Introduction
Kelsey Mann is an American film director and storyboard artist. He is best known for directing the Pixar animated film Inside Out 2 (2024).
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.
Filmography
Films
| 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
| 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
| Year | Title | Director | Storyboard Supervisor | StoryboardArtist | BackgroundArtist | Background Designer | CreativeConsultant | 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 |