Bob Peterson (filmmaker)

Peterson's early career as an artist started when he was a mechanical engineering student at Ohio Northern University and then as a graduate student at Purdue University. At Purdue, Peterson drew the cartoon "Loco Motives" for the Purdue student newspaper, the Purdue Exponent.^[1] Prior to his graduation from Purdue in 1986, the Exponent published "Loco Motives: Boilercoaster 84-86, The Best of the Purdue Exponent's Loco Motives Cartoon", a paper-back collection of Peterson's cartoons. Peterson autographed copies at a book-signing event in the Purdue Memorial Union. One copy of the book is known to have original, signed artwork inside the book cover which was drawn by Peterson during the book-signing.

Peterson has also voiced characters for various Pixar projects such as Geri in the short Geri's Game (1997), Roz in Monsters, Inc. (2001) and Monsters University (2013), Mr. Ray in Finding Nemo (2003) and Finding Dory (2016), and Dug and Alpha in Up (2009). His most recent vocal work was Dug and Alpha in the short Carl's Date (2023). Peterson also voiced Chick Hicks in Cars 3 since Chick's original voice actor Michael Keaton was unavailable to reprise the role.

He conceived Pixar's The Good Dinosaur (2015)^[2] and directed the film until August 2013. He he had been dismissed from the project due to story problems. Peterson remains at Pixar, where he was developing another original feature film.^[3] He created, wrote, and directed two short-form series: Forky Asks a Question (2019–20)^[4][5] and Dug Days (2021–23).^[6]

In August 2015, Peterson voiced a dog named Derby for an E:60 profile on ESPN that chronicled the Trenton Thunder's minor league baseball team's tradition of using bat dogs.^[7]