Jim Capobianco (born 1969) is an American film director, animator and screenwriter. He has worked as a story artist and storyboard artist for films such as The Lion King (1994), Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996), A Bug's Life (1998), Toy Story 2 (1999), Monsters, Inc. (2001), Finding Nemo (2003), Up (2009), Inside Out (2015), and Finding Dory (2016).
In 2008, he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for Ratatouille (2007). In 2023, he wrote and directed the animated feature film The Inventor, about Leonardo da Vinci's life in France.
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Career
Raised in Saddle Brook, New Jersey, Capobianco attended Saddle Brook High School.
A graduate of the California Institute of the Arts, Capobianco started in the story department at Walt Disney Feature Animation on The Lion King (1994). He then worked on the storyboards for Hunchback of Notre Dame (1999) and Fantasia 2000 (1999). Capobianco has also worked for Pixar, on storyboards for films such as A Bug's Life (1998), Toy Story 2 (1999), Monsters, Inc. (2001), Finding Nemo (2003), Up (2009), Inside Out (2015), and Finding Dory (2016).
In 2007, he wrote and directed the animated short film Your Friend the Rat, and co-wrote the screenplay for the feature film Ratatouille, which earned him a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay.
In 2009, Capobianco co-founded with Shelley Trott the Bay Area International Children's Film Festival. That same year, he directed Leonardo, a short film about Leonardo da Vinci, now in the permanent collection of the MoMA NYC.
With Aerial Contrivance Workshop, Capobianco was the 2D animation sequence director for Walt Disney Motion Pictures' Mary Poppins Returns (2018), and also wrote and directed the 2023 stop-motion animated feature film The Inventor, a continuation of his short Leonardo, focused on the end of Leonardo da Vinci's life in France.
Filmography
Aerial Contrivance Workshop
2009: Leonardo (short film) - writer, director and producer
2009: How To be a Good Bagger - writer and director
2018: Mary Poppins Returns - Animation Sequence Director
2022: Philharmonia Fantastique - story and animation director
2023: The Inventor - writer, director and producer
1989: Baby's Bedtime
Netflix Animation
2020: Go Go Cory Carson - voice of Gary Garbage Truck
Pixar
1998: A Bug's Life - story artist
1999: Toy Story 2 - story artist
2001: Monsters, Inc. - story artist
2003: Finding Nemo - story artist
2007: Ratatouille - writer / story-supervisor
2007: Your Friend the Rat - writer / director
2008: Wall•E - directed the end credits
2009: Up - story artist
2015: Inside Out - story artist
2016: Finding Dory - story artist
2017: Coco - storyboards
Cartoon Saloon
2014: Song of the Sea - story consultant
2017: Breadwinner - story consultant
2020: Wolfwalkers - story consultant
Disney Feature Animation
1994: The Lion King - storyboards
1996: Hunchback of Notre Dame - storyboards
1999: Fantasia 2000 - storyboards
