--- name: "Phil Johnston" canonical: "https://film.one/person/phil-johnston" fi1m_id: "phil-johnston" imdb_id: "nm1601882" tmdb_id: 567562 wikidata_id: "Q21411187" roles: ["Writer","Director"] born: "26 October 1971" reviewed_on_fi1m: 4 average_as: "writer" average_over: 0 updated: "2026-10-05T14:38:13.543832+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." --- # Phil Johnston ## Identity Phil Johnston - **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/phil-johnston - **Type:** Person - **Fi1m ID:** phil-johnston - **IMDb ID:** nm1601882 - **TMDB ID:** 567562 - **Wikidata ID:** Q21411187 - **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phil_Johnston_(filmmaker), https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q21411187, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1601882/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/567562 Writer and director. Born 26 October 1971 in Hennepin County, Minnesota, USA. ## Details - **Work:** Writer, Director - **Born:** 26 October 1971, Hennepin County, Minnesota, USA - **Active:** 2012–present - **Also known as:** فيل يونستون - **Titles on Fi1m:** 4: 2 acting, 2 directing - **Frequently works with:** [Clark Spencer](https://film.one/person/clark-spencer.md), [Rich Moore](https://film.one/person/rich-moore.md), [Jack McBrayer](https://film.one/person/jack-mcbrayer.md), [John C. Reilly](https://film.one/person/john-c-reilly.md), [Sarah Silverman](https://film.one/person/sarah-silverman.md) - **Academy Awards:** 1 Oscar nomination - **Fi1m score by decade:** 2010s 73 (3), 2020s 45 (1) - **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phil_Johnston_(filmmaker), https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q21411187, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1601882/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/567562 ## Streaming the US now - **Disney+:** [*Zootopia*](https://film.one/film/zootopia.md) (82), [*Wreck-It Ralph*](https://film.one/film/wreck-it-ralph.md) (70), [*Ralph Breaks the Internet*](https://film.one/film/ralph-breaks-the-internet.md) (66) - **Netflix:** [*The Twits*](https://film.one/film/the-twits.md) (45) For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country. ## Biography Phil Johnston is an American screenwriter, film director and voice actor. He is best known for his work at Walt Disney Animation Studios, including co-writing the screenplay and story for *Wreck-It Ralph* (2012) and *Zootopia* (2016), and serving as co-writer and co-director of *Ralph Breaks the Internet* (2018). Born on 26 October 1971 in Hennepin County, Minnesota, Johnston graduated with a BA in journalism from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1994 and an MFA in film from Columbia University in 2004. He worked for several years as a broadcast journalist in local television news before moving into screenwriting. His other credits include the screenplay for *Cedar Rapids* (2011) and *The Brothers Grimsby* (2016). He has won Annie Awards for writing on *Wreck-It Ralph* and *Zootopia*. *Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com.* ## On Fi1m (4) ### Performed in (2) - *Zootopia* (2016), Fi1m 82, as Gideon Grey (voice) — [page](https://film.one/film/zootopia.md) - *Wreck-It Ralph* (2012), Fi1m 70, as Surge Protector (voice) — [page](https://film.one/film/wreck-it-ralph.md) ### Directed (2) - *The Twits* (2025), Fi1m 45, as Mr. Napkin (voice) — [page](https://film.one/film/the-twits.md) - *Ralph Breaks the Internet* (2018), Fi1m 66, as eBay Bidder / Surge Protector (voice) — [page](https://film.one/film/ralph-breaks-the-internet.md) ## Complete filmography (11) Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page. - *Zootopia 2* (2025), Thanks — Fi1m 70, [page](https://film.one/film/zootopia-2.md) - *The Twits* (2025), as Mr. Napkin (voice) · Director, Producer, Writer — Fi1m 45, [page](https://film.one/film/the-twits.md) - *Ralph Breaks the Internet* (2018), as eBay Bidder / Surge Protector (voice) · Director, Screenplay, Story, Lyricist — Fi1m 66, [page](https://film.one/film/ralph-breaks-the-internet.md) - *Grimsby* (2016), Screenplay, Story, Executive Producer - *Zootopia* (2016), as Gideon Grey (voice) · Screenplay, Story — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/film/zootopia.md) - *Garlan Hulse: Where Potential Lives* (2013), as Garlan Hulse - *Wreck-It Ralph* (2012), as Surge Protector (voice) · Screenplay, Story — Fi1m 70, [page](https://film.one/film/wreck-it-ralph.md) - *Cedar Rapids* (2011), Writer - *Bomb* (2007), Producer - *The Land of Stories*, Writer - *Untitled View-Master Film*, Writer ## Gallery - ![Phil Johnston](https://film.one/media/person/125184/gallery-34a4a50798bc.jpg) Phil Johnston — NotimexTV, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d8/Phil_Johnston.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled) - ![Screenwriter Phil Johnston (left) and director Rich Moore (right) at a press conference. (2018)](https://film.one/media/person/125184/gallery-e829cf4928fc.jpg) Screenwriter Phil Johnston (left) and director Rich Moore (right) at a press conference. (2018) — NotimexTV, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6b/Phil_Johnston_and_Rich_Moore.jpg/1280px-Phil_Johnston_and_Rich_Moore.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) ## Awards ### Academy Awards — 0 won, 1 nominated - 2019: Best Animated Feature (nominated), for *Ralph Breaks the Internet* *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/phil-johnston