Robert Persichetti Jr. (born September 28, 1970) is an American filmmaker, animator, and storyboard artist. He is best known for co-directing the film ', for which he won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.
In November 2014, Persichetti was announced to be developing a film based on the Playmobil toys, and in September 2015 plans by French studio Wild Bunch were announced for him to make his feature directorial debut with the film, though this fell apart with them as he was trying to make a pitch to Sony. As the project with Playmobil played out, in December 2015, Persichetti joined the production of '. Kristine Belson, the head of Sony Pictures Animation, reached out to him, and he joined after reading a 40-page script treatment. This served as Persichetti's introduction to Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, and at that point Lord had a "loose first act" he was working on, with a full draft coming to fruition over the next six months while storyboarding and film reels were being worked on simultaneously. Peter Ramsey, with whom Persichetti had worked with frequently before, joined as a co-director at the end of 2016, and they were joined by Rodney Rothman by December 2017.
In February 2019, Persichetti was set to direct ', but was replaced by Joel Crawford by March 2021.
Persichetti produced The Tiger's Apprentice (2024), directed by Raman Hui and co-directed by Paul Watling and Yong Duk Jhun.
Persichetti returned to direct ' alongside Across the Spider-Verse co-director Justin K. Thompson. Officially announced in the role in December 2024, Persichetti and Thompson had served in their capacities since production began.
Director
Executive producer
Producer
Writer
Head of story
Storyboard artist
Inbetweener