
Lee Edward Unkrich (born August 8, 1967) is an American film director, editor and writer. He is best known for his work with the animation studio Pixar, which he joined in 1994 as an editor before being credited as a co-director on Toy Story 2 (1999). Following the film's success, Unkrich served a similar role for the films Monsters, Inc. (2001) and Finding Nemo (2003) before making his solo directorial debut with Toy Story 3 (2010). The film and the second he directed, Coco (2017), won two Academy Awards: Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song. After 25 years at the company, Unkrich retired in January 2019 to spend more time with his family and pursue other interests. Description above from the Wikipedia article Lee Unkrich, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
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Biography from TMDB.
- August 8, 1967 (59)
- Cleveland, Ohio, USA
- Director, editor, actor, producer and writer
- 18 on MovieCove · 27 credits in all
What are Lee Unkrich's films like?
Across their 11 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Self.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 0 · Wry 0 · Earnest 11
Light 9 · Serious 2 · Dark 0
Grounded 2 · Stylized 5 · Heightened 4
Gentle 4 · Charged 5 · Intense 2
Steady 4 · Shifting 7 · Whiplash 0
A split, not a type: Straight-faced 2 · Some laughs 4 · Funny 5
Slow burn 2 · Even-paced 9 · Relentless 0
Casual 10 · Engaged 1 · Full focus 0
A split, not a type: Easy watch 6 · Affecting 2 · Heavy 3
Resolved 11 · Open-ended 0 · Ambiguous 0
Moods and endings
- Happy8
- Bittersweet2
- 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 Lee Unkrich's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 17 of their 18 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Disney+ (15).
- Coco (2017) · actor, director, writer, editor
- Toy Story (1995) · editor
- Toy Story 3 (2010) · actor, director, writer, editor
- Finding Nemo (2003) · actor, director, editor
- Monsters, Inc. (2001) · actor, director
- Inside Out (2015) · other
- Presto (2008) · thanks
- Toy Story 2 (1999) · actor, director, editor
- Toy Story 4 (2019) · producer
- Cars (2006) · editor
- Hoppers (2026) · producer
- Lava (2014) · thanks
- +3 more
Subscription and free streaming for Lee Unkrich'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
27 credits, 18 with a MovieCove page; 7 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.

Coco 2 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2029)

Hoppers(2026)
Midcredits score: 91st percentile of all films
Toy Story 4(2019)
Midcredits score: 92nd percentile of all films
Coco(2017)
Midcredits score: 99th percentile of all films
Dante's Lunch (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2017)

The Good Dinosaur(2015)
Midcredits score: 67th percentile of all films
Lava(2014)
Midcredits score: 88th percentile of all films
Inside Out(2015)
Midcredits score: 98th percentile of all films
Monsters University(2013)
Midcredits score: 88th percentile of all films
Toy Story 3(2010)
Midcredits score: 99th percentile of all films
Ken's Dating Tips: #24 Know Yourself, Be Yourself (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2010)

Ken's Dating Tips: #31 Play Hard to Get (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2010)

Ken's Dating Tips: #48 Communication is Key (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2010)

Groovin' with Ken (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2010)

Presto(2008)
Midcredits score: 98th percentile of all films
Cars(2006)
Midcredits score: 92nd percentile of all films
Finding Nemo(2003)
Midcredits score: 99th percentile of all films
Monsters, Inc.(2001)
Midcredits score: 99th percentile of all films
Toy Story 2(1999)
Midcredits score: 98th percentile of all films
A Bug's Life(1998)
Midcredits score: 87th percentile of all films
Toy Story(1995)
Midcredits score: 99th percentile of all filmsSeparated by Murder (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1994)

Betrayed by Love (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1994)

