David Maxwell Kirschner (born May 29, 1955) is an American film & television producer and screenwriter. His producing credits include the animated feature ''

An American Tail ''An American Tail'' is a 1986 American Animated film, animated musical film, musical adventure film directed by Don Bluth from a screenplay by Judy Freudberg and Tony Geiss and a story by David Kirschner, Freudberg and Geiss. The film features t ...

'' (also wrote) and '' Child's Play'' horror film series.

Career

After studying at the

University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts The University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts (SCA) houses seven academic divisions: Film & Television Production; Cinema & Media Studies; John C. Hench Division of Animation + Digital Arts; John Wells Division of Writing for Sc ...

, Kirschner began his career designing album cover art for

Neil Diamond Neil Leslie Diamond (born January 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. He has sold more than 130 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling musicians of all time. He has had ten No. 1 singles on the Hot 100 and Adul ...

, most notably

's ''

The Jazz Singer ''The Jazz Singer'' is a 1927 American musical drama film directed by Alan Crosland. It is the first feature-length motion picture with both synchronized recorded music score as well as lip-synchronous singing and speech (in several isolated ...

'', and illustrating characters for the '' Muppets'' and ''

Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Workshop until June 2000) a ...

''. In 1983, Kirschner created and released children's book series ''

Rose Petal Place ''Rose Petal Place'' was an American-produced animated film from 1984 made by Ruby-Spears, with a corresponding line of flower-themed dolls made by Kenner Products. The concept for ''Rose Petal Place'' was created by David Kirschner and the film ...

'', which spawned two Television specials, toys, clothing, and a wide array of licensed consumer products. In 1986, Kirschner created and executive produced ''

'', which was co-executive produced by

Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg (; born December 18, 1946) is an American director, writer, and producer. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, he is the most commercially successful director of all time. Spie ...

, and, at its release, was the highest-grossing non-Disney produced animated feature of all time. It was followed by its theatrical sequel '' An American Tail: Fievel Goes West'' (1991), the television series ''

Fievel's American Tails ''Fievel's American Tails'' is an animated television series, produced by Amblimation, Nelvana, and Universal Cartoon Studios. It aired on CBS for one season in 1992, and continued Fievel's adventures from the film '' An American Tail: Fievel Goe ...

'', and two direct-to-video sequels. In 1986, David Kirschner signed a deal with

United Artists Pictures United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the studio ...

and

MGM/UA Television MGM/UA may refer to: *Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, American film and television production and distribution company **United Artists, American film and television studio, now a subsidiary of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer *MGM/UA Home Video MGM/UA may refer to: *Metro ...

for development, production and distribution of major motion picture and television projects for a two-year deal. Kirschner was appointed chairman of

Hanna-Barbera Productions Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc. ( ) was an American animation studio and production company which was active from 1957 to 2001. It was founded on July 7, 1957, by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera following the decision of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to c ...

in 1989, where he wrote / created and executive produced many films, specials and shows, including '' Wake, Rattle & Roll'', ''

Gravedale High ''Gravedale High'' (also known as '' Rick Moranis in Gravedale High'') is an animated series produced by Hanna-Barbera for NBC Productions (the latter company owns all rights to the series). The series premiered in the fall of 1990 on NBC and laste ...

'' and ''

The Pirates of Dark Water ''The Pirates of Dark Water'' is an American fantasy animated television series created by David Kirschner and produced by Hanna-Barbera. The series premiered as a five-part miniseries on Fox Kids early 1991. The first season, consisting of 13 ...

''. Kirschner is also creator of the

Chucky Chucky may refer to: *Chucky (name) *Chucky (character), a fictional character in the ''Child's Play'' franchise **'' Chucky: Slash & Dash'', a 2013 video game ** ''Chucky'' (TV series), a 2021 TV series *Chucky madtom (''Noturus crypticus''), en ...

animatronic Animatronics refers to mechatronic puppets. They are a modern variant of the automaton and are often used for the portrayal of characters in films and in theme park attractions. It is a multidisciplinary field integrating puppetry, anatomy a ...

doll which is featured in the ''

'' series. He has produced all seven films in the original franchise, including the recent ''

Curse of Chucky ''Curse of Chucky'' is a 2013 American slasher film and the sixth installment of the ''Child's Play'' franchise. The film was written and directed by Don Mancini, who created the franchise and wrote the first six films. It stars Fiona Dourif, Da ...

'' and ''

Cult of Chucky In modern English, ''cult'' is usually a pejorative term for a social group that is defined by its unusual Religion, religious, spirituality, spiritual, or Philosophy, philosophical beliefs and rituals, or its Followership, common interest in ...

'', direct-to-video films made by Universal 1440 Entertainment. Other notable productions include 1997's ''

Cats Don't Dance ''Cats Don't Dance'' is a 1997 American animated musical comedy-drama film directed by Mark Dindal (in his feature directorial debut). It is the only fully animated feature produced by Turner Feature Animation, which was merged during the post-p ...

'', winner of the 25th annual

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 ...

for Best Animated Feature, 2006's ''

Curious George Curious George is a fictional monkey who is the title character of a series of popular children's picture books written by Margret and H. A. Rey. Various media, including films and TV shows, have been based upon the original book series. Geor ...

'', based upon the book series of the same name, ''

Martian Child ''Martian Child'' is a 2007 American comedy-drama film directed by Menno Meyjes and based on David Gerrold's 1994 novelette (not the expanded 2002 novel) of the same name. The film stars John Cusack as a writer who adopts a strange young boy ( ...

'', and Golden Globe-nominated ''

Miss Potter ''Miss Potter'' is a 2006 Biographical film, biographical Drama (film and television), drama film directed by Chris Noonan. It is based on the life of children's author and illustrator Beatrix Potter, and combines stories from her own life with ...

''. His 2010s/2020s work includes executive producer on ''

'', ''

Hocus Pocus 2 ''Hocus Pocus 2'' is a 2022 American fantasy film, fantasy comedy film directed by Anne Fletcher, written by Jen D'Angelo and produced by Walt Disney Pictures. A sequel to the 1993 film ''Hocus Pocus (1993 film), Hocus Pocus'', it stars Bette Mi ...

'' (

Disney+ The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and interest of an audience or gives pleasure and deligh ...

), ''

'' (for

Universal 1440 Entertainment Universal Pictures Home Entertainment (formerly Universal Studios Home Entertainment, Universal Studios Home Video, MCA/Universal Home Video, MCA Home Video, MCA Videodisc and MCA Videocassette, Inc.) is the home video distribution division of Am ...

), ''Random'' (In Pre-Production for

The Weinstein Company The Weinstein Company (usually credited or abbreviated as TWC) was an American independent film studio, founded in New York City by Bob and Harvey Weinstein in March 2005. TWC was one of the largest mini-major film studios in North America prior ...

) and ''Garden District'' (In-Development for

Dimension Films Dimension Films is an American film production company owned by Lantern Entertainment. It was formerly used as Harvey and Bob Weinstein's label within Miramax, which was acquired by The Walt Disney Company on June 30, 1993, to produce and relea ...

). Kirschner is currently head of his own production company, David Kirschner Productions.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kirschner, David 1955 births American animated film producers American illustrators American film producers American male screenwriters American male writers American television producers Animation screenwriters Film producers from California Hanna-Barbera people Living people