Dan Scanlon
American animator

Dan Scanlon

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American animator
Gender:
Male
Places:
United States of America
Is:
Film directorWriterAnimatorScreenwriterActorFilm producerFilmmaker
Work field:
CreativityFilm, TV, Stage & RadioLiterature
Birth:
21 June 1976(Michigan, USA)
Star sign:
Cancer
Residences
San Francisco, San Francisco County, California, USA
Education:
Columbus College of Art and Design
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Biography

Introduction

Dan Scanlon (born June 21, 1976) is an American animator, storyboard artist and director, working for Pixar, for whom he has directed Monsters University and Onward.

Early life

Scanlon grew up in Clawson, Michigan. When he was one year old and his brother three years old, their father died, and when they were teenagers, a relative gave them a brief audio recording of their father. Scanlon has said that these experiences helped inspire the story of Onward. He graduated with a BFA from the Columbus College of Art and Design in 1998.

Career

Scanlon was an animator for The Indescribable Nth and Joseph: King of Dreams. He served as a storyboard artist for The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea and 101 Dalmatians II: Patch's London Adventure.

Scanlon joined Pixar in 2001, where he was a story artist for Cars andToy Story 3. He co-directed the short film Mater and the Ghostlight. He illustrated part one of Unmentionables, a comic book written by his wife, Michele Scanlon, and wrote and directed the live-action feature film Tracy. Tracy was Scanlon's first feature film as a writer/director. He also served as a member of the senior creative team on Brave and Inside Out.

Scanlon directed the prequel film of Monsters, Incorporated, Monsters University, released in 2013, to positive reviews and commercial success. He subsequently directed the fantasy-road trip film Onward (2020), featuring the voices of Tom Holland, Chris Pratt, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Octavia Spencer. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, but lost to another Pixar film Soul.

Scanlon and his wife Michele live in San Francisco and work together on projects under the production company name Caveat Productions.

Filmography

Feature Films

Year Title Director Writer ExecutiveProducer StoryArtist Animator:
Character
Builder 		Additional
Voices 		Other Notes
2000 The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea No No No Yes No No No Direct-to-video
Joseph: King of Dreams No No No No Yes No No
2003 101 Dalmatians II: Patch's London Adventure No No No Yes No No No
2006 Cars No No No Yes No Yes Yes Additional Screenplay Material
2007 Ratatouille No No No No No No Yes Pixar Productions
2010 Toy Story 3 No No No Yes No No No
2011 Cars 2 No No No No No No Yes Senior Creative Team
2012 Brave No No No No No No Yes
2013 Monsters University Yes Yes No No No Yes Yes
2015 Inside Out No No No No No No Yes
The Good Dinosaur No No No No No No Yes
2016 Finding Dory No No No No No No Yes
2017 Cars 3 No No No No No No Yes
Coco No No No No No No Yes
2018 Incredibles 2 No No No No No No Yes
2019 Toy Story 4 No No No No No No Yes
2020 Onward Yes Yes No No No Yes Yes
Soul No No Yes No No No Yes
2021 Luca No No No No No No Yes
2022 Turning Red No No Yes No No No Yes
Lightyear No No No No No No Yes

Independent Films

Year Title Director Writer Producer Film Editor Cinematographer Puppeteer Sound Mixer Animator Other Role Notes
2009 Tracy Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Dan Sullivan Extras, Artwork, Song Lyricist

Short Films

Year Title Director Writer Animator ExecutiveProducer
2000 The Indescribable Nth No No Yes No
2006 Mater and the Ghostlight Co-Director Original Story No No
2013 A Monsters University Short: Party Central No No No Yes

Other Credits

Year Title Notes
2008 Cars Toons: Mater's Tall Tales Special Thanks
2017 Lou
2019 Purl
Float
2020 Out