Dan Scanlon

Dan Scanlon (born June 21, 1976) is an American animator, storyboard artist and director, working for Pixar, for whom he has directed Monsters University and Onward.[4]

Dan Scanlon
Scanlon at the 2013 Annecy International Animated Film Festival
Born	(1976-06-21) June 21, 1976[1][2] Clawson, Michigan, U.S.[3]
Alma mater	Columbus College of Art and Design
Occupation	Film director, Storyboard artist, Animator
Years active	1998–present
Employer	Pixar Animation Studios (2001–present)
Notable work	Monsters University Onward
Spouse(s)	Michele Scanlon

Early life

Scanlon grew up in Clawson, Michigan.[5] When he was one year old and his brother three years old, their father died, and when they were teenagers, a relative gave them a brief audio recording of their father. Scanlon has said that these experiences helped inspire the story of Onward.[6] He graduated with a BFA from the Columbus College of Art and Design in 1998.

Career

Scanlon was an animator for Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World, The Indescribable Nth and Joseph: King of Dreams. He served as a storyboard artist for The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea and 101 Dalmatians II: Patch's London Adventure.[3]

Scanlon joined Pixar in 2001,[3] where he was a story artist for Cars and Toy Story 3. He co-directed the short film Mater and the Ghostlight.[3] He illustrated part one of Unmentionables, a comic book written by his wife, Michele Scanlon, and wrote and directed the live-action feature film Tracy.[7] Tracy was Scanlon's first feature film as a writer/director. He also served as a member of the senior creative team on Brave and Inside Out.

Scanlon directed the prequel film Monsters University, released in 2013, to positive reviews and commercial success. He subsequently directed the fantasy-road trip film Onward (2020),[6] featuring the voices of Tom Holland, Chris Pratt, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Octavia Spencer.[8]

Scanlon and his wife Michele live in San Francisco and work together on projects under the production company name Caveat Productions.

Filmography

Year	Title	Director	Writer	Storyboard artist	Animation department	Executive Producer	Other
1998	Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World				Yes		Direct-to-video
2000	The Indescribable Nth				Yes		Short film
	The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea			Yes			Direct-to-video
	Joseph: King of Dreams				Yes
2002	The Hunchback of Notre Dame II			Yes
	101 Dalmatians II: Patch's London Adventure			Yes
2005	Tarzan II			Yes
2006	Cars			Yes		Yes	Additional voices
	Mater and the Ghostlight	Co-Director	Yes				Short film
2009	Tracy	Yes	Yes			Yes	Short film Also editor and cinematographer
2013	Monsters University	Yes	Yes
2020	Onward	Yes	Yes

References

1. Scanlon, Dan (February 25, 2012). "I've had one childhood dream since my birth in 1976, & it's to be followed by anyone & everyone responsible for "The Office."". Twitter. Retrieved July 7, 2012.
2. Scanlon, Dan (June 21, 2012). "Thanks automated emailing system at Jackson Square Dentistry for being the first to wish me a Happy Birthday. I love you". Twitter. Retrieved July 7, 2012.
3. Kirkland, Bruce (November 5, 2006). "Life as an animator at Pixar". Canoe. Retrieved July 7, 2012.
4. Variety Staff (July 14, 2017). "D23: Disney-Pixar Announces Untitled 'Suburban Fantasy' Movie". Variety. Retrieved July 14, 2017.
5. "C&G Newspapers". C&G Newspapers. C & G Publishing. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
6. Bell, Crystal (June 7, 2017). "Pixar's New 'Suburban Fantasy' Sounds Like A Real Tearjerker". MTV. Retrieved October 16, 2018.
7. Connelly, Brendon (March 31, 2011). "Dan Scanlon Is Directing Monsters University – But What Else Has He Done?". Bleeding Cool. Retrieved November 26, 2013.
8. Hipes, Patrick (December 12, 2018). "Pixar's 'Onward' To Star Chris Pratt, Tom Holland, Julia Louis-Dreyfus & Octavia Spencer". Deadline. Retrieved December 12, 2018.

External links

• Dan Scanlon on IMDb