Adrian Molina is an American animator, storyboard artist, screenwriter and director. He is best known for his works atPixar, including co-writing and co-directingCoco (2017) andElio (2025), with the latter being nominated for theAcademy Award for Best Animated Feature.
Molina joinedPixar in 2007. He started as a 2D animator onRatatouille. He later moved on to be a storyboard artist, working onToy Story 3 andMonsters University.[1] Molina also illustrated theLittle Golden Book forToy Story 3.[2] After getting an additional screenplay material credit for bothMonsters University andThe Good Dinosaur, Molina started his first assignment as a screenwriter, forCoco, and later went on to co-direct the film. He also wrote several lyrics for the film.[1][3][4]
In 2022, he served as an associate executive producer on the Academy Award-nominatedTurning Red.
Following the success ofCoco and theD23 Expo announcement in September 2022, Molina was announced to direct the 2025 filmElio.[5][6][7] However in August 2024, it was announced that Molina had left the project, withMadeline Sharafian andDomee Shi taking over the storywriting and directorial duties instead.[8] Nevertheless, he retained his director credit on the film due to his heavy amount of work that he made.[9] Reports in June 2025 suggested Molina left after studio demands for edits to remove LGBT-related content from the film.[10]
In March 2025, during the Disney Shareholder Meeting, CEOBob Iger announced that the sequel toCoco was in early development, with Molina returning from the original film.[11]
^Taylor, Drew (August 10, 2024)."Pixar Chief Pete Docter Talks New 'Elio' Directors, Story and Casting Changes | Exclusive".TheWrap.Archived from the original on August 14, 2024. RetrievedAugust 10, 2024.Docter said that Molina is still at Pixar and, what's more, he 'was taken on to a priority project that we're not ready to talk about yet, but it's very exciting and he's excited about it as well,' even though he's no longer involved with 'Elio.'.
