
Dan Scanlon (born June 21, 1976) is an American animator, storyboard artist and director, working for Pixar, for whom he has directed Monsters University and Onward. Scanlon was an animator for Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World, The Indescribable Nth and Joseph: King of Dreams. He served as a storyboard artist for The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea and 101 Dalmatians II: Patch's London Adventure. Scanlon joined Pixar in 2001, where he was a story artist for Cars and Toy Story 3. He co-directed the short film Mater and the Ghostlight. He illustrated part one of Unmentionables, a comic book written by his wife, Michele Scanlon, and wrote and directed the live-action feature film Tracy. Tracy was Scanlon's first feature film as a writer/director. He also served as a member of the senior creative team on Brave and Inside Out. Scanlon and his wife Michele live in San Francisco and work together on projects under the production company name Caveat Productions.
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Biography from TMDB.
- June 21, 1976 (50)
- Clawson, Michigan, USA
- Director, producer, writer and actor
- 11 on MovieCove · 12 credits in all
What are Dan Scanlon's films like?
Across their 10 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Self and Bonds.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 0 · Wry 0 · Earnest 7
Light 6 · Serious 1 · Dark 0
A split, not a type: Grounded 0 · Stylized 4 · Heightened 3
Gentle 5 · Charged 2 · Intense 0
A split, not a type: Steady 4 · Shifting 2 · Whiplash 1
Straight-faced 0 · Some laughs 4 · Funny 3
Slow burn 2 · Even-paced 5 · Relentless 0
Casual 7 · Engaged 0 · Full focus 0
Easy watch 5 · Affecting 2 · Heavy 0
Resolved 6 · Open-ended 1 · Ambiguous 0
Moods and endings
- Happy6
- Bittersweet3
- Ambiguous1
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch Dan Scanlon's films?
As of October 24, 2026, all 11 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Disney+ (11).
- Soul (2020) · producer
- Inside Out 2 (2024) · producer
- Zootopia 2 (2025) · thanks
- Cars (2006) · actor
- Onward (2020) · director, writer
- Monsters University (2013) · actor, director, writer
- Party Central (2013) · producer
- Turning Red (2022) · producer
- Dream Productions (2024) · producer
- Mater and the Ghostlight (2006) · director, writer
- Cars on the Road (2022) · producer
Subscription and free streaming for Dan Scanlon's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
12 credits, 11 with a MovieCove page; 1 appearance as themselves is hidden until asked for.

Zootopia 2(2025)
Midcredits score: 93rd percentile of all films
Inside Out 2(2024)
Midcredits score: 94th percentile of all films
Dream Productions(2024)
Midcredits score: 79th percentile of all shows
Turning Red(2022)
Midcredits score: 79th percentile of all films
Cars on the Road(2022)
Midcredits score: 48th percentile of all shows
Soul(2020)
Midcredits score: 99th percentile of all films
Onward(2020)
Midcredits score: 89th percentile of all films
Party Central(2013)
Midcredits score: 80th percentile of all films
Monsters University(2013)
Midcredits score: 88th percentile of all films
Tracy (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2009)

Mater and the Ghostlight(2006)
Midcredits score: 60th percentile of all films
Cars(2006)
Midcredits score: 92nd percentile of all films
Career shape
A full career of 10 titles from 2006 to 2025.
Awards
3 major nominations and no wins, 2014–2021.
- Oscar, nominated · Best Animated Feature Film
- BAFTA Award, nominated · Best Animated Feature Film
- BAFTA Award, nominated · Best Animated Film
Major bodies only: the Oscars, Primetime Emmys, Golden Globes, BAFTAs and Screen Actors Guild Awards are named; Cannes, Venice, the Berlinale, Sundance, the directors', writers' and producers' guilds, the Grammys, Critics Choice and the Independent Spirit Awards count as other major bodies. Festival and regional prizes are not counted. Source: IMDb.
How do Dan Scanlon's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 89th percentile, the median of all 9; across their 7 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 84th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up9
- 50th to 74th1
- 25th to 49th1
Shape of the crowd
None of their 11 titles divides audiences: 8 are Crowd Pleasers.
- Universally Loved2
- Crowd Pleaser8
- Broadly Agreed1
Reviewers score the atmosphere 71/100 and the pacing 57/100 in their films, across 7 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a director.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Is Dan Scanlon's work okay for kids?
Across up to 8 MovieCove titles with content scores, violence & gore, sex & nudity, profanity and alcohol & drugs run lighter than most films.
Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted. The band's colour is the severity of their median, named beside it.
Who does Dan Scanlon work with?
People who share at least 2 of Dan Scanlon's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Pete Docter shares the most, 7.
Directors
- Kelsey MannShared titles: Inside Out 2 (2024), Party Central (2013)See all 2 shared titles with Kelsey Mann

Writers
- John LasseterShared titles: Cars on the Road (2022), Party Central (2013), Mater and the Ghostlight (2006)See all 3 shared titles with John Lasseter

- Mike JonesShared titles: Dream Productions (2024), Soul (2020)See all 2 shared titles with Mike Jones

- Joe RanftShared titles: Cars on the Road (2022), Mater and the Ghostlight (2006)See all 2 shared titles with Joe Ranft

Actors
- Amy PoehlerShared titles: Dream Productions (2024), Inside Out 2 (2024)See all 2 shared titles with Amy Poehler

- Grace LuShared titles: Dream Productions (2024), Inside Out 2 (2024)See all 2 shared titles with Grace Lu

- Grey DeLisleShared titles: Dream Productions (2024), Onward (2020)See all 2 shared titles with Grey DeLisle

- Kensington TallmanShared titles: Dream Productions (2024), Inside Out 2 (2024)See all 2 shared titles with Kensington Tallman

Cinematographers and editors
- Adam HabibShared titles: Inside Out 2 (2024), Onward (2020)See all 2 shared titles with Adam Habib
- Jonathan PytkoShared titles: Inside Out 2 (2024), Turning Red (2022)See all 2 shared titles with Jonathan Pytko

- Tim FoxShared titles: Dream Productions (2024), Party Central (2013)See all 2 shared titles with Tim Fox
- Matt AspburyShared titles: Soul (2020), Monsters University (2013)See all 2 shared titles with Matt Aspbury

Producers
- Pete DocterShared titles: Dream Productions (2024), Inside Out 2 (2024), Cars on the Road (2022), Turning Red (2022), Onward (2020), Soul (2020), Party Central (2013)See all 7 shared titles with Pete Docter

- Jonas RiveraShared titles: Dream Productions (2024), Inside Out 2 (2024), Soul (2020)See all 3 shared titles with Jonas Rivera

- Valerie LaPointeShared titles: Dream Productions (2024), Inside Out 2 (2024), Soul (2020)See all 3 shared titles with Valerie LaPointe

- Mark NielsenShared titles: Inside Out 2 (2024), Mater and the Ghostlight (2006)See all 2 shared titles with Mark Nielsen
