Peter Sohn
Sohn at the 2023 Annecy International Animated Film Festival
Born (1977-10-18) October 18, 1977[1]
The Bronx, New York City, U.S.
Alma materCalifornia Institute of the Arts
Occupations
  • Film director
  • screenwriter
  • animator
  • storyboard artist
  • voice actor
Years active1995–present
EmployerPixar Animation Studios (2000–present)
SpouseAnna Chambers
Children2

Peter Sohn (born October 18, 1977) is an American filmmaker, animator, storyboard artist, and voice actor, best known for his work at Pixar Animation Studios. He directed the short film Partly Cloudy (2009) and the feature films The Good Dinosaur (2015) and Elemental (2023). He has also been the voice of Emile in Ratatouille (2007), Squishy in Monsters University (2013), and Sox in Lightyear (2022).

Early life

Sohn was born in The Bronx, New York City, the son of Korean immigrants Yung Tahk Sohn and Hea Ja Sohn. He has one brother. He was raised in New York.[2]

While studying at CalArts, he landed a summer job working on Brad Bird's animated feature film, The Iron Giant.

Career

After graduating from school, he worked at The Walt Disney Company and Warner Bros. before coming to Pixar in the art and story departments for Finding Nemo.[3] He also worked on The Incredibles, Ratatouille and WALL-E. Sohn performed the voice of Remy's brother, 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 in 2009 with John Lasseter and Brad Lewis (fellow Pixar workers).[4] Russell, the boy in Up, was based on Sohn's appearance.[5] He voiced Russell in the corresponding short, George & A.J., and Squishy in the feature Monsters University.

Sohn directed The Good Dinosaur, which was released in November 2015. He voiced its Styracosaurus character Forrest Woodbush.[6] The film is notable for being Pixar's first film to be a box office flop.[7] Emily St. James at Vox praised the films for its "gorgeous visuals" but criticized its story writing, "The film's story isn't just derivative — it actively rips off other, better movies."[8] Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian agreed writing, "It may be visually impressive, but this Jurassic outing lacks the passion and sophistication that we’ve come to expect from Pixar".[9]

Sohn was set to voice the Marvel Comics character Ganke Lee in the Sony Pictures Animation feature film Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, but his lines were ultimately deleted from the final film.[10] However, he eventually voiced Ganke in the sequel, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. Sohn provided the voice of Sox, a robotic kitten, in the Pixar film Lightyear (2022).[11]

Sohn's sophomore effort as a director at Pixar, Elemental, is based on his experience growing up in New York. The film incorporates the classical elements of fire, water, air, and earth as the sentient residents of a city. The film debuted out of competition to initially mixed reviews at the 76th Cannes Film Festival.[12][13] It was released June 16, 2023 to positive reviews. The film is the 27th feature film made by Pixar.[14][15]

The film originally underperformed on opening weekend.[16][17] However, its performance improved in the following weeks following positive word-of-mouth that led the movie to become a sleeper hit.[18][19][20][21] Alison Willmore of Vulture says, "Elemental is the second feature from Peter Sohn, a Pixar stalwart who has been with the company since 2000 but as a director is now 0 for 2 ... the visuals are there but the storytelling lately falls flat".[22] David Fear of Rolling Stone wrote "It's so busy trying to pen an op-ed that it forgets to give it a narrative structure and make it emotionally resonate. That’s just elementary."[23] Audiences received the film much more positively, praising its emotional story and charming romance.

Personal life

Sohn is married to artist Anna Chambers, whom he met at CalArts.[24] During the production of The Good Dinosaur, they welcomed two children.[25]

Filmography

Feature films

Year Title Director Story Executive
Producer		 Story
Artist		 Production
Artist		 Animator Story
Consultant		 Other Voice Role Notes
1999 The Iron Giant No No No No No Additional No Yes Rough In-between-er
2001 Osmosis Jones No No No No No Yes No No
2003 Finding Nemo No No No Yes Yes No No No
2004 The Incredibles No No No Yes Yes Yes No Yes Mugger [26]
2007 Ratatouille No No No Yes No Yes No Yes Emile
2008 WALL-E No No No Yes No No No No
2009 Up No No No Yes No No No No
Ponyo No No No No No No No Yes Director: English Dub; US Version
2010 Toy Story 3 No No No No Additional No No No
2012 Brave No No No Additional No No No No
2013 Monsters University No No No No No No No Yes Squishy
2015 Inside Out No No No No No No No Yes Pixar Senior Creative Team
The Good Dinosaur Yes Yes No No No No No Yes Forrest Woodbush
2016 Finding Dory No No No No No No No Yes
2017 Cars 3 No No No No No No No Yes Additional Voices
Coco No No No No No No No Yes
2018 Incredibles 2 No No No No No No Yes Yes
2019 Toy Story 4 No No No No No No No Yes
2020 Onward No No No No No No No Yes
Soul No No No No No No No Yes
2021 Luca No No Yes No No No No Yes Ciccio
2022 Turning Red No No No No No No No Yes
Lightyear No No No No No No No Yes Sox
2023 Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse No No No No No No No Yes Ganke Lee
Elemental Yes Yes No No No No No Yes Pixar Senior Creative Team
2024 Inside Out 2 No No No No No No No Yes
2025 Elio No No No No No No No Yes

