Though he’s worked as an animator on such Pixar films as 1999’s Toy Story 2 and 2003’s Finding Nemo, Bob Peterson is probably best known for his voice work as Dug on the 2009 smash Up.
An Animator is Born:
Born in Wooster, Ohio, Bob Peterson and his four siblings were raised by their single mother in locales as varied as Brooklyn, New York and Dover, Ohio. Bob’s growing interest in art was reflected in his passion for comic strips and animation, with his desire to learn more about the genre inevitably leading him to such classic examples as Charles Schulz’ Peanuts strip and the Looney Tunes body of work. By the time he was ready to pursue his post-secondary education, however, Bob had decided to take a more practical approach to his career path and began taking courses in engineering.
Bob Peterson Discovers Computer Animation:
Shortly into his stint at Ohio Northern University, Bob enrolled in a class dedicated to computer animation and was immediately impressed by the possibilities it presented. Bob transferred to Indiana’s Purdue University to earn his masters in mechanical engineering and computer graphics, and although he quickly landed a job at a technologies firm following his graduation, Bob had set his sights on something that would allow him to use his science training in a more creative setting.
Bob Peterson Joins Pixar:
In 1994, Bob was hired as an animator at Pixar – where he was immediately put to work as an additional layout artist on the company’s first full-length feature (1995’s Toy Story). Bob’s boundless energy quickly won over his various co-workers at Pixar, and in addition to his behind-the-scenes work on such Toy Story follow-ups as 1998’s A Bug’s Life and 1999’s Toy Story 2, Bob was asked to provide the various sounds made by the title character in Pixar’s Oscar-winning 1997 short Geri’s Game.
Bob Peterson Co-Writes Finding Nemo:
Bob’s growing reputation as an uncommonly creative person led to more and more opportunities to contribute more than just animation to Pixar’s projects, with his first such chance coming in 2001 after filmmakers Pete Docter, David Silverman, and Lee Unkrich asked him to contribute additional story material to Monsters, Inc. (Bob was also named the story supervisor for the film and ultimately ended up providing the voice of Roz, the sarcastic secretary.) It was Bob’s work on the screenplay for 2003’s Finding Nemo that pushed the up-and-coming filmmaker to a whole new level, as Bob, alongside co-writers Andrew Stanton and David Reynolds, earned an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay and the movie went on to become Pixar’s top-grossing film up to that point.
Bob Peterson Co-Directs Up
Bob spent the next few years providing backup voices to Pixar productions like 2004’s The Incredibles and 2006’s Cars, yet all the while he was busy working on an idea that he and fellow Pixar filmmaker Pete Docter had hatched in 2004. The concept, which focused on a depressive senior citizen who embarks on a journey to South America with a young boy in tow, eventually went on to become 2009’s Up, with the movie earning Bob waves of respect from viewers and critics alike (and even an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay, which he shared with Pete Docter and Thomas McCarthy).