Mar 24, 2021

Exclusive: Ronnie del Carmen, co-director of Inside Out, is developing an animation feature on Netflix

Ronnie del Carmen, the Oscar-nominated filmmaker and Pixar story veteran, has moved to Netflix. He is writing and developing an original animated feature as part of an exclusive overall deal with the streamer, Cartoon Brew can exclusively reveal.

The feature, which del Carmen plans to direct, will be rooted in the lore and mythology of the Philippines, his home country. The deal covers animated series as well as films, and he will also consult on other animated projects at the streaming giant.

Del Carmen got started in the film industry as a painter on the set of Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now, which was shooting in the Philippines. Arriving in the U.S. in 1989, he worked as a storyboard artist and character designer on Warner Bros. Animation's Batman: The Animated Series, then directed on the studio's series Freakazoid!.

Moving on to Dreamworks, then Pixar, del Carmen held a variety of story and writing roles on features including The Prince of Egypt, Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron, Finding Nemo, Up, Coco, and Toy Story 4. He was co-director on Inside Out, on which he also has a story credit; the film earned him an Oscar nomination for best original screenplay.

Having approached storytelling in animation from every angle, del Carmen tells a new story below: that of his own path. He speaks to us about the milestones in his career and the lessons he learned along the way.

One of del Carmen's first jobs in the industry was as a storyboard artist on Batman: The Animated Series. He recalls being hired by the show's co-creator Bruce Timm:

Later in the decade, del Carmen joined the recently formed Dreamworks as a story supervisor on The Prince of Egypt - his introduction to feature animation. Early on, he “bombed” a sequence in which Moses pleads with his adoptive brother Rameses in the hope of avoiding the Ten Plagues. He later had a second chance at it, as he explains:

Del Carmen's first gig at Pixar was as a story supervisor on Finding Nemo. The studio was not as he expected:

Del Carmen was named head of story on Up, where he handled one of the movie's most famous moments: when old Carl leafs through the photo album that reveals his life with his late wife Ellie. His work on this scene was informed by his personal life:

By Inside Out, del Carmen had been promoted to co-director. His fellow director was Pete Docter, whose daughter was entering adolescence at the time; the changes in her personality were on his mind. Del Carmen had been through the same experience with his children. This phase of parenthood came to inform the story's portrayal of the emotions inside young Riley's mind:

As he moves to Netflix, del Carmen is confident his own story will remain integral to the ones he tells.

Del Carmen's comments have been edited for brevity. Photo at top by Deborah Coleman.