Andrew Stanton
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Andrew Stanton
Biography
Andrew Stanton is one of the main driving forces behind computer animation powerhouse Pixar Studios, and his contributions to such modern animated classics as Toy Story and Finding Nemo are second only to that of studio founder John Lasseter. From director (Finding Nemo) to producer (Monsters, Inc.) to story artist (Toy Story and A Bug's Life) and frequent voice actor (his voice can be heard in some capacity in near every Pixar production), Stanton has had a hand in virtually every aspect of production. His family-friendly sensibilities and keen writing skills have resulted in films that can truly be appreciated by young and old alike -- a true rarity in the realm of so-called "family entertainment."A native of Rockport, MA, Stanton received his BFA in character animation from the California Institute of the Arts before working as an animator for Kroyer Films in the 1980s. As the decade drew to a close, Stanton also worked as a writer for animation legend Ralph Bakshi's Mighty Mouse, the New Adventures. In 1990, the talented writer/animator became the second animator to join Lasseter's fledgling Pixar Studios. His relationship with Lasseter was cemented with work as an animator in the Luxo Jr. short films Surprise and Light and Heavy, and the duo's harmonious sensibilities were brilliantly realized when Stanton served as writer and character designer for Pixar's 1995 freshman effort, Toy Story, which went on to became the runaway family hit of the year. In addition to writing the Pixar feature A Bug's Life, Stanton also joined director Lasseter in the director's chair, and though his contributions to subsequent hits Monsters, Inc. and Toy Story 2 mainly consisted of writing work, Stanton returned to the director's chair in 2003 with what was perhaps Pixar's most popular film to date, Finding Nemo. The film was inspired by a fleeting moment of realization in which Stanton observed that his overprotective fatherly instincts were preventing him from properly bonding with his son. It tells the tale of a young clown fish who is whisked from the ocean to a dentist-office aquarium and his father's quest to bring his son back home safely. As with Stanton's other writing efforts, Finding Nemo offered the kind of compelling and sympathetic characters not usually present in animated fare, and with his experience as a father providing the emotional heart of the film, almost everyone could find something to relate to in Finding Nemo. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
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Andrew Stanton
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Andrew Stanton
| Andrew Stanton | |
|---|---|
 Andrew Stanton, 2009 |
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| Born | Andrew Stanton December 3, 1965 Rockport, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Occupation | Director, producer, screenwriter, voice actor |
| Years active | 1995–present |
| Spouse | Julie Stanton |
Andrew Stanton (born December 3, 1965) is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, and voice actor based at Pixar Animation Studios and Sony Pictures Animation. His film work includes writing and directing Pixar's A Bug's Life (as co-director), Finding Nemo and WALL-E, and his first live-action film, John Carter. He also co-wrote every film of the Toy Story franchise, Monsters, Inc. and Monsters University.
Finding Nemo and WALL-E earned him two Academy Awards for Best Animated Feature. He was also nominated for three Academy Awards for Best Original Screenplay for both and Toy Story, and for an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for Toy Story 3. He also voiced Emperor Zurg in Toy Story 2 and various video games.
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Early life
Stanton was born and raised in Rockport, Massachusetts. As a child, he was painfully shy and he used theatrics with his classmates to gain acceptance. In highschool, he starred in several 8mm films as well as performed in plays put on by Rockport High school's theater troupe. He studied character animation at The California Institute of the Arts and graduated from the school in 1983. His earliest known venture into professional animation was at Ralph Bakshi Productions, where he worked on The New Adventures along with other young animators like Jeff Pidgeon, Eddie Fitzgerald, Tom Minton, John Kricfalusi, and Jim Reardon. All of them have done worthwhile things, including Pidgeon who joined him at Pixar. Stanton joined Pixar in January 1990 and was the second animator (John Lasseter being the first) and ninth overall employee hired at the studio. He now lives in Mill Valley, California and is married to Julie Stanton. He has a daughter named Audrey and a son named Ben.
According to the book Outlaw Animation: Cutting-Edge Cartoons from the Spike and Mike Festivals by Jerry Beck, Stanton was also friends with famed animation promoters "Spike and Mike". In one particular instance Spike visited Stanton's home in a super hero costume calling himself "the Centaur". After frightening the neighborhood parents and captivating the imaginations of the children near an ice cream truck Stanton had to get Spike back inside before anyone alerted the authorities.
