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Josh Cooley

Josh Cooley

Actor, writer and director · Born May 23, 1979 (47) · Berkeley, California, USA

Oscar winner · BAFTA Award nominee · 1 other major award body

Joshua Cooley (born May 23, 1979) is an American filmmaker and storyboard artist. He is best known for directing the animated films Toy Story 4 (2019) and Transformers One (2024), with the former winning the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. He also co-wrote the screenplay for the film Inside Out (2015), which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. Description above from the Wikipedia article Josh Cooley, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

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Biography from TMDB.

Born
May 23, 1979 (47)
From
Berkeley, California, USA
Works as
Actor, writer and director
Titles
15 on MovieCove · 28 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 155 days to Oct 26Down 20% in 30 days

What are Josh Cooley's films like?

Across their 7 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Self and Bonds.

Themes

share of theme weight
Self
42%
Bonds
27%
Morality
13%
Society
10%
Power
7%
Family bonds3 titles, browse their movies with this themeComing of age2 titles, browse their movies with this themePurpose2 titles, browse their movies with this themeIdentity2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 7 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Light: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their light movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

Light 6 · Serious 1 · Dark 0

Stylized: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their stylized movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

Grounded 1 · Stylized 4 · Heightened 2

Charged: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their charged movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

A split, not a type: Gentle 4 · Charged 3 · Intense 0

Steady: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their steady movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

Steady 4 · Shifting 3 · Whiplash 0

Funny: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their funny movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 0 · Some laughs 2 · Funny 5

Even-paced: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their even-paced movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 3 · Even-paced 4 · Relentless 0

Casual: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their casual movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

Casual 6 · Engaged 1 · Full focus 0

Resolved: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their resolved movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

Resolved 7 · Open-ended 0 · Ambiguous 0

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Joyful
5
Absurd
2
Triumphant
2
Contemplative
2
Bittersweet
2
Other
6

How their films linger

Fun4 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteBittersweet3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHopeful3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFeel-good3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end

  • Happy3
  • Bittersweet4

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 Josh Cooley's films?

As of October 24, 2026, all 15 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Disney+ (13).

Subscription and free streaming for Josh Cooley'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

28 credits, 15 with a MovieCove page.

  • Hoppers(2026)

    ADR & Dubbing

    Midcredits score: 91st percentile of all films

  • Transformers One(2024)

    Director · as Control Room Guys / PA System / Skywarp (voice)

    Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all films

  • 22 vs. Earth(2021)

    Writer

    Midcredits score: 60th percentile of all films

  • We Bare Bears: The Movie(2020)

    as Painting Elephant / Additional Voices (voice)

    Midcredits score: 82nd percentile of all films

  • Toy Story 4(2019)

    Director · Original Story

    Midcredits score: 92nd percentile of all films

  • The Good Dinosaur(2015)

    Thanks

    Midcredits score: 67th percentile of all films

  • Riley's First Date?(2015)

    Director · Writer · as Dad's Sadness (voice)

    Midcredits score: 88th percentile of all films

  • Inside Out(2015)

    Screenplay · as Jangles (voice)

    Midcredits score: 98th percentile of all films

  • Toy Story of Terror(2013)

    as Officer Phillips (voice)

    Midcredits score: 91st percentile of all films

  • Bugged (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2013)

    as Bug (voice)

  • Hiccups (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2013)

    as Additional Voice Talent (voice)

  • Toy Story Toons: Small Fry(2011)

    Story Editor · as Cashier / Lizard Wizard (voice)

    Midcredits score: 77th percentile of all films

  • Cars 2(2011)

    Additional Script Supervisor · Storyboard Artist

    Midcredits score: 54th percentile of all films

  • Mater Private Eye (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2010)

    as Additional Voice Talent (voice)

  • Moon Mater (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2010)

    as Roger Shuttle (voice)

  • George and A.J.(2009)

    Director · Writer

    Midcredits score: 35th percentile of all films

  • Up(2009)

    as Omega (voice)

