Kelsey Mann

American filmmaker

Kelsey Mann

Born|  (1974-11-16) November 16, 1974 (age 50)
Alma mater| Northern Michigan University (BFA)
Occupations|

* Film director
* storyboard artist

Years active| 2003–present
Employers|

* Cartoon Network Studios (2003–2009)
* Pixar Animation Studios (2009–present)

Kelsey Mann is an American film director and storyboard artist. He is best known for directing the Pixar animated film Inside Out 2 (2024), which earned him an Academy Award nomination for the Best Animated Feature.[1]

## Early life and education

[edit]

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

[edit]

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] In 2025, for Inside Out 2, Mann received an Academy Award nomination for the Best Animated Feature.[10]

## Filmography

[edit]

### Films

[edit]

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

[edit]

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

[edit]

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  |

## Accolades

[edit]

Accolades received by Kelsey Mann Award  | Date  | Category  | Nominated work  | Result  | Ref(s)

|
|
|
|
|

Academy Awards | March 2, 2025 | Best Animated Feature | Inside Out 2 | Nominated  | [11]
Astra Film Awards | December 8, 2024 | Best First Feature  | Nominated  | [12]
Visual Effects Society Awards | February 11, 2025 | Outstanding Visual Effects in an Animated Feature | Nominated  | [13]

## References

[edit]

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.
10. ^ "The 97th Academy Awards (2025) Nominees and Winners". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). January 23, 2025. Retrieved January 23, 2025.
11. ^ Nordyke, Kimberly (March 2, 2025). "Oscars: Full List of Winners". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on March 4, 2025. Retrieved April 30, 2025.
12. ^ Pond, Steve (November 25, 2024). "'Wicked' Leads Nominations for Astra Film Awards". TheWrap. Archived from the original on November 26, 2024. Retrieved April 30, 2025.
13. ^ Verhoeven, Beatrice (February 11, 2025). "VES Awards: Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes Scores Top Honor, Dune: Part Two Leads With Four Wins". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on February 13, 2025. Retrieved April 30, 2025.

## External links

[edit]

* Kelsey Mann at IMDb