Renegade(1992)
Midcredits score: 17th percentile of all shows
Silk Stalkings(1991)
Midcredits score: 29th percentile of all shows
Midcredits score: 35th percentile of all films
Ken's Dating Tips (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Career shape
A full career of 27 titles, 25 of them dated from 1991 to 2026.
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.
Awards
2 Oscars and 2 BAFTA Awards from 7 major nominations, 2004–2018.
- Oscar, won · Best Animated Feature Film
- BAFTA Award, won · Best Animated Feature Film
- Oscar, won · Best Animated Feature Film of the Year
- Oscar, nominated · Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay
- BAFTA Award, won · Best Animated Film
+1 other major body · 1 nomination
- Critics Choice Award, nominated · Best Screenplay, Adapted
- BAFTA Award, nominated · Best Feature 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 Lee Unkrich's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 95th percentile, the median of all 16; across their 11 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 96th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up14
- 50th to 74th1
- 25th to 49th2
- Below 25th1
Shape of the crowd
9 of their 18 titles are Universally Loved.
- Universally Loved9
- Cult Classic1
- Crowd Pleaser6
- Mixed2
Reviewers score the atmosphere 82/100 and the pacing 65/100 in their films, across 10 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 Lee Unkrich's work okay for kids?
Across up to 9 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 Lee Unkrich work with?
People who share at least 2 of Lee Unkrich's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; John Lasseter shares the most, 10.
Directors
- John LasseterShared titles: Toy Story 4 (2019), Coco (2017), The Good Dinosaur (2015), Toy Story at 20: To Infinity and Beyond (2015), Toy Story 3 (2010), Finding Nemo (2003), Monsters, Inc. (2001), Toy Story 2 (1999), A Bug's Life (1998), Toy Story (1995)See all 10 shared titles with John Lasseter

- Andrew StantonShared titles: Toy Story 4 (2019), The Good Dinosaur (2015), Toy Story at 20: To Infinity and Beyond (2015), Toy Story 3 (2010), Finding Nemo (2003), Monsters, Inc. (2001), Toy Story 2 (1999), A Bug's Life (1998), Toy Story (1995)See all 9 shared titles with Andrew Stanton

Writers
- Pete DocterShared titles: Toy Story 4 (2019), Toy Story at 20: To Infinity and Beyond (2015), Monsters, Inc. (2001), Toy Story 2 (1999), Toy Story (1995)See all 5 shared titles with Pete Docter

- Bob PetersonShared titles: The Good Dinosaur (2015), Finding Nemo (2003), Monsters, Inc. (2001)See all 3 shared titles with Bob Peterson

- Adrian MolinaShared titles: Coco (2017), The Good Dinosaur (2015)See all 2 shared titles with Adrian Molina

- David ReynoldsShared titles: Toy Story 3 (2010), Finding Nemo (2003)See all 2 shared titles with David Reynolds

Actors
- Tim AllenShared titles: Toy Story 4 (2019), Toy Story at 20: To Infinity and Beyond (2015), Toy Story 3 (2010), Toy Story 2 (1999), Toy Story (1995)See all 5 shared titles with Tim Allen

- Tom HanksShared titles: Toy Story 4 (2019), Toy Story at 20: To Infinity and Beyond (2015), Toy Story 3 (2010), Toy Story 2 (1999), Toy Story (1995)See all 5 shared titles with Tom Hanks

- John RatzenbergerShared titles: The Good Dinosaur (2015), Toy Story 3 (2010), Monsters, Inc. (2001), Toy Story 2 (1999), Toy Story (1995)See all 5 shared titles with John Ratzenberger

- Annie PottsShared titles: Toy Story 4 (2019), Toy Story 2 (1999), Toy Story (1995)See all 3 shared titles with Annie Potts

Composers, cinematographers and editors
- Randy NewmanShared titles: Toy Story 4 (2019), Toy Story 3 (2010), Monsters, Inc. (2001), Toy Story 2 (1999), A Bug's Life (1998), Toy Story (1995)See all 6 shared titles with Randy Newman

- Sharon CalahanShared titles: Finding Nemo (2003), Monsters, Inc. (2001), Toy Story 2 (1999), A Bug's Life (1998)See all 4 shared titles with Sharon Calahan
- David Ian SalterShared titles: Finding Nemo (2003), Toy Story 2 (1999)See all 2 shared titles with David Ian Salter

Producers
- Darla K. AndersonShared titles: Coco (2017), Toy Story 3 (2010), Monsters, Inc. (2001), A Bug's Life (1998)See all 4 shared titles with Darla K. Anderson

- Denise ReamShared titles: Toy Story 4 (2019), The Good Dinosaur (2015)See all 2 shared titles with Denise Ream

- Mary Alice DrummShared titles: Coco (2017), The Good Dinosaur (2015)See all 2 shared titles with Mary Alice Drumm

Mixed roles
- Ed CatmullShared titles: Toy Story at 20: To Infinity and Beyond (2015), Toy Story (1995)See all 2 shared titles with Ed Catmull

- Jeff PidgeonShared titles: Toy Story 3 (2010), Monsters, Inc. (2001)See all 2 shared titles with Jeff Pidgeon
