Michel Gagné (born 1965, Roberval,

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

cartoonist A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comic book illustrators in that they produce both the literary and ...

Film

Gagné studied classical animation at

Sheridan College Sheridan College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning (formerly Sheridan College of Applied Arts and Technology) is a public polytechnic institute of technology located in the west-Greater Toronto Area in Ontario, Canada. Founded in ...

and worked for

Sullivan Bluth Studios Don Bluth Entertainment (formerly Sullivan Bluth Studios) was an Irish-American animation studio established in 1979 by animator Don Bluth. Bluth and several colleagues, all of whom were former Disney animators, left Disney on September 13, 1979, ...

for six years, working on such films as ''

An American Tail ''An American Tail'' is a 1986 American Animated film, animated musical film, musical adventure film directed by Don Bluth from a screenplay by Judy Freudberg and Tony Geiss and a story by David Kirschner, Freudberg and Geiss. The film features t ...

'', ''

The Land Before Time ''The Land Before Time'' is an American animated film series and media franchise created by Judy Freudberg and Tony Geiss, distributed by Universal Pictures and centered on dinosaurs. The series began in 1988 with the eponymous ''The Land Befor ...

'', ''

All Dogs Go to Heaven ''All Dogs Go to Heaven'' is a 1989 animated musical fantasy adventure comedy-drama film directed by Don Bluth and co-directed by Gary Goldman (his directorial debut) and Dan Kuenster. It tells the story of Charlie B. Barkin (voiced by Burt Re ...

'', '' Rock-A-Doodle'', and ''

A Troll in Central Park ''A Troll in Central Park'' (released in some countries as ''Stanley's Magic Garden'') is a 1994 American animated musical fantasy comedy film co-directed by Don Bluth and Gary Goldman. The film stars the voice talents of Dom DeLuise, Cloris Leachm ...

''. While at Bluth's company, Gagné worked on his own short film, '' Prelude to Eden'', which was nominated for an

Annie Award 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 desi ...

in 1996. After leaving Bluth, Gagné moved around and eventually settled at

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 ...

' animation studio, where he worked on such films as ''

Quest for Camelot ''Quest for Camelot'' (released internationally as ''The Magic Sword: Quest for Camelot'') is a 1998 American animated musical fantasy film produced by Warner Bros. Feature Animation and directed by Frederik Du Chau and very loosely based on the ...

'', ''

The Iron Giant ''The Iron Giant'' is a 1999 American animated science fiction film produced by Warner Bros. Feature Animation and directed by Brad Bird in his directorial debut. It is based on the 1968 novel '' The Iron Man'' by Ted Hughes (which was publish ...

'', and ''

Osmosis Jones ''Osmosis Jones'' is a 2001 American live-action/animated buddy cop crime action comedy film written by Marc Hyman. Combining live-action sequences directed by the Farrelly brothers and animation directed by Piet Kroon and Tom Sito, the film sta ...

''. More recently, Gagné designed the special effects for the

Cartoon Network Cartoon Network (often abbreviated as CN) is an American cable television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. It is a part of The Cartoon Network, Inc., a division that also has the broadcasting and production activities of Boomerang, Car ...

series '' Star Wars: Clone Wars''. He has also occasionally worked for

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 ...

and

Pixar Pixar Animation Studios (commonly known as Pixar () and stylized as P I X A R) is an American computer animation studio known for its critically and commercially successful computer animated feature films. It is based in Emeryville, Californi ...

. His short films, "Sensology", was short listed for an Academy Award in 2010. His graphic novel, ''The Saga of Rex'', is currently being adapted into an animated feature-length film by Gagné himself.

''Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet''

Gagné has also finished his first video game, '' Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet'', a 2D side-scrolling shooter game which was released August 3, 2011 on

Xbox Live Arcade Xbox Live Arcade (XBLA) is a digital video game download service available through the Xbox Games Store, Microsoft's digital distribution network for the Xbox 360. It focuses on smaller downloadable games from both major publishers and independent ...

as part of the XBLA Summer of Arcade promotion.

