Sanjay Patel (born June 16, 1974) is a British-born American animator, illustrator and author who has worked in the animation department of various projects, most of them animated films released by Pixar. He is best known for directing the short animated film Sanjay's Super Team (2015) inspired by Patel's own childhood. The film received a nomination in the category of Best Animated Short Film at the 88th Academy Awards and for Best Animated Short Subject at the 43rd Annie Awards. Since 1996, Patel has worked as an animator on numerous Pixar films such as Monsters, Inc. (2001), Ratatouille (2007), Cars (2006), Monsters University (2013), Toy Story 2 (1999) and The Incredibles (2004) and served as a character developer on the latter two films. He also authored Ramayana: Divine Loophole, lending a whimsical illustration style and lighthearted voice to the Hindu epic Ramayana. Patel also created Ghee Happy, a brand that celebrates Indian mythology and culture through design and storytelling[ and produces books, exhibits, and apparel. The animated show reimagines Hindu deities as little kids discovering their powers in the titular deity daycare. The series was picked up by Netflix Animation in 2019. However, the series was dropped due to leadership changes at Netflix Animation. In 2023, Ghee Happy was later reworked as an online series for YouTube. In June 2024, it was announced that Patel was developing an animated film with Warner Bros Animation. Titled Bad Karma, the movie follows the young demon princess Chandra and the legendary demi-god Hanuman on an epic tale about courage, loyalty and an unlikely friendship.
