Dan Scanlon (born June 21, 1976) is an American animator, storyboard artist, director, and screenwriter, working for

Pixar Pixar Animation Studios (commonly known as Pixar () and stylized as P I X A R) is an American computer animation studio known for its critically and commercially successful computer animated feature films. It is based in Emeryville, Californi ...

, for whom he has directed ''

Monsters University ''Monsters University'' is a 2013 American computer-animated monster comedy film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It was directed by Dan Scanlon (in his feature directorial debut) and produced by Kori ...

'' and '' Onward''.

Early life

Scanlon grew up in Clawson,

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

. 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 Columbus College of Art & Design (CCAD) is a private art school in Columbus, Ohio. It was founded in 1879 as the Columbus Art School and is one of the oldest private art and design colleges in the United States. Located in downtown Columbus, CCAD ...

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 A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods. The year 1886 is regarded as t ...

'' and ''

Toy Story 3 ''Toy Story 3'' is a 2010 American computer-animated comedy-drama film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. It is the third installment in the ''Toy Story'' series and the sequel to ''Toy Story 2'' (1999). It was d ...

''. He co-directed the short film ''

Mater and the Ghostlight ''Mater and the Ghostlight'' is a 2006 American computer-animated short film released as a special feature on the DVD of Pixar's film ''Cars'', which was released in the United States on November 7, 2006. The short, set in the ''Cars'' world, tell ...

''. 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, Inc. ''Monsters, Inc.'' (also known as ''Monsters, Incorporated'') is a 2001 American computer-animated Monster movie, monster comedy film produced by Pixar, Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. Featuring the voices of John Goodman, B ...

'', ''

'', 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 Thomas Stanley Holland (born 1 June 1996) is an English actor. His accolades include a British Academy Film Award, three Saturn Awards, a Guinness World Record and an appearance on the ''Forbes'' 30 Under 30 Europe list. Some publications h ...

Chris Pratt Christopher Michael Pratt (born June 21, 1979) is an American actor. He rose to prominence for playing Andy Dwyer in the NBC sitcom '' Parks and Recreation'' (2009–2015). He also appeared in The WB drama series ''Everwood'' (2002–2006) an ...

Julia Louis-Dreyfus Julia Scarlett Elizabeth Louis-Dreyfus ( ; born January 13, 1961) is an American actress, comedian, and producer who worked on the comedy television series ''Saturday Night Live'' (1982–1985), ''Seinfeld'' (1989–1998), ''The New Adventures ...

and

Octavia Spencer Octavia Lenora Spencer (born May 25, 1970) is an American actress. She is the recipient of several accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, a Golden Globe Award, two Critics' Choice Awards and three Screen Actors Gu ...

. It was nominated for an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

for Best Animated Feature, but lost to another Pixar film ''

Soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

''. Scanlon and his wife Michele live in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

and work together on projects under the production company name Caveat Productions.

Filmography

Feature Films

Independent Films

Short Films

Other Credits

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Scanlon, Dan 1976 births Animators from Michigan American male screenwriters American storyboard artists American animated film directors Artists from San Francisco Columbus College of Art and Design alumni Film directors from San Francisco Film directors from Michigan Living people Pixar people Screenwriters from California Screenwriters from Michigan Walt Disney Animation Studios people