John Stevenson (born 1958) is a British filmmaker and puppeteer. Stevenson has over 40 years of experience with animation.

Life and career

Stevenson worked as a story artist on the feature films ''

The Great Muppet Caper ''The Great Muppet Caper'' is a 1981 British-American musical heist comedy film directed by Jim Henson (in his feature directorial debut). It is the second theatrical film in ''The Muppets'' franchise. In addition to the Muppet performers, the ...

'', ''

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 The ...

'', ''

Labyrinth In Greek mythology, the Labyrinth (, ) was an elaborate, confusing structure designed and built by the legendary artificer Daedalus for King Minos of Crete at Knossos. Its function was to hold the Minotaur, the monster eventually killed by t ...

'' and '' Little Shop of Horrors'' and as a character designer and story artist on shows and films like ''

The Dreamstone ''The Dreamstone'' is a British animated television series that ran for four series, with 13 episodes per series between 1990 and 1995. The original concept and artwork were created by Michael Jupp, and the series was written by Sue Radley ...

'', ''

Count Duckula ''Count Duckula'' is a British children's animated comedy horror television series created by British studio Cosgrove Hall Films and produced by Thames Television as a spin-off from '' Danger Mouse'', a series in which an early version of the ...

'', '' Back to the Future: The Animated Series'', ''

The Twisted Tales of Felix the Cat ''The Twisted Tales of Felix the Cat'' is an American animated television series produced by Film Roman. The series first aired on September 16, 1995 on CBS lasting for two seasons with the final episode airing on April 12, 1997. The first seaso ...

'', two of the '' Fox Tales'' specials and '' FernGully 2: The Magical Rescue''. He also worked as an art director on '' Back to the Future: The Animated Series'' and a puppeteer on '' James & the Giant Peach'' and Motion Capture Performer on '' The Moxy Pirate Show''. In 1991, Stevenson moved to the United States, and in 1998 he was hired as a head of story at DreamWorks Animation. There he worked for many years in the art department on many films such as ''

Shrek ''Shrek'' is a 2001 American computer-animated comedy film loosely based on the 1990 book of the same name by William Steig. It is the first installment in the ''Shrek'' franchise. The film was directed by Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jen ...

'', ''

Shrek 2 ''Shrek 2'' is a 2004 American computer-animated comedy film loosely based on the 1990 picture book '' Shrek!'' by William Steig, produced by DreamWorks Animation and released by DreamWorks Pictures. The sequel to ''Shrek'' (2001) and the ...

'', ''

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

'' and '' Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas'', in addition to helming a number of episodes of their animated primetime show ''

Father of the Pride ''Father of the Pride'' is a 2004–2005 American adult animated sitcom created by Jeffrey Katzenberg for DreamWorks Animation that was part of a short-lived trend of CGI series in prime-time network television (after '' Game Over''). The ser ...

''. He worked for four years bringing ''

Kung Fu Panda ''Kung Fu Panda'' is an American media franchise that originally started in 2008 with the release of the animated feature film of the same name, produced by DreamWorks Animation. Following the adventures of the titular Po Ping (primarily voic ...

'' to the screen. In 2009, Stevenson was nominated for an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

with Mark Osborne for Best Animated Feature for ''Kung Fu Panda'' and won the Annie Award with Osborne for Directing in a Feature Production. In 2011-12 Stevenson directed a six-minute animated short film for

The Coca-Cola Company The Coca-Cola Company is an American multinational beverage corporation founded in 1892, best known as the producer of Coca-Cola. The Coca-Cola Company also manufactures, sells, and markets other non-alcoholic beverage concentrates and syrup ...

produced by Ridley and

Tony Scott Anthony David Leighton Scott (21 June 1944 – 19 August 2012) was an English film director and producer. He was known for directing highly successful action and thriller films such as '' Top Gun'' (1986), '' Beverly Hills Cop II'' (1987), ''D ...

called '' The Polar Bears''. Since 2012, Stevenson has been directing for

Rocket Pictures Rocket Pictures is a British film company founded in 1996 by Elton John to produce family and music-themed film and TV projects. The company was established in 1996 with a ten-year first-look deal with The Walt Disney Company, a three-year deal w ...

the sequel of ''

Gnomeo & Juliet ''Gnomeo & Juliet'' is a 2011 computer-animated romantic comedy film directed by Kelly Asbury from a screenplay by Rob Sprackling and John Smith. It is loosely based on the play '' Romeo and Juliet'' by William Shakespeare and features the voi ...

'', titled ''

Sherlock Gnomes ''Sherlock Gnomes'' is a 2018 3D computer-animated mystery comedy film directed by John Stevenson. Based on the character Sherlock Holmes created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the film serves as a sequel and spin-off to ''Gnomeo & Juliet'' (2011) ...

'', The film was released on 23 March 2018 to negative reception. Stevenson was originally set to work as director for an upcoming film based on the character created by

Mattel Mattel, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment company founded in January 1945 and headquartered in El Segundo, California. The company has presence in 35 countries and territories and sells products in more ...

, ''

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe ''He-Man and the Masters of the Universe'' is an American animated television series produced by Filmation based on Mattel's toy line ''Masters of the Universe''. The show, often referred to as simply ''He-Man'', was one of the most popular anim ...

''. He was also attached to various projects like ''The Minotaur Takes a Cigarette Break'', ''

We3 ''We3'' is a three-issue American comic book mini-series by writer Grant Morrison and artist Frank Quitely, who describe its kinetic style as " Western Manga". It was published in 2004 by the Vertigo imprint of DC Comics, with a trade paperback ...

'', ''Alien Rock Band'' and ''Rotten Island''. In August 2014, it was announced that Stevenson will direct for Unified Pictures a CG-animated feature film '' The Ark and the Aardvark'' inspired by

Noah's Ark Noah's Ark ( he, תיבת נח; Biblical Hebrew: ''Tevat Noaḥ'')The word "ark" in modern English comes from Old English ''aerca'', meaning a chest or box. (See Cresswell 2010, p.22) The Hebrew word for the vessel, ''teva'', occurs twice in ...

References

External links

* 1958 births Living people Annie Award winners British animated film directors British animators British art directors British expatriates in the United States British film directors British puppeteers British storyboard artists DreamWorks Animation people {{UK-film-bio-stub