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Gennady Borisovich Tartakovsky (russian: Геннадий Борисович Тартаковский, born ), commonly known as Tartakovsky (), is a Russian-American animator, director, producer, screenwriter, voice actor, storyboard artist, comic book writer and artist. He is best known as the creator of various animated television series on Cartoon Network and
Adult Swim Adult Swim (AS; stylized as dult swim'' and often abbreviated as s'') is an American adult-oriented night-time cable television channel that shares channel space with the basic cable network Cartoon Network and is programmed by its in-house ...
, including ''
Dexter's Laboratory ''Dexter's Laboratory'' is an American animated television series created by Genndy Tartakovsky for Cartoon Network and distributed by Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution. It follows Dexter, a short, enthusiastic boy-genius with a h ...
'', '' Samurai Jack'', '' Star Wars: Clone Wars'', '' Sym-Bionic Titan'', and '' Primal''. He co-created '' Sym-Bionic Titan'' and directed the first three films in the ''
Hotel Transylvania ''Hotel Transylvania'' is an American animated media franchise created by comedy writer Todd Durham and produced by Sony Pictures Animation. It consists of four feature films, three short films, a flash-animated TV series, and several video ...
'' series. Additionally, he was a pivotal crew member of ''
The Powerpuff Girls ''The Powerpuff Girls'' is an American superhero animated television series created by animator Craig McCracken and produced by Hanna-Barbera (later Cartoon Network Studios) for Cartoon Network and distributed by Warner Bros. Domestic T ...
'' and worked on other series such as '' 2 Stupid Dogs'' and '' Batman: The Animated Series''. Tartakovsky is well known for his unique animation style, including fast-paced action and minimal dialogue. Throughout his career, Tartakovsky has won five
Emmy Awards The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
(3
Primetime Prime time or the peak time is the block of broadcast programming taking place during the middle of the evening for a television show. It is mostly targeted towards adults (and sometimes families). It is used by the major television networks to ...
and 2
Creative Arts The arts are a very wide range of human practices of creative expression, storytelling and cultural participation. They encompass multiple diverse and plural modes of thinking, doing and being, in an extremely broad range of media. Both h ...
), three
Annie Awards 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 d ...
, one WAC Winner, one OIAF Award, one Winsor McCay Award, among other nominations for his works.


Early life

Gennady Borisovich Tartakovsky (russian: Геннадий Тартаковский) was born on January 17, 1970, in
Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
, to
Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
parents. His father worked as a
dentist A dentist, also known as a dental surgeon, is a health care professional who specializes in dentistry (the diagnosis, prevention, management, and treatment of diseases and conditions of the oral cavity and other aspects of the craniofacial co ...
for government officials and the
Soviet Union national ice hockey team The Soviet national ice hockey team was the national men's ice hockey team of the Soviet Union. From 1954, the team won at least one medal each year at either the Ice Hockey World Championships ...
. Tartakovsky felt that his father was a very strict and old-fashioned man, but they had a close relationship. His mother, Miriam, was an assistant principal at a school. He has a brother, Alexander, who is two years older and a computer consultant in
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...
. Before coming to the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...
, his family moved to
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
. There, Tartakovsky was first drawn to art, inspired by a neighbor's daughter. Tartakovsky later commented, "I remember, I was horrible at it. For the life of me, I couldn't draw a circle". Tartakovsky's family moved to the United States when he was seven due to concerns about the effect of
antisemitism Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...
on their children's lives. The family originally settled in
Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, an ...
and later moved to
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...
. He was greatly influenced by the comics he found there; his first purchase was an issue of ''
Super Friends ''Super Friends'' is an American animated television series about a team of superheroes, which ran from 1973 to 1985 on ABC as part of its Saturday-morning cartoon lineup. It was produced by Hanna-Barbera and was based on the Justice League ...
''. Tartakovsky began attending Chicago's Eugene Field Elementary School in the third grade. School was difficult because he was seen as a foreigner. He went on to attend Chicago's prestigious
Lane Tech College Prep High School Lane Tech College Prep High School (often shortened to Lane Tech, full name Albert Grannis Lane Technical College Preparatory High School), is a public 4-year selective enrollment magnet high school located in the Roscoe Village neighborhood on ...
and says he did not fit in until his sophomore year. When he was 16, his father died of a
heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which m ...
. Afterwards, Tartakovsky and his family moved to government-funded housing, and he began working while still attending high school. To satisfy his ambitious family, which was encouraging him to be a businessman, Tartakovsky tried to take an advertising class, but signed up late and thereby had little choice over his classes. He was assigned to take an animation class and this led to his study of film at
Columbia College Chicago Columbia College Chicago is a private art college in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1890, it has 5,928https://about.colum.edu/effectiveness/pdf/spring-2021-student-profile.pdf students pursuing degrees in more than 60 undergraduate and graduat ...
before moving to
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...
to study animation at the
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 bo ...
with his friend Rob Renzetti. There he met Craig McCracken. At CalArts, Tartakovsky directed and animated two student films, one of which became the basis for ''
Dexter's Laboratory ''Dexter's Laboratory'' is an American animated television series created by Genndy Tartakovsky for Cartoon Network and distributed by Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution. It follows Dexter, a short, enthusiastic boy-genius with a h ...
''. After two years at CalArts, Tartakovsky got a job at Lapiz Azul Productions in
Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' ( Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...
on '' Batman: The Animated Series''. There, "he learned the trials of TV animation, labor intensive and cranking it out". While he was in Spain, his mother died of
cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal bl ...
.