Published work

Gagné has made a name for himself in

comics a medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information. It typically the form of a sequence of panels of images. Textual devices such as speech balloons, captions, and onomatopoeia can indicate ...

and illustrated fiction. His first book, ''A Search for Meaning: The Story of Rex'', was self-published in 1998. Several more books followed. Gagné also created a

Batman Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on ...

story, ''Batman: Spore'', which was serialized in ''

Detective Comics ''Detective Comics'' is an American comic book series published by Detective Comics, later shortened to DC Comics. The first volume, published from 1937 to 2011 (and later continued in 2016), is best known for introducing the superhero Batman i ...

'' #776-780 (January–May 2003). His comic story, ''The Saga of Rex'' was serialized in the comics anthology ''

Flight Flight or flying is the process by which an object moves through a space without contacting any planetary surface, either within an atmosphere (i.e. air flight or aviation) or through the vacuum of outer space (i.e. spaceflight). This can be a ...

'' volume 2-7 (2005-2010), and later collected as a complete graphic novel, published by Image Comics in October 2010. He has produced a 10-issue comic book series, ''ZED'' (2001-2013), which was collected and published by Image Comics in 2013 as, ''ZED: A Cosmic Tale''. He is known for his work as an artist for the card game

Xeko ''Xeko'' is an out-of-print collectible card game revolving around endangered species. It was launched on Earthday 2006. It won the ''Creative Child Magazine'' 2006 Toy of the Year Award and the National Parenting Center's Seal of Approval in its ...

Awards

* 2013 -

Eisner Award The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, commonly shortened to the Eisner Awards, are prizes given for creative achievement in American comic books, sometimes referred to as the comics industry's equivalent of the Academy Awards. They are named in ...

(nomination): Best Comic Book Archival Project (Young Romance: The Best of Simon & Kirby's Romance Comics) * 2012 - BAFTA: Best Debut Game (Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet) * 2012 -

: Best Animated Video Game (Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet) * 2012 -

Interactive Achievement Awards The D.I.C.E. Awards (formerly the Interactive Achievement Awards) is an award show in the video game industry started in 1998 and commonly referred to in the industry as the "video games Oscar". The awards are arranged by the Academy of Interac ...

(nomination): Best Downloadable Game (Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet) * 2012 -

Spike Video Game Awards The Spike Video Game Awards (in short VGAs, known as the VGX for the final show) was an annual award show hosted by American television network Spike from 2003 to 2013 that recognized the best computer and video games of the year. Produced by ...

(nomination): Best Downloadable Game (Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet) * 2011 - Punto y Raya Festival: Third Prize (Sensology) * 2011 - Chester Award: Best Experimental/Art Film (Sensology) * 2009 -

Joe Shuster Award The Joe Shuster Canadian Comic Book Creator Awards (or Joe Shuster Awards) are given out annually for outstanding achievements in the creation of comic books, graphic novels, webcomics, and comics retailers and publishers by Canadian comics, Canadi ...

(nomination): Outstanding Canadian Comic Book Cartoonist (The Saga of Rex - Flight 5) * 2007 -

(nomination): Outstanding Canadian Comic Book Cartoonist (The Saga of Rex - Flight 3) * 2007 - Best in the SW Award: Best of Show/Best Animation/Best Interstitial (Insanely Twisted Shadow Puppets) * 2001 -

(nomination): Outstanding Individual Achievement in Effects Animation (Osmosis Jones) * 1999 -

(nomination): Outstanding Individual Achievement in Effects Animation (The Iron Giant) * 1998 -

(nomination): Outstanding Individual Achievement in Effects Animation (The Quest For Camelot) * 1996 -

(nomination): Outstanding Achievement in an Animated Short Subject (Prelude To Eden)

Filmography

* TBA - '' The Saga of Rex'' (Director/Producer/Animatior) * 2022 - ''

The Tiger's Apprentice '' The Tiger's Apprentice '' is an action-adventure fantasy novel by American author Laurence Yep. It was published in 2003 as the first in ''The Tiger's Apprentice'' trilogy. This story inserts ancient Chinese mythology into modern life in San F ...

'' (Visual Effects Development) * 2022 - '' East Mode With Nigel Ng'' (Taste Visualization Designer/Animator) * 2021 - '' Space Jam: A New Legacy'' (2D Special Effects Designer and Lead Animator) * 2019 - ''

Magic: The Gathering ''Magic: The Gathering'' (colloquially known as ''Magic'' or ''MTG'') is a tabletop and digital collectable card game created by Richard Garfield. Released in 1993 by Wizards of the Coast (now a subsidiary of Hasbro), ''Magic'' was the first ...

