2015. He voiced its ''
Styracosaurus
''Styracosaurus'' ( ; meaning "spiked lizard" from the Ancient Greek / "spike at the butt-end of a spear-shaft" and / "lizard") is an extinct genus of herbivorous ceratopsian dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous (Campanian stage) of North America. ...
'' character Forrest Woodbush.
The film was Pixar's first
box office failure
A box-office bomb is a film that is unprofitable or considered highly unsuccessful during its theatrical run. Although any film for which the combined production budget, marketing, and distribution costs exceed the revenue after release has te ...
.
Sohn was set to voice the
Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...
character
Ganke Lee in the 2018
Sony Pictures Animation
Sony Pictures Animation Inc. (also referred to as Sony Animation Studios and abbreviated to SPA) is an American animation studio owned by Sony Entertainment's Sony Pictures Entertainment through their Motion Picture Group division and found ...
feature film ''
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse'', but his lines were ultimately deleted from the final film.
However, he voiced Ganke in the 2023 sequel, ''
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse''. Additionally, Sohn provided the voices of Ciccio and Sox in the Pixar films ''
Luca
Luca or LUCA may refer to:
People
* Luca (masculine given name), including a list of people
* Luca (feminine given name), including a list of people
* Luca (surname), including a list of people
Places
* The ancient name of Lucca, an Etruscan ...
'' (2021) and ''
Lightyear
A light-year, alternatively spelled light year (ly or lyr), is a unit of length used to express astronomical distance, astronomical distances and is equal to exactly , which is approximately 9.46 trillion km or 5.88 trillion mi. As defined by t ...
'' (2022), respectively.
The second feature film that Sohn directed at Pixar, ''
Elemental
An elemental is a mythic supernatural being that is described in occult and alchemy, alchemical works from around the time of the European Renaissance, and particularly elaborated in the 16th century works of Paracelsus. According to Paracelsu ...
'', is based on his experience growing up in New York. The film debuted out of competition at the
76th Cannes Film Festival. It was released on June 16, 2023.
Though it underperformed on its opening weekend, the film's performance improved in the following weeks and received positive word-of-mouth that led it to become a
sleeper hit
In the entertainment industry, a sleeper hit refers to a film, television series, music release, video game or other entertainment product that was initially unsuccessful on release, but eventually became a surprise success. A sleeper hit may have ...
. The film was nominated for 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 ...
.
In June 2025, it was revealed that Sohn would direct ''Incredibles 3'' for Pixar, having been chosen by franchise creator
Brad Bird
Philip Bradley Bird (born September 24, 1957) is an American filmmaker, animator, and voice actor. He has had a career spanning over four decades in both animation and Live action, live-action.
Bird was born in Montana and grew up in Oregon. He ...
and Pixar CCO
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'' ( ...
to helm the film due to Bird's commitments to the film ''Ray Gunn''.
Personal life
Sohn is married to artist Anna Chambers, whom he met at CalArts.
During the production of ''The Good Dinosaur'', they had two children.
Filmography
Feature films
Short films and TV specials
Video games
Other credits
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sohn, Peter
1977 births
21st-century American screenwriters
American animated film directors
Animators from New York (state)
American male screenwriters
American male voice actors
American storyboard artists
American people of Korean descent
California Institute of the Arts alumni
Living people
Mass media people from the Bronx
Pixar people
Animation screenwriters
Screenwriters from New York (state)