Henry Selick

Charles Henry Selick Jr. (; born November 30, 1952) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, production designer, and animator who is best known for directing the stop-motion animation films ''The Nightmare Before Christmas'' (1993), ''James and the Giant Peach'' (1996), ''Monkeybone'' (2001), ''Coraline'' (2009), and ''Wendell & Wild'' (2022). He studied at the Program in Experimental Animation at California Institute of the Arts, under the guidance of Jules Engel. Selick is also known for his collaborations with voice actor and artist Joe Ranft.

Early life

Selick was born in Glen Ridge, New Jersey, the son of Melanie (née Molan) and Charles H. Selick. He was raised in Rumson. Selick did little but draw from ages 3 to 12. His fascination with animation came at a young age, when he saw Lotte Reiniger's stop-motion film ''The Adventures of Prince Achmed'' and the animated creatures of ''The 7th Voyage of Sinbad'' by Ray Harryhausen. He graduated from Rumson-Fair Haven High School in 1970.

After studying science at Rutgers University in New Brunswick and art at Syracuse University and Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design in London, Selick eventually enrolled at the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) to study animation. His two student films there, ''Phases'' and ''Tube Tales'', were nominated for Student Academy Awards.

Film work

Disney

After his academic studies, he went to work for Walt Disney Studios as an "in-betweener" and animator trainee on such films as '' Pete's Dragon'' and ''The Small One''. He became a full-fledged animator under Glen Keane on ''The Fox and the Hound''. During his time at Disney, he met and worked around the likes of Rick Heinrichs, Jorgen Klubien, Brad Bird, John Musker, Dan Haskett, Sue and Bill Kroyer, Ed Gombert, Andy Gaskill and Tim Burton, the latter of which he worked on later on the films ''The Nightmare Before Christmas'' and ''James and the Giant Peach''. Years later, he claimed he learned a lot to improve his drawing, animation, and storytelling skills from Disney legend Eric Larson.

Further Work

Selick's third feature was ''Monkeybone'', a live-action/stop-motion adaptation of an underground comic. The film was a flop both commercially and critically. Selick, who animated the fictional sea creatures in Wes Anderson's ''The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou'', signed on as animation director on Anderson's ''Fantastic Mr. Fox''. In February 2006, Selick left the project, to work on ''Coraline'' for Laika. Selick, who kept in contact with Anderson, said the director would act out scenes in ''Fantastic Mr. Fox'' while in Paris and send them to the animators via iPhone.

''Coraline'' (2009)

Selick's first feature with Laika was ''Coraline'', based on the novel ''Coraline'' by acclaimed author Neil Gaiman, and released in 2009. It was the first stereoscopic stop-motion animated film. The film received generally positive reviews from critics. ''Coraline'' was nominated for an Academy Award, a BAFTA, and a Golden Globe, all for Best Animated Feature.

Working with Pixar

Selick left Laika in 2009. In 2010, Selick joined with Pixar and The Walt Disney Company in a long-term contract to exclusively produce stop-motion films. This not only returned Selick to his original roots, but also reunited Selick with numerous former friends and co-animators. His new studio, called Cinderbiter Productions, was self-described as "a new stop motion company whose mandate is to make great, scary films for young 'uns with a small, tight-knit crew who watch each other's backs."

Selick and Cinderbiter's first film under this deal, a project called ''ShadeMaker'', was set to be released on October 4, 2013. In 2011, the film was green-lit for production and retitled ''The Shadow King''. In August 2012, it was reported that, after spending a reported $50 million, Walt Disney Pictures canceled the project, due to "a creative and scheduling standpoint, the pic wasn't where it needed to be to meet its planned release date." Selick now had the option to shop the project to another studio. Selick later revealed in interviews that the film suffered from interference from the then CCO of Pixar John Lasseter who Selick claimed came in and constantly changed elements of the script and production that ended up balooning the budget.

On April 28, 2012, it was announced that Disney had optioned the rights for Neil Gaiman's novel ''The Graveyard Book''. Later that same day, it was announced that Selick would direct the film after work was completed on ''ShadeMaker''. It is currently unknown if the adaptation will be live-action or stop motion. After the studio and Selick parted ways over scheduling and development, it was announced in January 2013 that Ron Howard would direct the film.

In February 2013, it was reported in a press release by Selick that K5 International would be handling sales at the European Film Market. It is unknown when the film will actually be released. In August 2016, a rep for Selick said the film is "in turnaround again" while Selick is continuing work on his other two projects: ''A Tale Dark and Grimm'' and ''Wendell and Wild''.

On October 16, 2013, Selick announced a live-action film adaptation of Adam Gidwitz's children's novel ''A Tale Dark and Grimm''.

''Wendell & Wild'' (2022) and present work

On November 3, 2015, it was reported that Selick was developing ''Wendell & Wild'', a new stop-motion feature with Jordan Peele and Keegan-Michael Key based on an original story by Selick. In 2018, the film was picked up by Netflix. The film was released on October 28, 2022, on Netflix.

In June 2017, Selick was reported to direct the pilot and subsequent episodes of a ''Little Nightmares'' TV adaptation produced by the Russo brothers.

Filmography

Short films

Feature film

Animator

* ''The Small One'' (1978)
* ''Animalympics'' (1980) (uncredited)
* ''The Fox and the Hound'' (1981) (uncredited)
* ''Winnie the Pooh and a Day for Eeyore'' (1983) (uncredited)
* ''Mickey's Christmas Carol'' (1983) (uncredited)
* '' The Black Cauldron'' (1985) (uncredited)
* ''The Great Mouse Detective'' (1986) (uncredited)

Others

* '' Pete's Dragon'' (1977) (inbetweener)
* '' The Watcher in the Woods'' (1980) (designer of the alien)
* ''Tron'' (1982) (uncredited storyboard artist)
* '' Twice Upon a Time'' (1983) (sequence director)
* ''Return to Oz'' (1985) (storyboard artist)
* '' Nutcracker: The Motion Picture'' (1986) (visual adaptation)
* ''The Brave Little Toaster'' (1987) (uncredited storyboard artist)
* ''MTV'' ID's: "Gravity", "Masks '87", "Dollhouse M", "Bath for Dad", "Haircut M", "Xerox Bug" (1987-1990)
* ''Who Framed Roger Rabbit'' (1988) (inbetweener)
* ''The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou'' (2004) (visual effects)
* ''Prop Culture'' (2020) (himself) Episode: "Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas"
* ''The Movies That Made Us'' (2020) (himself) Episode: "The Nightmare Before Christmas"

Preservation

In 2012, the Academy Film Archive preserved several of Selick's short films: ''Phases'', ''Seepage'', and ''Tube Tales''.

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Selick, Henry
1952 births
Animators from New Jersey
American animated film directors
American animated film producers
Animation screenwriters
Film directors from New Jersey
Living people
People from Glen Ridge, New Jersey
People from Rumson, New Jersey
Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School alumni
Stop motion animators
California Institute of the Arts alumni
CAS Filmmaker Award honorees
Walt Disney Animation Studios people
American storyboard artists