Andrew James Knight (November 23, 1961 – April 11, 2008) was a Canadian

animator An animator is an artist who creates multiple images, known as frames, which give an illusion of movement called animation when displayed in rapid sequence. Animators can work in a variety of fields including film, television, and video gam ...

, film and

television director A television director is in charge of the activities involved in making a television program or section of a program. They are generally responsible for decisions about the editorial content and creative style of a program, and ensuring the prod ...

, voice actor, and creator of ''

Ned's Newt ''Ned's Newt'' is an animated television series created by Andy Knight and Mike Burgess and is co-produced by Nelvana and German company TMO Film GmbH (later renamed as "TMO-Loonland Film GmbH" in seasons 2-3) in conjunction with Studio B Produ ...

'', '' Pig City'' and ''

Get Ed ''Get Ed'' is a computer-animated television series about a genetically engineered teenage delivery boy who fights industrial crime in Progress City. The show aired as a part of the Jetix programming block on the United States cable television ...

''.

Life and career

Andy Knight was born in

Pembroke, Ontario Pembroke is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario at the confluence of the Muskrat River (Ontario), Muskrat River and the Ottawa River in the Ottawa Valley. Pembroke is the location of the administrative headquarters of Renfrew County, thoug ...

, the son of Geoffrey and Betty Knight, and has two older siblings, Fiona Knight-Gagné and Peter Knight. Knight's entry into the animation industry was with the

Gaumont Film Company The Gaumont Film Company (, ), often shortened to Gaumont, is a French film studio headquartered in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France. Founded by the engineer-turned-inventor Léon Gaumont (1864–1946) in 1895, it is the oldest extant film company in ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. During his time in France he worked on a number of film and television projects, including the ''

Inspector Gadget ''Inspector Gadget'' is a media franchise that began in 1983 with the DIC Entertainment animated television series ''Inspector Gadget''. Since the original series, there have been many spin-offs based on the show, including additional animated s ...

'' series. In 1989 he moved to

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, as Creative Director of the

Passion Pictures Passion Pictures is a British film production company established by Andrew Ruhemann in 1987. The company has studios in London, Melbourne, Paris, Toronto, and New York City. Film production The company's core business is in commercial and anim ...

studio. In 1992 he and his wife, Linzi, struck out on their own, founding Red Rover Studios in London. In 1996 they were persuaded to open the Disney Canada studio in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

, to which they agreed on condition that

The Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

finance the move of Red Rover to Toronto, as well. Over the years, among a large body of work, he contributed to three ''

Asterix ''Asterix'' or ''The Adventures of Asterix'' (french: Astérix or , "Asterix the Gaul") is a ''bande dessinée'' comic book series about a village of indomitable Gaulish warriors who adventure around the world and fight the Roman Republic, wi ...

'' films as a

storyboard A storyboard is a graphic organizer that consists of illustrations or images displayed in sequence for the purpose of pre-visualizing a motion picture, animation, motion graphic or interactive media sequence. The storyboarding process, i ...

artist and supervisor, was animation director for the 2000

DreamWorks DreamWorks may refer to: * DreamWorks Pictures, an American film production company of Amblin ** DreamWorks Television, an American television production company and division of the film studio ** DreamWorks Records, an American record label and f ...

production '' Joseph: King of Dreams'', directed the Disney animated film '' Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas'', and was the writer and director of the BAFTA- and

Annie Award The Annie Awards are accolades which the Los Angeles branch of the International Animated Film Association, ASIFA-Hollywood, has presented each year since 1972 to recognize excellence in animation shown in cinema and television. Originally desi ...

-nominated 2003

short Short may refer to: Places * Short (crater), a lunar impact crater on the near side of the Moon * Short, Mississippi, an unincorporated community * Short, Oklahoma, a census-designated place People * Short (surname) * List of people known as ...

''Plumber''. In addition, he created, developed, wrote, animated and directed many award-winning commercial and television projects, including the

animated series An animated series is a set of animated works with a common series title, usually related to one another. These episodes should typically share the same main characters, some different secondary characters and a basic theme. Series can have either ...

'', '' Pig City'', and ''

''. He died of a stroke on April 11, 2008. According to the

Canadian Film Centre The Canadian Film Centre (CFC) is a charitable organization founded by filmmaker Norman Jewison in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, in 1988. Originally launched as film school, today it provides training, development and advancement opportunities for pr ...

, his wife and partner, Linzi, was a 2010 alumnus of its film director program, has also passed away.

References

External links

* Film directors from Ontario Canadian storyboard artists Canadian television directors Canadian animated film directors People from Pembroke, Ontario 2008 deaths 1961 births Walt Disney Animation Studios people {{canada-film-director-stub