Madeline Sharafian

• Born — 1 February 1993 • Birthplace — Alameda, California, US • Education — California Institute of the Arts (BFA) • Occupation — * Film director • Screenwriter • Storyboard artist • Animator • Employer — * Cartoon Network (2014–2017) • Pixar Animation Studios (2017–present) • Years Active — 2013−present

Sharafian was born in Alameda, California, and is of Armenian descent. By 2013, she was enrolled in CalArts.

In 2013, Sharafian wrote and directed the short film Omelette. In 2014, she served as a storyboard artist, writer, and character designer on the Cartoon Network series We Bare Bears. In 2017, she storyboarded sequences for Coco and Dante's Lunch. In 2020, she was a story lead on the Academy-Award nominated Onward, then later wrote and directed a 2D animated Pixar short film titled Burrow, originally slated to play in theaters before the feature film Soul. In October 2020, it was announced that due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the short would instead premiere on Disney+. In 2022, she served as a storyboard artist for Turning Red. In 2024, she served as an associate executive producer on the Disney+ series Dream Productions. In June 2025, she made her feature directorial debut with Elio, alongside Domee Shi and Adrian Molina. After finishing Elio, Sharafian was confirmed to be developing another original Pixar feature film.

• Year — Title — Director — Writer — Story artist — Other — Notes [refs] • 2014–17 — We Bare Bears — 20 episodes — 17 episodes — Character designer • 2016 — Goodnight Ice Bear — Editor • 2024 — Dream Productions — Associate executive producer

Accolades received by Madeline Sharafian • Award — Date — Category — Nominated work — Result — Refs • Academy Awards — April 25, 2021 — Best Animated Short — Burrow — • March 15, 2026 — Best Animated Feature — Elio • Annie Awards — February 6, 2016 — Outstanding Achievement for Storyboarding in an Animated Television/Broadcast Production — We Bare Bears • February 3, 2018 — Outstanding Achievement for Storyboarding in a Feature Production — Coco • Hollywood Critics Association — March 5, 2021 — Best Short Film — Burrow

• Year — Title — Director — Story Writer — Story Supervisor — Story Artist — Additional Voices — Pixar Senior Creative Team — Ref. • 2017 — Coco • 2020 — Onward • 2022 — Turning Red • 2025 — Elio • 2026 — Hoppers • Toy Story 5

• Year — Title — Director — Writer — Animator — Other — Notes [refs] • 2013 — Omelette — Producer • 2014 — Acorn • 2017 — Weekends — Cel painter • Dante's Lunch — Story artist • 2018 — Purl — Story trust • 2020 — Burrow • 2021 — Twenty Something — Story trust • Nona — Special thanks