Daniel Scanlon (born June 21, 1976) is an American filmmaker, storyboard artist, and animator. He is best known for directing the Pixar animated films Monsters University (2013) and Onward (2020), with the latter nominating him for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.[4]
Dan Scanlon | |
|---|---|
 Scanlon at the 2013 Annecy International Animated Film Festival | |
| Born | June 21, 1976[1][2] Clawson, Michigan, U.S.[3] |
| Alma mater | Columbus College of Art and Design |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1998–present |
| Employer | Pixar Animation Studios (2001–2024) |
| Spouse | Michele Scanlon |
Early life
editScanlon grew up in Clawson, Michigan.[5] 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.[6] He graduated with a BFA from the Columbus College of Art and Design in 1998.
Career
editScanlon 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.[3]
Scanlon joined Pixar in 2001,[3] where he was a story artist for Cars and Toy Story 3. He co-directed the short film Mater and the Ghostlight.[3] 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.[7] 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, Inc., Monsters University, released in 2013, to positive reviews and commercial success. He subsequently directed the fantasy-road trip film Onward (2020),[6] featuring the voices of Tom Holland, Chris Pratt, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Octavia Spencer.[8] It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, but lost to another Pixar film Soul.[9]
In February 2021, Scanlon stated that he and Kori Rae will develop another original Pixar feature film.[10]
Scanlon and his wife Michele live in San Francisco and work together on projects under the production company name Caveat Productions.
In November 2024, Scanlon stated he was leaving Pixar, but would not be against working with the company in a consultancy role in the future. [11] [12] [13]
Filmography
editFeature films
edit| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Executive Producer |
Story Artist |
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 | Pixar 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 | ||
| 2023 | Elemental | No | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | |
| 2024 | Inside Out 2 | No | No | Yes | No | No | No | Yes | |
| 2025 | Elio | No | No | No | No | No | No | Yes |
Independent Films
edit| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Producer | Film Editor | Cinematographer | Puppeteer | Sound Mixer | Animator | Other | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Tracy[14] | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Dan Sullivan | Extras, Artwork, Song Lyricist |
Short films
edit| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Animator | Executive Producer |
Other |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | The Indescribable Nth | No | No | Yes | No | |
| 2006 | Mater and the Ghostlight | Co-Director | Original Story | No | No | |
| 2013 | Party Central | No | No | No | Yes | |
| 2022 | Cars on the Road | No | No | No | Yes | Pixar Senior Creative Team |
Other Credits
edit| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Cars Toons: Mater's Tall Tales | Special Thanks |
| 2017 | Lou | |
| 2019 | Purl | |
| Float | ||
| 2020 | Out |
References
edit- ^ Scanlon, Dan (February 25, 2012). "I've had one childhood dream since my birth in 1976, & it's to be followed by anyone & everyone responsible for "The Office."". Twitter. Retrieved July 7, 2012.
- ^ Scanlon, Dan (June 21, 2012). "Thanks automated emailing system at Jackson Square Dentistry for being the first to wish me a Happy Birthday. I love you". Twitter. Retrieved July 7, 2012.
- ^ a b c d Kirkland, Bruce (November 5, 2006). "Life as an animator at Pixar". Canoe. Archived from the original on January 20, 2013. Retrieved July 7, 2012.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ Variety Staff (July 14, 2017). "D23: Disney-Pixar Announces Untitled 'Suburban Fantasy' Movie". Variety. Retrieved July 14, 2017.
- ^ "C&G Newspapers". C&G Newspapers. C & G Publishing. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
- ^ a b Bell, Crystal (June 7, 2017). "Pixar's New 'Suburban Fantasy' Sounds Like A Real Tearjerker". MTV. Archived from the original on July 18, 2017. Retrieved October 16, 2018.
- ^ Connelly, Brendon (March 31, 2011). "Dan Scanlon Is Directing Monsters University – But What Else Has He Done?". Bleeding Cool. Retrieved November 26, 2013.
- ^ Hipes, Patrick (December 12, 2018). "Pixar's 'Onward' To Star Chris Pratt, Tom Holland, Julia Louis-Dreyfus & Octavia Spencer". Deadline. Retrieved December 12, 2018.
- ^ "93rd Academy Awards Nominees". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on March 15, 2021. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
- ^ Grobar, Matt (February 15, 2021). "Onward Director Dan Scanlon Subverts Fantasy Tropes, Channels Pain Into Art With His "Love Letter To Siblings"". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved January 3, 2024.
Kori Rae and I are in development at Pixar, working on ideas for a new movie. We'll pitch those, and there's stuff we're very excited about.
- ^ https://x.com/MrDanScanlon/status/1857597699551527162
- ^ https://x.com/MrDanScanlon/status/1857658070148776428
- ^ https://x.com/MrDanScanlon/status/1857670966782079480
- ^ Cavna, Michael (June 14, 2013). "For Dan Scanlon, directing Pixar's 'Monsters University' marks a big career leap". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 9, 2020.
External links
edit- Dan Scanlon at IMDb