Career

Craig McCracken acquired an art director job at
Hanna-Barbera 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 t ...
for the show '' 2 Stupid Dogs'' and recommended hiring Rob Renzetti and Tartakovsky as well. This was a major turning point in Tartakovsky's career. Hanna-Barbera let Tartakovsky, McCracken, Renzetti and Paul Rudish work in a trailer in the parking lot of the studio, and there Tartakovsky started creating his best-known works. ''Dexter's Laboratory'' grew out of a student film with the same title that he produced while at the California Institute of the Arts. Tartakovsky co-wrote and pencilled the 25th issue of the ''Dexter's Laboratory'' comic book series, titled "Stubble Trouble", as well as several stories which are collected in the ''Dexter's Laboratory Classics''
trade paperback Trade paperback may refer to: * Trade paperback, a higher-quality softcover version of a book * Trade paperback (comics) In comics in the United States, a trade paperback (shortened: TPB or trade) is a collection of stories originally published ...
. Additionally, he helped produce ''
The Powerpuff Girls ''The Powerpuff Girls'' is an American superhero animated television series created by animator Craig McCracken and produced by Hanna-Barbera (later Cartoon Network Studios) for Cartoon Network and distributed by Warner Bros. Domestic T ...
'', co-directed several episodes and served as the animation director and a cinematographer for '' The Powerpuff Girls Movie''; he co-wrote one of the franchise's comics. Both ''Dexter's Laboratory'' and ''The Powerpuff Girls'' were nominated repeatedly for
Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
s. Tartakovsky created the action-adventures series '' Samurai Jack'', which premiered in 2001; he also wrote comics for the franchise. The series won him an Emmy in the category of " Outstanding Animated Program (For Programming Less Than One Hour)" in 2004. ''
Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has been expanded into various film ...
'' creator
George Lucas George Walton Lucas Jr. (born May 14, 1944) is an American filmmaker. Lucas is best known for creating the ''Star Wars'' and '' Indiana Jones'' franchises and founding Lucasfilm, LucasArts, Industrial Light & Magic and THX. He served as chai ...
hired Tartakovsky to direct ''Star Wars: Clone Wars'' (2003–2005), an animated series taking place between ''
Attack of the Clones Attack may refer to: Warfare and combat * Offensive (military) * Charge (warfare) * Attack (fencing) * Strike (attack) * Attack (computing) * Attack aircraft Books and publishing * ''The Attack'' (novel), a book * ''Attack No. 1'', comic a ...
'' and '' Revenge of the Sith''. The series won three Emmy awards: two for " Outstanding Animated Program (for Programming One Hour or More)" in 2004 and 2005, and another for "Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation" (for background designer Justin Thompson in 2005). Tartakovsky was not involved in the 2008 follow-up series. In 2005, Tartakovsky was appointed creative president of Orphanage Animation Studios. In 2006, he was chosen as the director for a sequel to ''
The Dark Crystal ''The Dark Crystal'' is a 1982 dark fantasy film directed by Jim Henson and Frank Oz. It stars the voices of Stephen Garlick, Lisa Maxwell, Billie Whitelaw, Percy Edwards, and Barry Dennen. The film was produced by ITC Entertainment and T ...
'', but was replaced and the film was later scrapped. Tartakovsky served as animation director on the pilot episode of '' Korgoth of Barbaria'', which aired on
Adult Swim Adult Swim (AS; stylized as dult swim'' and often abbreviated as s'') is an American adult-oriented night-time cable television channel that shares channel space with the basic cable network Cartoon Network and is programmed by its in-house ...
in 2006 but was not picked up as a series. He also directed a series of anti-smoking advertisements, one for Nicorette in 2006 and two for Niquitin in 2008. In 2009, Tartakovsky created a pilot entitled ''Maruined'' for Cartoon Network's '' The Cartoonstitute'' program, which was not picked up. He also once worked on the ''