Career
In an interview with World Magazine's Megan Basham, Stanton explained his singular vision for WALL-E: "What really interested me was the idea of the most human thing in the universe being a machine because it has more interest in finding out what the point of living is than actual people. The greatest commandment Christ gives us is to love, but that's not always our priority. So I came up with this premise that could demonstrate what I was trying to say—that irrational love defeats the world's programming. You've got these two robots that are trying to go above their basest directives, literally their programming, to experience love."[1]
In addition to his direction and writing work for Pixar, he has also done some voice work, most notably Evil Emperor Zurg in Toy Story 2 and Crush, the laidback turtle in Finding Nemo.
Stanton made his live-action directing debut with Disney's John Carter. The film was based on the Edgar Rice Burroughs' novel, A Princess of Mars. It was released in March 2012 and received mixed reviews from critics. The big-budget science fiction film did not meet Disney's domestic box-office expectations, as they have stated they expect to lose $200 million on the film. However, the movie has done much better overseas - scoring Russia's biggest opening day ever and starting out very well in Hong Kong and other countries in the Far East.[2]
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Functioned as | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Director | Writer | Executive producer | Voice actor | Role | ||
| 1987 | A Story (short) | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Randy / The Goon Squad |
| Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures (TV series, 13 episodes) | No | Yes | No | No | ||
| 1988 | Somewhere in the Artic (short) | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Bahr |
| 1995 | Toy Story | No | Yes | No | Yes | Commercial Chorus |
| 1998 | A Bug's Life | Yes (co-director) | Yes | No | Yes | Bug Zapper #1 |
| 1999 | Toy Story 2 | No | Yes | No | Yes | Emperor Zurg |
| 2000 | Buzz Lightyear of Star Command: The Adventure Begins | No | No | No | Yes | Hamm |
| 2001 | Monsters, Inc. | No | Yes | Yes | No | |
| 2003 | Finding Nemo | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Crush / New England Lobster / others |
| Exploring the Reef | No | No | Yes | No | ||
| 2004 | The Incredibles | No | No | No | Yes | Additional voices |
| 2006 | Cars | No | No | No | Yes | Fred |
| 2007 | Ratatouille | No | No | Yes | No | |
| 2008 | WALL-E | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Human character |
| BURN-E (short) | No | No | Yes | No | ||
| Presto (short) | No | No | Yes | No | ||
| 2009 | Up | No | No | Yes | No | |
| Partly Cloudy (short) | No | No | Yes | No | ||
| 2010 | Toy Story 3 | No | Yes | No | No | |
| 2012 | John Carter | Yes | Yes | No | No | |
| Brave | No | No | Yes | No | ||
Video games
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | A Bug's Life | Hopper | |
| 1999 | Toy Story 2: Buzz Lightyear to the Rescue | Emperor Zurg | |
| 2003 | Disney's Extreme Skate Adventure | Emperor Zurg | |
| 2007 | Cars Mater-National Championship | Fred | |
| 2010 | Toy Story 3: The Video Game | Emperor Zurg | Uncredited PS3 version only |
| 2011 | Kinect Disneyland Adventures | Crush / Emperor Zurg |
References
- ^ Megan Basham (2006-06-28). "WALL-E world". World Magazine. http://www.worldmag.com/articles/14127. Retrieved 2008-07-02.
- ^ Ethan Sacks (2012-03-19). "John Carter slams Disney with $200 million loss, studio announces". New York Daily News. http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/john-carter-slams-disney-200-million-loss-studio-announces-article-1.1047073. Retrieved 2012-03-21.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Andrew Stanton |
- Andrew Stanton at the Internet Movie Database
- A Day in the Life of Andrew Stanton - The New York Times
- Andrew Stanton: The clues to a great story - TED
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Mentioned in
Finding Nemo
(2003 Children's/Family Film)
WALL-E
(2008 Science Fiction Film)
Fog City Mavericks: The Filmmakers of San Francisco
(2007 Film, TV & Radio Film)
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