Kelsey Mann (born November 16, 1974) 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.
Early life and education
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.
Career 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, where he started as a story supervisor for Monsters University, The Good Dinosaur (also co-wrote the story for the film), and Onward. He made his directorial debut with the short film Party Central, which he also wrote, taking place shortly after Monsters University.
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. In 2025, for Inside Out 2, Mann received an Academy Award nomination for the Best Animated Feature.
Filmography Films Year TitleDirectorStoryStorySupervisorOther Notes2013Monsters University 2015 The Good Dinosaur 2020Onward Additional Story MaterialSoul Special Thanks2021Luca Pixar Senior Creative Team 2022Turning Red Lightyear 2023Elemental 2024Inside Out 2 2025Elio
Short films Year TitleDirectorWriterOther Notes 2013Party CentralAdditional Voices 2019PurlVoice of Office Bros 2020 Lamp LifeSpecial Thanks 2022Cars on the Road: Gettin' HitchedPixar Senior Creative Team
Television series Year TitleDirectorStoryboardSupervisorStoryboardArtistBackgroundArtistBackgroundDesignerCreativeConsultant Notes 2003Kid Notorious 2003–2005Duck Dodgers 2004–2005Megas XLR 2006The Amazing Screw-On Head 2006–2007My Gym Partner's a Monkey 2006–2009Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends2007Shorty McShorts' ShortsEpisode: The Imperfect Duplicates of Dodger Dare2008Underfist: Halloween BashTelevision special 2009–2010Star Wars: The Clone Wars 2010Sym-Bionic Titan 2012 Ultimate Spider-Man 2021Monsters at Work
Accolades + Award Date Category Nominated work Result Ref(s) Academy Awards March 2, 2025 Best Animated Feature Inside Out 2 Astra Film Awards Best First Feature Visual Effects Society Awards Outstanding Visual Effects in an Animated Feature
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