--- name: "Josh Cooley" canonical: "https://film.one/person/josh-cooley" fi1m_id: "josh-cooley" imdb_id: "nm2155757" tmdb_id: 84496 wikidata_id: "Q22073999" roles: ["Writer","Director"] born: "23 May 1979" reviewed_on_fi1m: 6 average_as: "writer" average_over: 1 updated: "2026-09-24T08:54:06.538176+00:00" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Josh Cooley ## Identity Josh Cooley - **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/josh-cooley - **Type:** Person - **Fi1m ID:** josh-cooley - **IMDb ID:** nm2155757 - **TMDB ID:** 84496 - **Wikidata ID:** Q22073999 - **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josh_Cooley, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q22073999, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2155757/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/84496 Writer and director. Born 23 May 1979 in Berkeley, California, USA. ## Details - **Work:** Writer, Director - **Born:** 23 May 1979, Berkeley, California, USA - **Active:** 2007–present - **Also known as:** 乔什·库利, Джош Кулі - **Titles on Fi1m:** 6: 2 acting, 2 directing, 1 writing, 1 crew - **Frequently works with:** [Jonas Rivera](https://film.one/person/jonas-rivera.md), [Keegan-Michael Key](https://film.one/person/keegan-michael-key.md) - **Academy Awards:** 2 Oscar nominations - **Fi1m score by decade:** 2000s 90 (2), 2010s 82 (2), 2020s 73 (2) - **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josh_Cooley, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q22073999, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2155757/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/84496 ## Streaming the US now - **Disney+:** [*Inside Out*](https://film.one/film/inside-out.md) (87), [*Toy Story 4*](https://film.one/film/toy-story-4.md) (78) - **Apple TV:** [*Transformers One*](https://film.one/film/transformers-one.md) (70) For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country. ## Fi1m on Josh Cooley > Josh Cooley gives animated characters friendships worth caring about, and that earns our attention even in familiar series. We like the warmth and clarity; we are less persuaded when the explanations or the noise take over. In *Transformers One* (2024), Orion Pax and D-16 are miners and best friends before they are the robots whose names we know. Cooley gives their shared ambitions enough attention that the friendship matters, even when the plot holds few surprises. We cared more than we expected to about these two, because he makes their desire for the same thing understandable before their choices separate them. The early scenes are enjoyable without needing to hurry towards the fighting. His storyboard work on *The Incredibles* (2004), *Ratatouille* (2007) and *Up* (2009) helps explain the emphasis on clear expressions and action we can follow. With *Toy Story 4* (2019), his feature directing debut, he took charge of characters an audience already knew. His first feature after Pixar, *Transformers One*, placed him in another established series. These are sensible jobs for someone who can make a familiar character interesting by taking a friendship seriously. *Inside Out* (2015) shows both the value of that clarity and the trouble it can cause. Pete Docter directed, and Cooley shares the screenplay with Docter and Meg LeFauve, so its achievements and its fussiness cannot be assigned to him alone. The sight of feelings trying to run a child is already funny and affecting; the early dialogue keeps explaining rules that the pictures have begun to make clear. We would have trusted children to follow more of it without instruction. Even so, the contrast between Riley’s inner and outer worlds gives the adventure a warmth the extra explanations cannot spoil. His direction of *Transformers One* is easier to assess: the friendship is carefully handled, the humour works, and the action is clearer than in the live-action films. The predictable plot is a limitation we can accept more readily than the deafening final act. There is enough care here to make it worth an evening for anyone with an affection for these robots. Next time, we would welcome a quieter finish. ## Biography Josh Cooley is an American film director, screenwriter and storyboard artist. He began his career at Pixar Animation Studios in 2003 as an intern, working as a storyboard artist on films including *The Incredibles* (2004), *Cars* (2006), *Ratatouille* (2007) and *Up* (2009). He trained in 2-D animation at the Academy of Art in San Francisco. Cooley co-wrote the screenplay for *Inside Out* (2015) and directed *Toy Story 4* (2019), which won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. He left Pixar in 2020 and directed *Transformers One* (2024) for Paramount Animation. *Sources: en.wikipedia.org, sfchronicle.com, animationmagazine.net.