Nicktoons Film Festival The Nicktoons Film Festival (also known as the Nicktoons Network Animation Festival) was an annual event that was created by producer Fred Seibert and produced for its first three years by his Frederator Studios. The festival featured a selectio ...
'' for
Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television television channel, channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its List of assets owned by Param ...
as part of the Grand Jury with Patrick Warburton and Steve Oedekerk. In 2009, it was announced that Tartakovsky would write and direct a ''Samurai Jack'' film from
Fred Seibert Frederick (Fred) Seibert (born September 15, 1951) is an American television producer, co-founder of MTV and the CEO of FredFilms, an animation production company based in Burbank, California. His official biography states he has led five (working ...
's Frederator Studios and J. J. Abrams'
Bad Robot Productions Bad Robot is an American film and television production company founded on May 27, 1999 and led by J. J. Abrams and Katie McGrath as Co-CEO. Under its Bad Robot Productions division, the company is responsible for the television series '' Ali ...
. In June 2012, Tartakovsky said that he had a story to conclude the series and
title character The title character in a narrative work is one who is named or referred to in the title of the work. In a performed work such as a play or film, the performer who plays the title character is said to have the title role of the piece. The title of ...
's story, but the project had been shelved after Abrams moved on to direct ''
Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the eponymous 1960s television series and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has expanded into vario ...
''. In 2010, Tartakovsky created storyboards for
Jon Favreau Jonathan Kolia Favreau (; born October 19, 1966) is an American actor and filmmaker. As an actor, Favreau has appeared in films such as '' Rudy'' (1993), '' PCU'' (1994), '' Swingers'' (1996), '' Very Bad Things'' (1998), '' Deep Impact'' (1998 ...
's ''
Iron Man 2 ''Iron Man 2'' is a 2010 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Iron Man. Produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Paramount Pictures, it is the sequel to ''Iron Man'' (2008) and the third film in the Marvel Cinem ...
''. He created a new series for Cartoon Network, '' Sym-Bionic Titan'', between 2010 and 2011. He had hoped to expand on the initial season, but it was not renewed. On 7 April 2011, an animated prologue by Tartakovsky for the horror film ''
Priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...
'' premiered online. In early 2011, Tartakovsky moved to
Sony Pictures Animation Sony Pictures Animation Inc. is an American animation studio owned by Sony Entertainment's Sony Pictures Entertainment through their Motion Picture Group division and founded on May 9, 2002. The studio's films are distributed worldwide by So ...
, where he made his feature film directing debut with ''
Hotel Transylvania ''Hotel Transylvania'' is an American animated media franchise created by comedy writer Todd Durham and produced by Sony Pictures Animation. It consists of four feature films, three short films, a flash-animated TV series, and several video ...
'' (2012). In July 2012, he signed a long-term deal with Sony to develop and direct his own original projects. In June 2012, Sony announced that Tartakovsky was slated to direct a computer-animated ''
