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.
Fi1m perspective
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.
