Matthew O'Callaghan (born August 31, 1966) is an American film director, animator, writer, and storyboard artist whose credits include directing the 2006 film ''Curious George'' and co-creating the television series '' Life with Louie''.

Life and career

O'Callaghan was born in 1966 in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, where he was raised. In 1995, he co-created the animated

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ne ...

series '' Life with Louie'' which ran from 1995 to 1998. He worked on various

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Di ...

and ''

Looney Tunes ''Looney Tunes'' is an American Animated cartoon, animated comedy short film series produced by Warner Bros. starting from 1930 to 1969, concurrently with its partner series ''Merrie Melodies'', during the golden age of American animation.

'' projects such as ''

Coyote Falls ''Coyote Falls'' is a 2010 3D computer-animated ''Looney Tunes'' short film featuring the characters Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner. Directed by Matthew O'Callaghan and written by Tom Sheppard, it is the first Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner s ...

Fur of Flying ''Fur of Flying'' is a 2010 3D computer-animated ''Looney Tunes'' short film featuring the characters Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner. Directed by Matthew O'Callaghan and written by Tom Sheppard, the film was first shown in theaters before War ...

I Tawt I Taw a Puddy Tat ''I Tawt I Taw a Puddy Tat'' is a 2011 American 3D computer-animated '' Looney Tunes'' short film featuring the characters Tweety, Sylvester, and Granny. It is an adaptation of the 1950 song " I Taut I Taw a Puddy Tat" sung by Mel Blanc. It ...

, Flash in the Pain,

Rabid Rider ''Rabid Rider'' is a 2010 3D computer-animated ''Looney Tunes'' short film featuring the characters Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner. Directed by Matthew O'Callaghan and written by Tom Sheppard, the film was first shown in theaters before Warne ...

,'' and ''

Daffy's Rhapsody ''Daffy's Rhapsody'' is a 2012 3D computer-animated '' Looney Tunes'' short film featuring the characters Daffy Duck and Elmer Fudd. Directed by Matthew O'Callaghan and written by Tom Sheppard, the film is an adaptation of the song of the sam ...

'', in which he served as the director for all three short films, in which the shorts debuted in 2010, focusing on Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner. For his work on ''Daffy's Rhapsody'', he was nominated at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival in 2012. Meanwhile, back in 2006, O'Callaghan directed ''

Curious George Curious George is a fictional monkey who is the title character of a series of popular children's picture books written by Margret and H. A. Rey. Various media, including films and TV shows, have been based upon the original book series. Geor ...

'', a film starring

Frank Welker Franklin Wendell Welker (born March 12, 1946) is an American voice actor. He began his career in the 1960s, and holds over 860 film, television, and video game credits as of 2022, making him one of the most prolific voice actors of all time. With ...

as the titular title character and based on the popular children's books created by Margret and

H. A. Rey Hans Augusto (H.A.) Rey (né Reyersbach; September 16, 1898 – August 26, 1977) was a German-born American illustrator and author, known best for the ''Curious George'' series of children's picture books that he and his wife Margret Rey create ...

. He served as one of the storyboard artists on ''for Space Jam: A New Legacy'', a sequel to the 1996 film '' Space Jam'' which starred

Michael Jordan Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963), also known by his initials MJ, is an American businessman and former professional basketball player. His biography on the official NBA website states: "By acclamation, Michael Jordan is the g ...

. Meanwhile back in 1987, he, along with Darrell Van Citters, directed the

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

television special '' Sport Goofy in Soccermania''. He directed and produced '' Open Season's sequel

Open Season 2 ''Open Season 2'' is a 2008 American computer animation, computer-animated comedy film and the sequel to the 2006 film ''Open Season (2006 film), Open Season'', produced by Sony Pictures Animation. It was directed by Matthew O'Callaghan, co-dire ...

