Skip to content

Portrait of Lee Unkrich

Lee Unkrich

(1967) Film Director United States

82 quotes in 317 categories

A cautionary tale shows how early children's books warned kids about danger. Lee Unkrich says Pixar lets him keep full creative control, and he looks for kid actors like needles in a haystack. He loves movies that blend humor, scares, and deep feelings all at once.

Rate this collection: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet

Lee Unkrich is a film director from the United States, best known for Coco.

Quick Facts About Lee Unkrich

Born: August 8, 1967
Nationality: United States
Profession: Film Director
Notable works: Coco
Known for: Toy Story 2

About Lee Unkrich

Lee Edward Unkrich is an American film director, editor and writer. He is best known for his work with animation studio Pixar, which he joined in 1994 as an editor before being credited as a co-director on Toy Story 2 (1999).

Awards & Honors

Academy Award for Best Animated Feature Annie Award Time Machine Award

Quotes by Lee Unkrich

Pixar is filled with people who don't get rid of their toys.

Disney

Image

Every one of us at Pixar is worried that we're going to be the one to make the dud.

Image

Do you ever achieve total forgiveness after screwing up?

Image

It's an incredible honor to be nominated by the Academy.

Academy

Image

'Coco' is shaping up to be one of the most beautiful films we've made.

Beautiful

Image

I was disappointed that 'Tangled' didn't get nominated for Best Animated Film.

Image

Kids don't have the same sense of their own mortality as adults.

Adults

Image

If it's not working, you can't polish a turd.

Image

I ended up being exposed to cinema that a lot of other kids wouldn't have been exposed to.

Being

Image

It's one thing to make peace with the idea of something that's going to happen someday; it's another to find yourself at…

Finding yourself

Image

It's a strange business, and unfortunately, what we do in animation is a mystery, especially the directors.

Animation

Image

If you try to target a movie at kids, you end up with something that makes parents take a nap.

Children

Image

My favorite film is 'The Shining,' mostly because it was the film that inspired me to become a filmmaker myself.

Image

It's important that nobody gets mad at you for screwing up. We know screwups are an essential part of making something good.

Image

In the earliest days of Pixar, when we were making 'Toy Story' and 'A Bug's Life,' we all came together as a…

Image

I love movies that are funny and scary and truly emotional all in one film, and I don't feel like I see…

Cinema

Image

I just ended up focusing on film editing as I was getting my career started. I'm very passionate about editing and will…

Career

Image

At Pixar, I don't have to compromise at all. When I look at the finished "Toy Story 3," I don't sit and…

Actors

Image

I had worked for a lot of directors whose work I didn't respect, and as I was editing material, I was thinking…

Image

People talk a lot about Pixar going off the rails. A lot of people are saying they aren't happy that we are…

Image

With the first 'Toy Story,' we didn't know what the hell we were doing. We'd never made a movie before, so we…

Blind

Image

We go to movies to be taken away to another place, to be dazzled, to dream, to hopefully be filled with wonder.…

Cinema

Image

It wasn't the first film to show a kind of alternate vision of suburbia, but it left an indelible impression, I think,…

Blue

Image

It is shocking how much a day-care center is like a prison. They both have security cameras with walled exercise yards. Prisons…

Cybersecurity

Image

I'd like to drill in a little more detail into one aspect of cutting which is particularly close to me and that's…

Action

Image

I'd really love to watch David Lynch work, to be a fly on the wall.

Image

I love Giuseppe Tornatore, the guy that did 'Cinema Paradiso.'

Cinema

Image

I did direct quite a bit when I was in school, and I directed some television afterwards.

Image

The world does not want to see a Pixar film that's not great.

Cinema

Image

I didn't want to be the guy who screwed up 'Toy Story.'

Image

I think the moment you try to make a movie for kids, you make garbage.

Image

Finding a good kid actor is like finding a needle in a massive haystack.

Actor

Image

The walls between live-action and animation are becoming really porous, and it's interesting.

Animation

Image

We could make the most beautiful film in the world, but if it doesn't have a heart beating underneath it, then no…

Beautiful

Image

Initially, when people asked us when 'Toy Story 2' was going to come out, we'd say, 'We have no interest in sequels.…

Image

The best way to bring people in and have them empathize with others is through storytelling.

Image

I think the moment you try to make something for kids, you are making something really cruddy that even kids don't want…

Image

The question I get more than any other is, 'What does it mean to direct an animated film?' And the reality is…

Action

Image

If I went back to live-action, I'd have to do it the Pixar way. If I didn't, I'd feel like I was…

Image

The only reason we made 'Toy Story 2' is that we happened to come up with a storyline that was really good.…

Image

Lee Unkrich by topic

Cinema (23) Film (21) Story (18) People (13) Movie (13)