Jeffrey Maxwell DeGrandis (born December 1, 1957) is an American animator, director, and producer. Currently he's Executive Producer at Warner Bros Animation on "Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz." Jeff has served as Supervising Producer on ''
Dora the Explorer'', ''
Go, Diego, Go!'', and ''
Ni Hao, Kai-Lan''. He recently produced, directed, voice directed and created ''The Finster Finster Show!'' short for ''
Random! Cartoons'' and voiced Chicken #1. He's had 5 Emmy Nominations, Peabody Award, and won 2 Imagine Awards.
Born and raised in
Colts Neck, New Jersey
Colts Neck Township is a township in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. It is located in the New York Metropolitan Area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 9,957, down from the 10,142 counted in the 2010 census, i ...
, DeGrandis studied animation at the
California Institute of the Arts. Prior to entering CalArts, he graduated from
Christian Brothers Academy and
Monmouth University
Monmouth University is a private university in West Long Branch, New Jersey. Founded in 1933 as Monmouth Junior College, it became Monmouth College in 1956 and Monmouth University in 1995 after receiving its charter.
There are about 4,400 full- ...
. DeGrandis got his first big break working on
Chuck Jones
Charles Martin Jones (September 21, 1912 – February 22, 2002) was an American animator, director, and painter, best known for his work with Warner Bros. Cartoons on the ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' series of shorts. He wrote, produ ...
' segment on the 1992 movie ''
Stay Tuned'', and his first television animation work was on ''
The Ren and Stimpy Show''.
His other credits include ''
God, the Devil and Bob
''God, the Devil and Bob'' is an American animated sitcom which aired on NBC from March 9 to March 28, 2000, leaving nine episodes unaired. It was created by Matthew Carlson. The entire series was released on DVD region code#Region codes and coun ...
'' (supervising producer & director), ''
Toonsylvania
''Toonsylvania'' is an American animated television series, which ran for two seasons in 1998 on the Fox Kids, Fox Kids Network block (usually placed in a block called "The No Yell Motel" that contained other scary kids' shows such as ''Goosebumps' ...
'' (producer), ''
The Shnookums and Meat Funny Cartoon Show
''The Shnookums and Meat Funny Cartoon Show'' is a half-hour American animated comedy television series produced by Walt Disney Television Animation and aired in 1995 as a spin-off of the show ''Marsupilami'', a spinoff itself of ''Raw Toonage''. ...
'' (co-producer with
Bill Kopp
William Kopp is an American animator, writer and voice actor.
Career
Kopp studied animation at the California Institute of the Arts. In 1984, he won a Merit Award from the Student Academy Awards for ''Mr. Gloom''. In 1985, he won a Student Acade ...
and director), ''
Mad Jack the Pirate
''Mad Jack the Pirate'' is an American animated comedy-adventure television series. The show was created by Bill Kopp and was directed by Jeff DeGrandis (who previously worked together on ''Toonsylvania''). On American television, the show was bro ...
'' (director), ''
Capertown Cops'' (director), ''
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 hid ...
'' (storyboard artist), ''
Timon and Pumbaa'' (director), ''
Mighty Ducks
''The Mighty Ducks'' is an American media franchise. It features a trilogy of live-action films released in the 1990s by Walt Disney Pictures, an animated television series, a live-action sequel television series, and a real-world hockey team ...
'' (timing director), ''
Animaniacs'' (director), and ''
The Patrick Star Show'' (director; credited as storyboard supervisor).
DeGrandis also wrote, produced, storyboard designed and directed the 2001 animated direct to video film ''
Timber Wolf''.
In addition to his animation work, DeGrandis is also noted for his drawings of
drag racing
Drag racing is a type of motor racing in which automobiles or motorcycles compete, usually two at a time, to be first to cross a set finish line. The race follows a short, straight course from a standing start over a measured distance, most c ...
cars, which emulate the style of one of DeGrandis' early influences,
Ed "Big Daddy" Roth. He has also been an active drag racer as well.
The Finster Finster Show!: Store Wars
The Finster Finster Show! was created by DeGrandis when he was a student at
CalArts in 1982.
He developed a short film based on the concept and even recorded the voices himself in 1983.
While working as an executive producer to several
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 ...
/
Nick Jr. productions, he pitched the idea to Nickelodeon and Frederator Studios for the "fourth season of
Oh Yeah! Cartoons". They gave him the greenlight, he did the storyboards and scripts and the voice recording was done exactly 23 years after the 1983 voice recording of the short film. The short aired in Random! Cartoons in 2008.
References
External links
*
1957 births
Living people
People from Colts Neck Township, New Jersey
Animators from New Jersey
California Institute of the Arts alumni
Christian Brothers Academy (New Jersey) alumni
Monmouth University alumni
American male voice actors
American voice directors
American animated film directors
American animated film producers
American television directors
Film producers from New Jersey
American storyboard artists
American male screenwriters
Film directors from New Jersey
Screenwriters from New Jersey
Television producers from New Jersey
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