Joe Ranft was the Pixar filmmaker who co-directed Cars and died during the film’s production.
Ranft was a major figure in Pixar’s early history, serving as a writer, storyboard artist, and story supervisor on several influential animated films. For Cars, he shared directing credit with John Lasseter and also contributed to the film’s story development.
Ranft died in a car accident in August 2005, before Cars was released. The finished film was dedicated to his memory, and the end credits include a tribute recognizing his contribution to Pixar and the movie.
This fact is sometimes confused with the film’s other directors or with actors who died after appearing in Pixar productions. Joe Ranft’s connection is distinctive because he was both a co-director of Cars and a key member of its creative team during production.