'' (Visual Effects Development) * 2018 - '' Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse'' (Visual Development) * 2017 - '' My Little Pony: The Movie'' (Special Effects Lead) * 2016 - '' Battleborn'' (Visual Effects Director) * 2014 - ''Synesthesia'' (Co-Producer/Director/Animator) * 2013 - '' The Saga of Rex Part 1: Abduction'' (Proof-of-concept teaser) (Producer/Director/Animator) * 2012 - '' Brave'' (Development Artist) * 2010 - ''Sensology'' (Producer/Director/Animator) * 2008 - ''

Horton Hears a Who! ''Horton Hears a Who!'' is a children's book written and illustrated by Theodor Seuss Geisel under the pen name Dr. Seuss. It was published in 1954 by Random House. This book tells the story of Horton the Elephant and his adventures saving Whovil ...

'' (Special Effects Animator) * 2007 - ''

Ratatouille Ratatouille ( , ), oc, ratatolha , is a French Provençal dish of stewed vegetables which originated in Nice, and is sometimes referred to as ''ratatouille niçoise'' (). Recipes and cooking times differ widely, but common ingredients include ...

'' (Taste Visualization Designer/Animator) * 2005 - ''Insanely Twisted Shadow Puppets'' (Creator/Director/Producer) * 2005 - ''

The X's ''The X's'' is an American animated television series created by Carlos Ramos for Nickelodeon. The series centers on a family of spies who must conceal their identity from the outside world, but often have trouble in doing so. It had a single ...

'' (Special Effects Animator) * 2005 - ''

The Life and Times of Juniper Lee ''The Life and Times of Juniper Lee'' (also known simply as ''Juniper Lee'' or ''Witch Girl Juniper Lee'') is an American animated television series created by former MTV reality star Judd Winick for Cartoon Network and produced by Cartoon Network ...

'' (Character Designs) * 2004 - ''

The Incredibles ''The Incredibles'' is a 2004 American computer-animated superhero film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. Written and directed by Brad Bird, it stars the voices of Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter, Sarah V ...

'' (Special Effects Consultant - uncredited) * 2003 - '' Star Wars: Clone Wars'' (Special Effects Designer) * 2002 - ''

The Powerpuff Girls Movie ''The Powerpuff Girls Movie'' is a 2002 American animated superhero film based on the Cartoon Network animated television series ''The Powerpuff Girls''. It was co-written and directed by series' creator Craig McCracken (in his directorial debut) ...

'' (Special Effects Animator/Designer) * 2002 - ''

Scooby-Doo ''Scooby-Doo'' is an American animation, animated media franchise based on an animated television series launched in 1969 and continued through several derivative List of Scooby-Doo media, media. Writers Joe Ruby and Ken Spears created the orig ...

'' (Conceptual Effects Animation) * 2001 - ''

'' (Head of 2D Special Effects/Title Sequence) * 1999 - ''

'' (Special Effects Animator/Supervisor) * 1998 - ''

'' (Head of Special Effects Animation) * 1996 - ''

Space Jam ''Space Jam'' is a 1996 American live-action/animated sports comedy film directed by Joe Pytka, with animation sequences directed by Bruce W. Smith and Tony Cervone, and written by Leo Benvenuti, Steve Rudnick, Timothy Harris, and Herschel We ...

'' (Additional Effects Animation - uncredited) * 1995 - ''Prelude to Eden'' (Producer/Director/Animator) * 1995 - ''

Mortal Kombat ''Mortal Kombat'' is an American media franchise centered on a series of video games originally developed by Midway Games in 1992. The development of the first game was originally based on an idea that Ed Boon and John Tobias had of making a v ...

'' (Special Effects Animator) * 1995 - ''

Vampire in Brooklyn ''Vampire in Brooklyn'' is a 1995 American dark comedy horror film directed by Wes Craven. It stars Eddie Murphy, who produced and wrote with his brothers Vernon Lynch and Charles Q. Murphy. The film co-stars Angela Bassett, Allen Payne, Kadeem ...

'' (Special Effects Animator) * 1995 - ''

Destiny Turns on the Radio ''Destiny Turns on the Radio'' is a 1995 American comedy film directed by Jack Baran. The film starred Dylan McDermott, Nancy Travis, Quentin Tarantino, James LeGros and James Belushi. It marked the film debut role of David Cross, and was the f ...

