Adrian Molina
Adrian Molina (born August 23, 1985) is an American filmmaker, who has worked for Pixar since 2007. He is best known for co-writing the screenplay and story of Coco (2017), which he also co-directed the film. He is also currently writing and directing the upcoming feature film Elio (2024).
Adrian Molina | |
|---|---|
 Molina at the 2017 Annecy International Animated Film Festival | |
| Born | August 23, 1985 Yuba City, California, U.S. |
| Alma mater | California Institute of the Arts |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 2006–present |
| Employer | Pixar Animation Studios (2007–present) |
| Spouse |
Ryan Dooley (m. 2011) |
Early life
Molina was born in Yuba City, California and raised in Grass Valley, and he graduated from Bear River High School in 2003, to subsequently attend and graduate from the California Institute of the Arts in 2007. He is of Mexican descent.[1]
Career
Molina has joined at Pixar since 2007, where he started as a 2D animator on Ratatouille. He later moved on to be a storyboard artist, working on Toy Story 3 and Monsters University. After writing for The Good Dinosaur, Molina started his first assignment as a screenwriter, for Coco, and later went on to co-direct the film. He also wrote serveral lyrics for the film.[2][3] He is currently writing and directing the upcoming film Elio, making his sole directorial debut, set to release on March 1, 2024.[4][5][6]
Molina also illustrated the Little Golden Book for Toy Story 3.[7]
Personal life
Molina is openly gay, who married Ryan Dooley since 2011.[8]
Filmography
| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Executive Producer |
Story Artist |
Other | Voice Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Ratatouille | No | No | No | No | Yes | Animator: End Titles | |
| 2010 | Toy Story 3 | No | No | No | Yes | No | ||
| 2013 | Monsters University | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Additional Screenplay Material Opening Title Designer and Director | |
| 2015 | The Good Dinosaur | No | No | No | No | Yes | Additional Screenplay Material | |
| 2017 | Coco | Co-Director | Yes | No | No | Yes | Additional Voices | Songwriter |
| 2019 | Toy Story 4 | No | No | No | No | Yes | Pixar Senior Creative Team | |
| 2020 | Onward | No | No | No | No | Yes | ||
| Soul | No | No | No | No | Yes | |||
| 2021 | Luca | No | No | No | No | Yes | Additional Story Contributions Pixar Senior Creative Team | |
| 2022 | Turning Red | No | No | Associate | No | Yes | Pixar Senior Creative Team | |
| Lightyear | No | No | No | No | Yes | |||
| 2023 | Elemental | No | No | No | No | Yes | ||
| 2024 | Elio | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | ||
| Inside Out 2 | No | No | No | No | Yes |
References
- "'Coco's Mexican-American Co-Director Adrian Molina Reveals Origins of Pixar's Día de Muertos Film".
- "Pixar Coco plot details revealed | EW.com". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2016-12-07.
- Robinson, Joanna. "Pixar's Coco Is a "Love Letter to Mexico" When It's Needed Most". HWD. Retrieved 2016-12-07.
- "'Elio': Pixar Sets New Pic About 11-Year-Old Boy Beamed Into Space; America Ferrera Stars & 'Coco's Adrian Molina Directs". Deadline Hollywood. September 9, 2022. Retrieved September 9, 2022.
- Meyer, Joshua (September 9, 2022). "Disney Announces New Pixar Sci-Fi Adventure Comedy, Elio [D23]". /Film. Archived from the original on October 2, 2022. Retrieved December 8, 2022.
- Trench, Mikael (June 20, 2023). "Pixar's Elio - Everything You Need To Know". Looper. Retrieved August 27, 2023.
The aforementioned director Adrian Molina is currently the only credited writer for Pixar's Elio.
- Spring Into Action! (Disney/Pixar Toy Story 3) by Annie Auerbach | PenguinRandomHouse.com.
- Crispim, Fabio (June 30, 2018). "'Coco' co-director Adrian Molina is 'all for' an LGBT Pixar film". attitude. Retrieved June 30, 2018.