''. He served as the creative talent of '' Mickey's Christmas Carol'', which marked the return of

Mickey Mouse Mickey Mouse is an animated cartoon Character (arts), character co-created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. The longtime mascot of The Walt Disney Company, Mickey is an Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic mouse who typically wears red sho ...

after the 1953 short, ''

The Simple Things ''The Simple Things'' is a 1953 animated short subject, part of the ''Mickey Mouse'' series, produced by Walt Disney Productions. Released by RKO Radio Pictures on March 27, 1953, the short is notable as the 126th and final regular entry in the ...

''. He was an additional

animator An animator is an artist who creates multiple images, known as frames, which give an illusion of movement called animation when displayed in rapid sequence. Animators can work in a variety of fields including film, television, and video gam ...

in the 1988 film ''

Who Framed Roger Rabbit ''Who Framed Roger Rabbit'' is a 1988 American live-action/animated comedy mystery film directed by Robert Zemeckis, produced by Frank Marshall and Robert Watts, and loosely adapted by Jeffrey Price and Peter S. Seaman from Gary K. Wolf's 1 ...

''. In 1989, he served as the storyboard artist and directing animator for ''Disney'''s '' The Little Mermaid''. He created the 1993 animated series titled ''for

The Itsy Bitsy Spider "Itsy Bitsy Spider" (also known as "Incy Wincy Spider" in Australia and Great Britain, and several other similar-sounding names) is a popular nursery rhyme and fingerplay that describes the adventures of a spider as it ascends, descends, and rea ...

'', a television series sequel to the film ''for

Itsy Bitsy Spider "Itsy Bitsy Spider" (also known as "Incy Wincy Spider" in Australia and Great Britain, and several other similar-sounding names) is a popular nursery rhyme and fingerplay that describes the adventures of a spider as it ascends, descends, and rea ...

'', directed by O'Callaghan.

Filmography

Film and television

Awards and nominations

Annecy International Animated Film Festival The Annecy International Animation Film Festival (french: Festival international du film d'animation d'Annecy, officially abbreviated in English as the Annecy Festival, or simply Annecy) was created in 1960 and takes place at the beginning of J ...

(2012) - Nominated for ''

'' (2012) *

Chicago International Film Festival The Chicago International Film Festival is an annual film festival held every fall. Founded in 1964 by Michael Kutza, it is the longest-running competitive film festival in North America. Its logo is a stark, black and white close up of the comp ...

(1992) - Nominated for Best Short Film on ''

'' (1992) * Daytime Emmy Awards (1999) - Nominated for Outstanding Special Class Animated Program for '' Life with Louie'' (1995) *

DVD Exclusive Awards The DVD Exclusive Awards was an awards program that honored direct to video productions released on DVD. From 2001 to 2006, honorees were selected and the awards were presented by periodical ''DVD Exclusive'', a sister publication of ''Variety Var ...

(2005) - Nominated for Best Screenplay (for a DVD Premiere Movie) on ''

Mickey's Twice Upon a Christmas ''Mickey's Twice Upon a Christmas'' is a 2004 American Christmas package film directed by Matthew O'Callaghan. Segments of the anthology film were directed by Peggy Holmes, O'Callaghan, Theresa Cullen, and Carole Holliday. It was produced by ...

'' (2004) * Edgar Allan Poe Awards (1987) - Nominated for Best Motion Picture on ''

The Great Mouse Detective ''The Great Mouse Detective'' (also known as ''The Adventures of the Great Mouse Detective'' for its 1992 theatrical re-release and ''Basil the Great Mouse Detective'' in some countries) is a 1986 American animated mystery film, mystery adventur ...

'' (1986) * Humanitas Prize (1998) - Nominated for Children's Animation Category for '' Life with Louie'' (1995)

References

External links

*
''A Lunchtime Chat With Matt O'Callaghan'' - Part 1
Living people Animators from Illinois American film directors American screenwriters Walt Disney Animation Studios people American storyboard artists American animated film directors American voice directors Animation screenwriters 1966 births {{US-film-bio-stub