Popeye Popeye the Sailor Man is a fictional cartoon character created by E. C. Segar, Elzie Crisler Segar. but it was cancelled. Tartakovsky directed '' Hotel Transylvania 2'', the sequel to ''Hotel Transylvania'', released in 2015. In December 2015, Adult Swim announced that Tartakovsky would return for a final season of ''Samurai Jack'', during which he stepped away from Sony Pictures Animation. When the series finished airing in 2017, Tartakovsky returned to Sony and directed '' Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation'' (2018). After its financial success, two original projects were announced: an R-rated comedy called ''Fixed'' and an action-adventure film entitled ''Black Knight''. In May 2019, it was announced that Adult Swim had commissioned a new series from Tartakovsky entitled '' Primal'', which is about "a caveman at the dawn of evolution ... nd adinosaur on the brink of extinction". It began airing on 7 October 2019. On 11 May 2020, it was announced that Tartakovsky's ''Popeye'' project was being revived by
King Features Syndicate King Features Syndicate, Inc. is a American content distribution and animation studio, consumer product licensing and print syndication company owned by Hearst Communications that distributes about 150 comic strips, newspaper columns, editoria ...
, with T. J. Fixman writing the script. Tartakovsky later clarified that he was not working on it yet and funding was still needed, saying that if he had the time he would do it. In mid-2022, an animatic for the film was leaked online and subsequently taken down. Tartakovsky was involved in the development of the video game '' Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time'', which was released on 21 August 2020. On 28 October, a new series by him called ''Unicorn: Warriors Eternal'' was announced; it will focus on a group of teen heroes, drawing inspiration from world mythology, and is being billed as
all-ages animation Children's television series (or children's television shows) are television programs designed for children, normally scheduled for broadcast during the morning and afternoon when children are awake. They can sometimes run during the early evenin ...
. It is being produced by Cartoon Network Studios to be aired on Cartoon Network and HBO Max as part of an attempt by
WarnerMedia Warner Media, LLC ( traded as WarnerMedia) was an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate. It was headquartered at the 30 Hudson Yards complex in New York City, United States. It was originally established in 1972 by ...
to reach a broader range of the "older kid and tween market." This was confirmed in a February 2021 announcement which mentioned the series. Tartakovsky described the project as an "extension of everything that I've done from ''Dexter'' to ''Powerpuff'' to ''Samurai Jack''. It's all those ideas that we practiced, that sometimes were successful, sometimes not as much". On June 15, 2022, Tartakovsky inked a cross-studio overall deal with Cartoon Network Studios and Warner Bros. Animation that lets him develop, create, and produce animated programs for a variety of platforms, either with original characters or with a Warner Bros. Discovery IP. Sam Register, president of both companies said "Genndy is a true visionary who embodies the creator spirit of Cartoon Network Studios. As he continues to push the boundaries of storytelling and animation, we are excited to have a front row seat both here and now also at Warner Bros. Animation."


Personal life

Tartakovsky married Dawn David in 2000 and has three children with her.


Filmography


Film


Television


Bibliography


Awards and nominations


Notes


References

* ''Genndy's Scrapbook'' (''Samurai Jack'' Season 2 DVD, Disk 2)


External links

*
Genndy Tartakovsky
at About.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Tartakovsky, Genndy 1970 births California Institute of the Arts alumni Columbia College Chicago alumni American animators Jewish American artists Living people Soviet emigrants to the United States American film directors American voice directors Primetime Emmy Award winners Showrunners Russian Jews Sony Pictures Animation people Soviet Jews American animated film directors American storyboard artists Cartoon Network Studios people Hanna-Barbera people Annie Award winners 21st-century American Jews