* ## On Fi1m (6) ### Performed in (2) - *Inside Out* (2015), Fi1m 87, as Jangles (voice) — [page](https://film.one/film/inside-out.md) - *Up* (2009), Fi1m 88, as Omega (voice) — [page](https://film.one/film/up.md) ### Directed (2) - *Transformers One* (2024), Fi1m 70, as Control Room Guys / PA System / Skywarp (voice) — [page](https://film.one/film/transformers-one.md) - *Toy Story 4* (2019), Fi1m 78, Original Story, Director — [page](https://film.one/film/toy-story-4.md) ### Wrote (1) — the average rests on these - *Ratatouille* (2007), Fi1m 91, Story Artist — [page](https://film.one/film/ratatouille.md) ### Crew (1) - *Hoppers* (2026), Fi1m 76, ADR & Dubbing — [page](https://film.one/film/hoppers.md) ## Complete filmography (27) Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page. - *Hoppers* (2026), ADR & Dubbing — Fi1m 76, [page](https://film.one/film/hoppers.md) - *Transformers One* (2024), as Control Room Guys / PA System / Skywarp (voice) · Director — Fi1m 70, [page](https://film.one/film/transformers-one.md) - *22 vs. Earth* (2021), Writer - *We Bare Bears: The Movie* (2020), as Painting Elephant / Additional Voices (voice) - *Toy Story 4* (2019), Original Story, Director — Fi1m 78, [page](https://film.one/film/toy-story-4.md) - *The Good Dinosaur* (2015), Thanks - *Riley's First Date?* (2015), as Dad's Sadness (voice) · Director, Writer - *Inside Out* (2015), as Jangles (voice) · Screenplay — Fi1m 87, [page](https://film.one/film/inside-out.md) - *Toy Story of Terror!* (2013), as Officer Phillips (voice) - *Hiccups* (2013), as Additional Voice Talent (voice) - *Bugged* (2013), as Bug (voice) - *Small Fry* (2011), as Cashier / Lizard Wizard (voice) · Story Editor - *Cars 2* (2011), Storyboard Artist, Additional Script Supervisor - *Mater Private Eye* (2010), as Additional Voice Talent (voice) - *Moon Mater* (2010), as Roger Shuttle (voice) - *George and A.J.* (2009), Writer, Director - *Up* (2009), as Omega (voice) — Fi1m 88, [page](https://film.one/film/up.md) - *Cars Toon Mater's Tall Tales* (2008), as Roger Shuttle (voice) - *Ratatouille* (2007), Story Artist — Fi1m 91, [page](https://film.one/film/ratatouille.md) - *Cars* (2006), Additional Storyboarding - *Little Monsters*, Director, Writer - *Tower of Terror*, Writer - *Malamander*, Director, Screenplay - *I Eat Poop: A Dung Beetle Story*, Writer, Director - *Untitled Live-Action Transformers Film*, Director - *London Ghost Tour*, Director - *Untitled Josh Cooley Lego Film*, Director ## Gallery - ![Mark Nielsen, Jonas Rivera and Josh Cooley at the screening event of "Toy Story 4" at the 2019 Annecy International Animation Festival.](https://film.one/media/person/10838/gallery-cc5b94c2d7a5.jpg) Mark Nielsen, Jonas Rivera and Josh Cooley at the screening event of "Toy Story 4" at the 2019 Annecy International Animation Festival. — Festival Annecy/K. Pauli, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Annecy_Festival_2019%2C_screening_event_Toy_Story_4_-_Mark_Nielsen%2C_Jonas_Rivera%2C_Josh_Cooley.jpg/1280px-Annecy_Festival_2019%2C_screening_event_Toy_Story_4_-_Mark_Nielsen%2C_Jonas_Rivera%2C_Josh_Cooley.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) - ![Josh Cooley at the screening event of "Toy Story 4" at the 2019 Annecy International Animation Festival.](https://film.one/media/person/10838/gallery-122525b2c772.jpg) Josh Cooley at the screening event of "Toy Story 4" at the 2019 Annecy International Animation Festival. — Festival Annecy/K. Pauli, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/90/Festival_Annecy_2019%2C_screening_event_Toy_Story_4_-_Josh_Cooley.jpg/1280px-Festival_Annecy_2019%2C_screening_event_Toy_Story_4_-_Josh_Cooley.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) - ![Josh Cooley](https://film.one/media/person/10838/gallery-3ad2c004c427.jpg) Josh Cooley — Festival Annecy/K. Pauli, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/31/Festival_Annecy_2019%2C_screening_event_Toy_Story_4_-_Josh_Cooley_%28crop%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled) - ![Josh Cooley speaking at the 2024 San Diego Comic-Con International in San Diego, California.](https://film.one/media/person/10838/gallery-cbf2e2d6db88.jpg) Josh Cooley speaking at the 2024 San Diego Comic-Con International in San Diego, California. — Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/ba/Josh_Cooley_by_Gage_Skidmore.jpg/1280px-Josh_Cooley_by_Gage_Skidmore.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) - ![Josh Cooley](https://film.one/media/person/10838/gallery-1bef8aad39f0.jpg) Josh Cooley — Image via TMDB ## Awards ### Academy Awards — 0 won, 2 nominated - 2020: Best Animated Feature (nominated), for *Toy Story 4* - 2016: Best Writing, Original Screenplay (nominated), for *Inside Out* *From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.* --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/josh-cooley