Daniel Chong (born November 19, 1978) is an American animator, storyboard artist, writer, director, and producer. He is best known as the creator of Cartoon Network's ''

We Bare Bears ''We Bare Bears'' is an American animated sitcom created by Daniel Chong for Cartoon Network. The show follows three bear brothers, Grizzly, Panda, and Ice Bear, and their awkward attempts at integrating with the human world in the San Francisc ...

'' (2015–2019). He also directed, wrote and executive produced '' We Bare Bears: The Movie'' (2020). Chong worked as a storyboard artist on the animated films '' Bolt'' (2008), '' Cars 2'' (2011), ''

The Lorax ''The Lorax'' is a children's book written by Dr. Seuss and published in 1971. It chronicles the plight of the environment and the Lorax, the titular character, who "speaks for the trees" and confronts the Once-ler, a business magnate who cause ...

'' (2012), ''

Free Birds ''Free Birds'' is a 2013 American computer-animated science fiction comedy film. The film follows two turkeys travelling back in time to the first Thanksgiving to get turkey off the menu. It was produced by Reel FX Creative Studios as its fir ...

'' (2013), and '' Inside Out'' (2015).

Early life

Chong was born in Fargo, North Dakota to Singaporean Chinese immigrants. He grew up in

Fountain Valley, California Fountain Valley is a suburban city in Orange County, California. The population was 57,047 at the 2020 census. History The area encompassing Fountain Valley was originally inhabited by the Tongva people. European settlement of the area b ...

, and attended

California Institute of the Arts The California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) is a private art university in Santa Clarita, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the US created specifically for students of both ...

. He currently resides in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

, California.

Career

Chong began his career as a

storyboard artist A storyboard artist (sometimes called a story artist or visualizer) creates storyboards for advertising agencies and film productions. Work A storyboard artist visualizes stories and sketches frames of the story. Quick pencil drawings and mark ...

for numerous animation giants, such as Blue Sky Studios,

Walt Disney Animation Studios Walt Disney Animation Studios (WDAS), sometimes shortened to Disney Animation, is an American animation studio that creates animated features and short films for The Walt Disney Company. The studio's current production logo features a scene fro ...

Illumination Entertainment Illumination (formerly known as Illumination Entertainment) is an American computer animation studio, founded by Chris Meledandri in 2007. Illumination is owned by Meledandri and the Illumination brand is co-owned by Universal Pictures, a divisi ...

, and

Pixar Animation Studios 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, Californ ...

. He worked as a storyboard artist on the animated films '' Bolt'' (2008), '' Cars 2'' (2011), ''

'' (2012), ''

'' (2013), ''

Despicable Me 2 ''Despicable Me 2'' is a 2013 American computer-animated comedy film produced by Illumination Entertainment and distributed by Universal Pictures. The sequel to ''Despicable Me'' (2010), it is directed by Chris Renaud and Pierre Coffin, and ...

'' (2013), and '' Inside Out'' (2015). While working at

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, Californ ...

, Chong worked on the television specials ''

Toy Story of Terror! ''Toy Story of Terror!'' is an American computer-animated Halloween television special produced by Pixar Animation Studios and Disney Television Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures, based on the ''Toy Story'' franchise. It is set af ...

'' (2013) and '' Toy Story That Time Forgot'' (2014), the former of which won him an Annie Award. Chong went on to create the animated series ''

'', which premiered in 2015. The initial idea for ''We Bare Bears'' came from a

webcomic Webcomics (also known as online comics or Internet comics) are comics published on a website or mobile app. While many are published exclusively on the web, others are also published in magazines, newspapers, or comic books. Webcomics can be c ...

that he had created in 2010 called ''The Three Bare Bears''. The webcomic ended almost a year later, but he carried the idea with him. Chong has cited '' Seinfeld'', ''

Broad City ''Broad City'' is an American television sitcom created by and starring Ilana Glazer and Abbi Jacobson. It was developed from their independent web series of the same name, which was produced between 2009 and 2011. The sitcom, like the web series ...

'', ''

Peanuts ''Peanuts'' is a syndicated daily and Sunday American comic strip written and illustrated by Charles M. Schulz. The strip's original run extended from 1950 to 2000, continuing in reruns afterward. ''Peanuts'' is among the most popular and infl ...

'',

Aardman Animations Aardman Animations Limited (also known as Aardman Studios, simply Aardman or Aardman Animation and stylised as AARDMAN as of 2022) is a British animation studio based in Bristol, England. It is known for films made using stop-motion and clay ani ...

and

Wes Anderson Wesley Wales Anderson (born May 1, 1969) is an American filmmaker. His films are known for their eccentricity and unique visual and narrative styles. They often contain themes of grief, loss of innocence, and dysfunctional families. Cited by ...

as inspirations for the style and tone of the show. Chong directed, wrote, and executive produced a film adaptation of the series, '' We Bare Bears: The Movie'', which was released in June 2020, thus ending the series. In December 2020, Chong revealed on Twitter he had returned to Pixar and was working on a project there.

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chong, Daniel American animated film producers 1978 births American people of Chinese descent Animators from New York (state) American storyboard artists Living people California Institute of the Arts alumni Animators from California Artists from Berkeley, California Cartoon Network Studios people Pixar people Artists from Queens, New York Walt Disney Animation Studios people Illumination (company) people We Bare Bears