Kelsey Mann (born November 16, 1974) is a Pixar director and writer, best known for directing Disney/Pixar's blockbuster Inside Out 2 (2024) and directing/writing the short film Party Central; he previously served as Story Supervisor for films like Monsters University, The Good Dinosaur, and Onward, starting his career at Cartoon Network before joining Pixar in 2009, fulfilling a lifelong dream to work in animation after graduating from Northern Michigan University in 1998.
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Biography from TMDB.
- November 16, 1974 (51)
- Burnsville, Minnesota, USA
- Writer and director
- 7 on MovieCove · 8 credits in all
What are Kelsey Mann's films like?
Across a limited sample of 4 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Self and Bonds.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 0 · Wry 0 · Earnest 3
Light 3 · Serious 0 · Dark 0
A split, not a type: Grounded 0 · Stylized 1 · Heightened 2
A split, not a type: Gentle 2 · Charged 0 · Intense 1
Steady 2 · Shifting 1 · Whiplash 0
Straight-faced 0 · Some laughs 2 · Funny 1
Slow burn 1 · Even-paced 2 · Relentless 0
Casual 2 · Engaged 1 · Full focus 0
Easy watch 2 · Affecting 0 · Heavy 1
Resolved 3 · Open-ended 0 · Ambiguous 0
Moods and endings
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch Kelsey Mann's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 6 of their 7 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Disney+ (6).
Subscription and free streaming for Kelsey Mann's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
8 credits, 7 with a MovieCove page.
Inside Out 2(2024)
Midcredits score: 94th percentile of all films
Monsters at Work(2021)
Midcredits score: 51st percentile of all shows
Onward(2020)
Midcredits score: 89th percentile of all films
Purl (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2019)
The Good Dinosaur(2015)
Midcredits score: 67th percentile of all films
Party Central(2013)
Midcredits score: 80th percentile of all films
Monsters University(2013)
Midcredits score: 88th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 11th percentile of all shows
Career shape
A full career of 8 titles from 2005 to 2024.
Film career
- 2019Screen debut· Purl
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.
Awards
2 major nominations and no wins, 2025.
- Oscar, nominated · Best Animated Feature Film
- BAFTA Award, nominated · Best Animated Feature Film
Major bodies only: the Oscars, Primetime Emmys, Golden Globes, BAFTAs and Screen Actors Guild Awards are named; Cannes, Venice, the Berlinale, Sundance, the directors', writers' and producers' guilds, the Grammys, Critics Choice and the Independent Spirit Awards count as other major bodies. Festival and regional prizes are not counted. Source: IMDb.
How do Kelsey Mann's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 88th percentile, the median of all 5; across a limited sample of 3 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 77th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up4
- 50th to 74th2
- Below 25th1
Shape of the crowd
4 of their 7 titles are Crowd Pleasers.
- Universally Loved1
- Crowd Pleaser4
- Broadly Agreed1
- Mixed1
Reviewers score the plot and story 48/100 in their films, across 3 reviewed titles; fans 58, detractors 32. The element that speaks to their work as a writer.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Is Kelsey Mann's work okay for kids?
Across a limited sample of up to 4 MovieCove titles with content scores.
Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted.
Who does Kelsey Mann work with?
People who share at least 2 of Kelsey Mann's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Meg LeFauve shares the most, 2.
Writers
- Meg LeFauveShared titles: Inside Out 2 (2024), The Good Dinosaur (2015)See all 2 shared titles with Meg LeFauve
- Bob PetersonShared titles: Monsters at Work (2021), The Good Dinosaur (2015)See all 2 shared titles with Bob Peterson
Actors
- Billy CrystalShared titles: Monsters at Work (2021), Party Central (2013)See all 2 shared titles with Billy Crystal
- John GoodmanShared titles: Monsters at Work (2021), Party Central (2013)See all 2 shared titles with John Goodman
- Peter SohnShared titles: The Good Dinosaur (2015), Party Central (2013)See all 2 shared titles with Peter Sohn
Producers
- Dan ScanlonShared titles: Inside Out 2 (2024), Party Central (2013)See all 2 shared titles with Dan Scanlon
- Pete DocterShared titles: Inside Out 2 (2024), Party Central (2013)See all 2 shared titles with Pete Docter
- John LasseterShared titles: The Good Dinosaur (2015), Party Central (2013)See all 2 shared titles with John Lasseter