'' (Special Effects Animator) * 1995 - ''

Animated Stories from the New Testament Nest Family Entertainment is an American family entertainment company based in Coppell, Texas. It was formed in 1988 as Family Entertainment Network by Jared F. Brown, Stephen W. Griffin, and Seldon O. Young. The company has produced several dram ...

'' (Special Effects Animator) * 1994 - ''

The Swan Princess ''The Swan Princess'' is a 1994 American animated film, animated fantasy film based on the ballet ''Swan Lake''. Featuring Michelle Nicastro, Howard McGillin, Jack Palance, John Cleese, Steven Wright, Sandy Duncan, and Steve Vinovich, the film is ...

'' (Head of Special Effects Animation) * 1994 - ''

'' (Special Effects Animator) * 1993 - ''

Animated Stories from the Bible Nest Family Entertainment is an American family entertainment company based in Coppell, Texas. It was formed in 1988 as Family Entertainment Network by Jared F. Brown, Stephen W. Griffin, and Seldon O. Young. The company has produced several drama ...

'' (Special Effects Animator) * 1993 - ''

Animated Hero Classics Nest Family Entertainment is an American family entertainment company based in Coppell, Texas. It was formed in 1980 as Family Entertainment Network by Jared F. Brown, Stephen W. Griffin, and Seldon O. Young. The company has produced several drama ...

'' (Special Effects Animator) * 1993 - '' Demolition Man'' (Special Effects Animator) * 1993 - ''

Thumbelina Thumbelina (; da, Tommelise) is a literary fairy tale written by Danish author Hans Christian Andersen first published by C. A. Reitzel on 16 December 1835 in Copenhagen, Denmark, with "The Naughty Boy" and "The Travelling Companion" in t ...

'' (Special Effects Animator) * 1992 - '' Rock-a-Doodle'' (Special Effects Animator) * 1991 - ''

Rover Dangerfield ''Rover Dangerfield'' is a 1991 American animated musical comedy film starring the voice talent of comedian Rodney Dangerfield, who also wrote and co-produced the film. It is about a street dog named Rover, who is owned by a Las Vegas showgirl. Ro ...

'' (Special Effects Animator) * 1989 - ''

'' (Character Animator) * 1988 - ''

'' (Character Animator) * 1986 - ''

'' (Assistant Character Animator - uncredited) * 1986 - ''A Touch of Deceit'' (Student Film Producer / Director / Animator) * 1985 - ''For Better or for Worse: The Bestest Present'' (Animator)

Bibliography

* 2014 - Young Romance 2: The Early Simon and Kirby's Romance Comics (Editor) * 2013 - Explorer: The Lost Islands (Contributor) * 2013 - ZED: A Cosmic Tale * 2012 - Young Romance: The Best of Simon and Kirby's Romance Comics (Editor and Restoration) * 2010 - The Saga of Rex * 2010 - Flight: Volume 7 (Contributor) * 2009 - Elemental Magic: The Art of Special Effects Animation (Introduction) * 2009 - Flight: Volume 6 (Contributor) * 2008 - Wildlife from the Hotspots * 2008 - Flight: Volume 5 (Contributor) * 2007 - Flight: Volume 4 (Contributor) * 2006 - Flight: Volume 3 (Contributor) * 2008 - Flight: Volume 2 (Contributor) * 2005 - Odd Numbers * 2004 - Freaky Flora: From A to Z * 2004 - Parables: An Anthology * 2003 - Batman: Spore / Detective Comics #776-780 (Story and Art) * 2003 - The Towers of Numar * 2002 - A Search for Meaning: The Story of Rex (Color Edition) * 2002 - Frenzied Fauna: From A to Z * 2001 - Insanely Twisted Rabbits * 2000 - The Bird, the Spider and the Octopus * 2000 - The Great Shadow Migration * 1999 - The Mystery of He * 1998 - A Search for Meaning: The Story of Rex

References

External links

Gagné International Press
- Gagné's official web site *
Creativity After Hours: The Visual Evolutions of Michel Gagné
" Bob Miller, ''Animation World Magazine'', April 2000.

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gagne, Michel 1965 births Living people Canadian animators Canadian comics artists Canadian animated film directors Canadian animated film producers Canadian cartoonists People from Roberval, Quebec Sheridan College animation program alumni