Rob Minkoff
Robert Ralph Minkoff (born August 11, 1962)[1] is an American filmmaker.[2] He is known for directing the Academy Award-winning Disney animated feature The Lion King (along with Roger Allers), along with directing Stuart Little, Stuart Little 2, The Haunted Mansion, and Mr. Peabody & Sherman.
Rob Minkoff | |
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Minkoff in 2011 | |
Born | Robert Ralph Minkoff August 11, 1962 Palo Alto, California, U.S. |
Education | Palo Alto High School |
Alma mater | California Institute of the Arts |
Occupation |
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Years active | 1985–present |
Notable work | The Lion King Stuart Little Stuart Little 2 The Haunted Mansion The Forbidden Kingdom Flypaper Mr. Peabody & Sherman |
Spouse(s) | Crystal Kung ( m. 2007) |
Children | 2 |
Early life
Minkoff was born to a Jewish family[3] in Palo Alto, California to Jack Robert Minkoff (1922–1998) and Tola Fay Minkoff (née Stebel).[4] He studied at Palo Alto High School and graduated from California Institute of the Arts in the early 1980s in the Character Animation department.
While he was working his way through CalArts, he was hired by Walt Disney Animation Studios in 1983 as an in-between artist for The Black Cauldron (1985). He was then a supervising animator for The Great Mouse Detective (1986), before being a character designer for The Brave Little Toaster (1987). He also wrote the song "Good Company" for Oliver & Company (1988), before becoming a character animator for The Little Mermaid (1989). He then became a director for two Roger Rabbit shorts called Tummy Trouble (1989) and Roller Coaster Rabbit (1990) and was a part of a pre-production script development for Beauty and the Beast (1991). He also directed a Mickey Mouse short, which was shown at Disney-MGM Studios, called Mickey's Audition (1992).
Career
Minkoff got his big break when he directed the Walt Disney Animation Studios feature film The Lion King (1994) alongside Roger Allers. Since then, he has directed his first live-action movies: Stuart Little (1999) Stuart Little 2 (2002), which were a mix of live action and computer animation, and then some fully live action movies like The Haunted Mansion (2003), The Forbidden Kingdom (2008) and Flypaper (2011).
He participates as a member of the jury for the NYICFF, a local New York City film festival dedicated to screening films for children between the ages of 3 and 18.[5]
He directed DreamWorks Animation's computer-animated film Mr. Peabody & Sherman.[6][7] He is also attached to direct the fantasy action adventure Chinese Odyssey.[8] As of 2014, he is producing Blazing Samurai, an animated family film inspired by Blazing Saddles and scheduled for a 2017 release.[9][10] Minkoff is also a director on the 2018 animated Netflix original animated series of the late Anna Dewdney picture book franchise Llama Llama, overseeing all aspects of production.[11]
Personal life
Minkoff met Crystal Kung at a party in his office in 2003, and they attended the Finding Nemo premiere as their first date. Minkoff proposed to her on Valentine's Day 2006, and they married on September 29, 2007.[12] They have a son named Max and a daughter named Zoe.[13][14]
Kung is a 76th-generation descendant of Confucius. Her brother is Jeffrey Kung,[12] a Chinese singer and radio VJ.
Filmography
Films
Year | Film | Director | Producer | Writer | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1991 | Beauty and the Beast | No | No | uncredited | Pre-production script development |
1994 | The Lion King | Yes | No | No | Co-directed with Roger Allers |
1999 | Stuart Little | Yes | No | No | |
2002 | Stuart Little 2 | Yes | executive | No | |
2003 | The Haunted Mansion | Yes | executive | No | |
2008 | The Forbidden Kingdom | Yes | No | No | |
2011 | Flypaper | Yes | No | No | |
2014 | Mr. Peabody & Sherman | Yes | No | No | Also voiced Creepy Kid |
2018 | Blazing Samurai | No | Yes | No | |
TBA | Chinese Odyssey[15] | Yes | Yes | No | |
Wolf Totem[16] | No | Yes | No | ||
Silkworms[16] | No | Yes | No | ||
Short films
Year | Film | Director | Writer | Producer | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1989 | Tummy Trouble | Yes | Story | No | Animated scenes |
1990 | Roller Coaster Rabbit | Yes | No | No | |
1993 | Trail Mix-Up | No | Story | Yes | |
Television
Year | Film | Director | Producer | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
2003 | Stuart Little | No | Yes | |
2009 | Leverage | Yes | No | Episode "The Mile High Job" |
2010 | Aftermath | Yes | Yes | Creator |
2015–2017 | The Mr. Peabody and Sherman Show | No | Yes | |
2018 | Rainbow Rangers | No | Yes | Co-creator |
Animator
Year | Film | Notes |
---|---|---|
1985 | The Black Cauldron | |
1986 | The Great Mouse Detective | |
1987 | Sport Goofy in Soccermania | |
Amazing Stories | Episode "Family Dog" | |
The Brave Little Toaster | Character Designer | |
1988 | Technological Threat | |
1989 | The Little Mermaid |
Songs
- Oliver & Company (1988) (music/lyrics: "Good Company")
References
- Rob Minkoff's middle name
- Rob Minkoff's bio
- Landes, Rachel X. (June 24, 2014). "Meet the 3 Jews Who Made 'The Lion King' Possible". Jewish Daily Forward.
- Rob Minkoff's parents and family
- NYICFF Jury
- "DreamWorks Animation Announces Feature Film Release Slate Through 2014" (Press release). DreamWorks Animation SKG, Inc. 2011-03-08. Retrieved 2011-03-08.
- "DreamWorks Animation Pushes Back Release for 'Mr. Peabody & Sherman'". The Hollywood Reporter. February 5, 2013. Retrieved February 6, 2013.
- Fernandez, Jay A. (2010-10-14). "Rob Minkoff sets sail for 'Chinese Odyssey'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2011-07-26.
- Hipes, Patrick (February 5, 2015). "Open Road Acquires Toon 'Blazing Samurai' For 2017 Release". Deadline. Retrieved May 2, 2015.
- Wiseman, Andreas (November 6, 2014). "GFM rides with Blazing Samurai". Screen Daily. Retrieved May 2, 2015.
- "Llama Llama bible" (PDF). Genius Brands. September 13, 2017. Retrieved September 13, 2017.
- Knox Beckius, Kim (2007). "A Leading Lady - Crystal Kung and Rob Minkoff". Grace Ormonde Wedding Style Magazine. Archived from the original on February 11, 2014. Retrieved February 11, 2014.
- Desowitz, Bill (July 19, 2013). "Immersed in Movies: 'How to Train Your Dragon 2' Wows Comic-Con". Animation Scoop. Retrieved July 20, 2013.
Minkoff then admitted that he is now the father of a 10-month-old son and that the movie has special meaning with the bonding of father and son.
- Churnin, Nancy (March 4, 2014). "Mr. Peabody director Rob Minkoff stops in Dallas, talks movies that move him". The Dallas Morning News. Retrieved November 14, 2014.
- Fernandez, Jay A. (October 14, 2010). "Rob Minkoff sets sail for 'Chinese Odyssey'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved July 26, 2011.
- Mercedes Milligan. "Le Vision, Rob Minkoff Partner for Animated Wolf Totem". animationmagazine.net. Retrieved December 10, 2016.