    Midcredits score: 99th percentile of all films

  • Cars Toon Mater's Tall Tales (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2008)

    as Roger Shuttle (voice)

  • Ratatouille(2007)

    Story Artist

    Midcredits score: 99th percentile of all films

  • Cars(2006)

    Additional Storyboarding

    Midcredits score: 92nd percentile of all films

  • 99 Nights in the Forest (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Writer

  • I Eat Poop: A Dung Beetle Story (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Director · Writer

  • Little Monsters (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Director · Writer

  • London Ghost Tour (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Director

  • Malamander (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Director · Screenplay

  • Tower of Terror (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Writer

  • Untitled Josh Cooley Lego Film (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Director

  • Untitled Live-Action Transformers Film (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Director

Career shape

A full career of 28 titles, 20 of them dated from 2006 to 2026.

Biggest box office

Toy Story 4 (2019)

$1.1B worldwide

Highest rated

Inside Out (2015)

Midcredits 98th

Film career

MilestoneNomination
  • 2008Screen debut· Cars Toon Mater's Tall Tales
  • 2015Career best· Inside Out
  • 2015Oscar nomination· Inside Out

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting12 of 28: 8 only acting, 4 with another role · typical Midcredits score91stDirecting10 of 28: 3 only directing, 7 with another roleWriting12 of 28: 4 only writing, 8 with another role · typical Midcredits score88thOther crew4 of 28: 4 only other crew, 0 with another role

28 titles, 9 with more than one role — acting and writing overlap on 3 of them.

By decade

2000s5 · 2 acting · 3 crew2010s11 · 8 acting · 6 crew2020s4 · 2 acting · 3 crew

Billing

usually 14th · top billed in 0% of 12 roles
0813

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. Billing is TMDB cast order for roles with 25+ votes, billed in the top 30; the columns are the share of top-billed roles in each era, 5-year spans from the year on the label, merged until each holds at least 5 roles.

Awards

an Oscar from 6 major nominations, 2016–2020.

WinNomination
  1. 2020
    • Oscar, won · Best Animated Feature Film
    • BAFTA Award, nominated · Best Animated Featured Film
  2. 2019
    • BAFTA Award, nominated · Feature Film
  3. 2016
    • Oscar, nominated · Best Writing, Original Screenplay
    • BAFTA Award, nominated · Best Original Screenplay
    • +1 other major body · 1 nomination
      • Critics Choice Award, nominated · Best Original Screenplay

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 Josh Cooley's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 91st percentile, the median of all 15; across their 7 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 83rd percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

83rdpercentile
Typical film, the median of 7

Approval · how many liked their films

90thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 7

Reach · how many have seen their films

85thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 7

Midcredits score across 15 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up11
  • 50th to 74th3
  • 25th to 49th1

Shape of the crowd

None of their 15 titles divides audiences: 8 are Crowd Pleasers.

  • Universally Loved6
  • Crowd Pleaser8
  • Broadly Agreed1

Most loved · actor

Up (2009)

Midcredits 99th · 92% liked

Reviewers score the acting 77/100 in their films, across 6 reviewed titles; fans 82, detractors 54. The element that speaks to their work as an actor.

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 Josh Cooley's work okay for kids?

Across a limited sample of up to 4 MovieCove titles with content scores.

Their medianMedian of all films
Violence & Gore3 titlesmedian 29 · mildMedian of all films: 44
Sex & Nudity4 titlesmedian 15 · mildMedian of all films: 32
Profanity3 titlesmedian 11 · minimalMedian of all films: 36
Alcohol & Drugs3 titlesmedian 4 · minimalMedian of all films: 33
Frightening / Intense3 titlesmedian 39 · moderateMedian of all films: 39

Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted.

Who does Josh Cooley work with?

People who share at least 2 of Josh Cooley's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; John Lasseter shares the most, 4.

Writers

Actors

Composers

Producers

Mixed roles