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Adrian Molina

Adrian Molina
Molina at the 2017 Annecy International Animated Film Festival
Born (1985-08-23) August 23, 1985 (age 39)
Yuba City, California, U.S.
Alma materCalifornia Institute of the Arts
Occupations
  • Screenwriter
  • storyboard artist
  • animator
Years active2006–present
EmployerPixar Animation Studios (2007–present)
Spouse
Ryan Dooley
​
(m. 2011)​

Adrian Molina (born August 23, 1985) is an American animator, storyboard artist and screenwriter who works for Pixar. He co-wrote the screenplay and story of Coco (2017), which he also co-directed.

Early life and education

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Molina was born in Yuba City, California to a Mexican family, and raised in Grass Valley. He graduated from Bear River High School in 2003, to subsequently attend and graduate from the California Institute of the Arts in 2007.[1]

Career

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Molina joined Pixar in 2007. 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.[1] Molina also illustrated the Little Golden Book for Toy Story 3.[2] 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 several lyrics for the film.[1][3][4]

Following the success of Coco and the D23 Expo announcement in September 2022, Molina was announced to direct the upcoming feature film Elio, set to release on June 13, 2025.[5][6][7] However in August 2024, it was announced that Molina had left he project to work on another original film with Domee Shi and Madeline Sharafian directing Elio instead.[8] Nevertheless, he is reportedly retaining his director credit because of the amount of work he directed that is being kept in the film.[9]

Personal life

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Molina is gay. He has been married to Ryan Dooley since 2011.[10]

Filmography

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Year Title Director Writer Executive
Producer 		Story
Artist 		Other 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 Contributor
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 Inside Out 2 No No No No Yes
2025 Elio Yes TBA No No Yes

Accolades

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Accolades received by Adrian Molina
Award Date of ceremony Category Film Result Ref.
Academy Awards March 4, 2018 Best Animated Feature Coco Won [11]
Annie Awards February 3, 2018 Directing in an Animated Feature Production Coco Won [12]
Music in an Animated Feature Production Coco Won
Writing in an Animated Feature Production Coco Won
Humanitas Prize February 16, 2018 Feature – Family Coco Nominated [13]
Imagen Awards August 25, 2018 Best Director Coco Won [14]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "'Coco's Mexican-American Co-Director Adrian Molina Reveals Origins of Pixar's Día de Muertos Film".
  2. ^ Spring Into Action! (Disney/Pixar Toy Story 3) by Annie Auerbach | PenguinRandomHouse.com.
  3. ^ "Pixar Coco plot details revealed | EW.com". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved December 7, 2016.
  4. ^ Robinson, Joanna. "Pixar's Coco Is a "Love Letter to Mexico" When It's Needed Most". HWD. Retrieved December 7, 2016.
  5. ^ "'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.
  6. ^ 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.
  7. ^ McClintock, Pamela (October 27, 2023). "Disney Delays 'Snow White' and 'Elio' a Year, Removes Jonathan Majors' 'Magazine Dreams' From Calendar". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved October 27, 2023.
  8. ^ Taylor, Drew (August 10, 2024). "Pixar Chief Pete Docter Talks New 'Elio' Directors, Story and Casting Changes | Exclusive". TheWrap. Retrieved August 10, 2024. Docter said that Molina is still at Pixar and, what's more, he 'was taken on to a priority project that we're not ready to talk about yet, but it's very exciting and he's excited about it as well,' even though he's no longer involved with 'Elio.'.
  9. ^ Julie & T.J. (August 9, 2024). "Pixar at the 2024 D23 Expo – News Consolidation". Pixar Post. Retrieved August 10, 2024.
  10. ^ Crispim, Fabio (June 30, 2018). "'Coco' co-director Adrian Molina is 'all for' an LGBT Pixar film". attitude. Retrieved June 30, 2018.
  11. ^ "Oscars: The Complete Winners List". The Hollywood Reporter. March 4, 2018. Archived from the original on March 5, 2018. Retrieved August 29, 2024.
  12. ^ Giardina, Carolyn (February 4, 2018). "Annie Awards: 'Coco' Tops the Animation Celebration". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on February 4, 2018. Retrieved August 29, 2024.
  13. ^ Pedersen, Erik (January 9, 2018). "Humanitas Prize Finalists Announced; Feature Awards Split Into 3 Categories". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on January 9, 2018. Retrieved August 29, 2024.
  14. ^ Ramos, Dino-Ray (August 26, 2018). "Imagen Awards: 'One Day At A Time', 'Coco' Among Honorees – Full Winners List". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on August 26, 2018. Retrieved August 29, 2024.
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