Kelsey Mann

Kelsey Mann
Born (1974-11-16) November 16, 1974 (age 50)
Alma materNorthern Michigan University (BFA)
Occupations
  • Film director
  • storyboard artist
Years active2003–present
Employers

Kelsey Mann is an American film director and storyboard artist. He is best known for directing the Pixar animated film Inside Out 2 (2024).[1]

Early life and education

Mann graduated from Burnsville High School in 1993. He went on to attend Northern Michigan University, where he earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts illustration in 1998.[2][3]

Career

Mann started his career at Cartoon Network, where he worked as a storyboard artist on Duck Dodgers, Megas XLR, My Gym Partner's a Monkey, Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, and Star Wars: The Clone Wars, before joining Pixar in 2009,[4] where he started as a story supervisor for Monsters University, The Good Dinosaur (also co-wrote the story for the film), and Onward.[5][6] He made his directorial debut with the short film Party Central, which he also wrote, taking place shortly after Monsters University.[7]

In September 2022, during the D23 Expo announcement, Mann was announced to direct the feature film Inside Out 2, which serves as the sequel to the 2015 film Inside Out, taking over for Pete Docter, who is instead the executive producer of the film, which was released on June 14, 2024.[2][1][8][9]

Filmography

Films

Year Title Director Story Story
Supervisor 		Other Notes
2013 Monsters University No No Yes No
2015 The Good Dinosaur No Yes Yes No
2020 Onward No No Yes Yes Additional Story Material
Soul No No No Yes Special Thanks
2021 Luca No No No Yes Pixar Senior Creative Team
2022 Turning Red No No No Yes
Lightyear No No No Yes
2023 Elemental No No No Yes
2024 Inside Out 2 Yes Yes No Yes
2025 Elio No No No Yes

Short films

Year Title Director Writer Other Notes
2013 Party Central Yes Yes Yes Additional Voices
2019 Purl No No Yes Voice of Office Bros
2020 Lamp Life No No Yes Special Thanks
2022 Cars on the Road: Gettin' Hitched No No Yes Pixar Senior Creative Team

Television series

Year Title Director Storyboard
Supervisor 		Storyboard
Artist 		Background
Artist 		Background
Designer 		Creative
Consultant 		Notes
2003 Kid Notorious No Yes Yes No No No
2003–2005 Duck Dodgers No No No Yes Key No
2004–2005 Megas XLR Yes No Yes No No No
2006 The Amazing Screw-On Head No No Yes No No No
2006–2007 My Gym Partner's a Monkey No No Yes No No No
2006–2009 Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends No No Yes No No No
2007 Shorty McShorts' Shorts No No Yes No No No Episode: The Imperfect Duplicates of Dodger Dare
2008 Underfist: Halloween Bash No No Additional No No No Television special
2009–2010 Star Wars: The Clone Wars No No Yes No No No
2010 Sym-Bionic Titan No No Yes No No No
2012 Ultimate Spider-Man No No Yes No No No
2021 Monsters at Work No No No No No Yes

References

  1. ^ a b Chapman, Wilson (September 9, 2022). "'Inside Out 2' Coming in Summer 2024, With Amy Poehler Returning". Retrieved September 9, 2022.
  2. ^ a b "Mann Directing Pixar's 'Inside Out 2'". January 20, 2023. Retrieved January 20, 2023.
  3. ^ "Four Alumni Involved in 'Onward' Film". May 27, 2020. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
  4. ^ Ventimiglia, Aidan (March 2, 2020). "PIXAR ANIMATOR KELSEY MANN REVEALS THE SEVEN-YEAR PROCESS TO MAKE 'ONWARD'". VOX ATL. Retrieved June 18, 2024.
  5. ^ Pritchard, Tiffany (22 October 2015). "Rome: Pixar story editor Kelsey Mann talks 'The Good Dinosaur'". ScreenDaily. Retrieved 22 October 2015.
  6. ^ Choksi, Angela (March 3, 2020). "Onward and Upward: A Conversation With Pixar's Kelsey Mann". The Emory Wheel. Retrieved March 3, 2020.
  7. ^ "The Story Behind the Story of Pixar's Party Central Short". Oh My Disney. January 22, 2014. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  8. ^ Fuge, Jonathan (February 22, 2023). "Inside Out 2 Details Revealed by Pixar CCO Peter Docter". Retrieved February 22, 2023.
  9. ^ "Watch: Meet Anxiety, the New Emotion Introduced in Pixar's 2024 Sequel, Inside Out 2". Animation Magazine. November 9, 2023. Retrieved November 10, 2023.