Short films and TV specials

Year Title Director Writer Production
Artist		 Cinematographer Animator Other Voice Role Notes
2005 One Man Band No No Yes No No No
2007 Violet No No No Yes No No
Your Friend the Rat No No No No No Yes Emile Song Performer: "Plan B"
2008 Cars Toons: Mater's Tall Tales No No No No No Yes Additional Voices Episodes 1-4
2009 Trifles No No No Yes No No
Leonardo No No No No Yes No
Partly Cloudy Yes Yes No No No No
George & A.J. No No No No No Yes Russell
2011 Toy Story Toons: Small Fry No No No No No Yes Recycle Ben Special Thanks
2013 Toy Story of Terror! No No No No No Yes Transitron TV special
A Monsters University Short: Party Central No No No No No Yes Squishy

Video games

Year Title Voice Role
2007 Ratatouille Emile
2012 Kinect Rush: A Disney-Pixar Adventure
2013 Disney Infinity Squishy

Other credits

Year Title Role
2009 Tracy Blog Creator
2015 Borrowed Time Thanks
2018 Bao Special Thanks
2019 Purl
Smash and Grab Brian Larsen's Story Brain Trust
Kitbull Rosana Sullivan's Story Trust
Wind Story Trust
2020 Out

References

  1. ↑ Truitt, Brian (September 14, 2015). "TIFF: 'Good Dinosaur' stars friends, frontier". USA Today. Retrieved September 15, 2015. ...says Sohn, 38.
  2. ↑ Greiving, Tim (June 15, 2023). "Meet Mr. Pixar". The Ringer. Retrieved September 11, 2023.
  3. ↑ Corrado, E. (November 4, 2009). "Q & A with Pixar's Ronnie del Carmen and Pete Sohn - Part 1". One Movie, Five Views Archive. Retrieved July 2, 2012.
  4. ↑ Murray, Rebecca. "'Ponyo' Movie Credits". About.com. Retrieved July 2, 2012.
  5. ↑ Lee, Patrick (March 2, 2009). "Up director Pete Docter on talking dogs, youth scouts and adventure". Blastr.com. Retrieved July 2, 2012.
  6. ↑ Keegan, Rebecca (September 18, 2013). "'The Good Dinosaur' moved to 2015, leaving Pixar with no 2014 film". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 18, 2013.
  7. ↑ "How The Good Dinosaur Became Pixar's First Bona Fide Box Office Flop". SlashFilm. Retrieved June 22, 2022.
  8. ↑ "The Good Dinosaur is Pixar's most gorgeous disappointment". Vox. November 25, 2015. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
  9. ↑ Bradshaw, Peter (November 26, 2015). "The Good Dinosaur review – desperately disappointing and twee". The Guardian. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
  10. ↑ Sciretta, Peter (February 26, 2019). "Pixar Director Pete Sohn Originally Voiced Ganke in 'Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse'". /Film. Retrieved July 25, 2019.
  11. ↑ Bastos, Margarida (February 8, 2022). "'Lightyear' Full Voice Cast Includes Taika Waititi, Keke Palmer, James Brolin, and More". Collider. Archived from the original on March 3, 2022. Retrieved March 8, 2022.
  12. ↑ "Elemental, the 27th Film by Pixar Animation Studios, to be the "Last Screening" at the 76th Festival de Cannes". April 19, 2023.
  13. ↑ Azad, Navid Nikkhah. "Elemental, the 27th Film by Pixar Animation Studios, to be the "Last Screening" at the 76th Festival de Cannes - Deed News". www.deed.news. Retrieved April 19, 2023.
  14. ↑ Moreau, Jordan (May 16, 2022). "Pixar Announces Next Movie, 'Elemental,' From 'Good Dinosaur' Director Peter Sohn". Variety. Retrieved May 16, 2022.
  15. ↑ Pixar (May 16, 2022). "In a city where fire, water, land, and air residents live together, a fiery young woman and a go-with-the-flow guy are about to discover something elemental: How much they actually have in common. Directed by Peter Sohn and produced by Denise Ream, Disney and Pixar's Elemental releases June 16, 2023". Instagram. Retrieved May 16, 2022.
  16. ↑ "'Elemental' Box Office Debacle: Pixar Movie Opens to Record-Worst $29.6M". The Hollywood Reporter. June 19, 2023. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
  17. ↑ "Pixar's 'Elemental' bombs at box office". NPR. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
  18. ↑ Fuster, Jeremy (August 8, 2023). "'Elemental' and Pixar Have Quietly Made a Box Office Comeback". The Wrap. Retrieved August 8, 2023.
  19. ↑ Lowry, Brian (July 31, 2023). "'Elemental' was written off as a box-office flop. Then it sprouted legs". CNN. Retrieved August 8, 2023.
  20. ↑ Reyes, Mike (August 3, 2023). "Pixar's Elemental Has Crossed Another Box Office Milestone, So Can We Stop Calling It A Bomb Now?". Cinema Blend. Retrieved August 8, 2023.
  21. ↑ Rudoy, Matthew (August 1, 2023). "Pixar Box Office Redemption: Elemental Box Office Doubles Budget After Initially Being Declared A Flop". Screen Rant. Retrieved August 8, 2023.
  22. ↑ "Pixar's Messy Metaphor for Interracial Romance". Vulture. June 15, 2023. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
  23. ↑ "'Elemental': Pixar's Steamiest Love Story Will Leave You Cold". Rolling Stone. June 14, 2023. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
  24. ↑ Robertson, Barbara (April 9, 2009). "Peter Sohn". CGSociety. p. 2. Archived from the original on February 21, 2014. Retrieved February 9, 2014. Sohn's wife Anna Chambers, who he met at CalArts, is also an artist, and both create artwork at home.
  25. ↑ de Souza, Alison (June 14, 2023). "Korean-American director Peter Sohn tells his personal stories through Pixar film Elemental". The Straits Times. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
  26. ↑ "Peter Sohn on bringing the cat SOX to life in Lightyear". YouTube. June 23, 2022. Retrieved July 2, 2022.
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