Chris Sanders
Encyclopedia
- For other people with the same name see Chris Sanders (disambiguation).
Christopher Michael "Chris" Sanders (born March 15, 1960) is an American film animator and voice actor best-known for co-directing and co-writing the Disney animated feature Lilo & Stitch
Lilo & Stitch
This article is about the movie. For the television series, see Lilo & Stitch: The Series.Lilo & Stitch is a 2002 American animated feature produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released on June 21, 2002...
, and providing the voice of Experiment 626 from Lilo & Stitch
Lilo & Stitch
This article is about the movie. For the television series, see Lilo & Stitch: The Series.Lilo & Stitch is a 2002 American animated feature produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released on June 21, 2002...
and Leroy from Disney's Leroy & Stitch
Leroy & Stitch
Leroy & Stitch is an animated TV film produced by Walt Disney Television Animation. It is a spin-off film of the 2002 animated feature film Lilo & Stitch and the conclusion to the television series Lilo & Stitch: The Series and the franchise as well...
. After being later dismissed from Walt Disney Animation Studios, Sanders went on to work for DreamWorks Animation
DreamWorks Animation
DreamWorks Animation SKG, Inc. is an American animation studio based in Glendale, California that creates animated feature films, television program and online virtual worlds...
, directing the highly acclaimed animated feature film, How to Train Your Dragon
How to Train Your Dragon (film)
How to Train Your Dragon is a 2010 3D computer-animated action fantasy film by DreamWorks Animation loosely based on the 2003 book of the same name. The film stars the voices of Jay Baruchel, Gerard Butler, Craig Ferguson, America Ferrera, Jonah Hill, T.J. Miller, Kristen Wiig, and Christopher...
. He is currently serving as co-director on the upcoming feature, The Croods
The Croods
The Croods is an upcoming computer-animated film from DreamWorks Animation starring Nicolas Cage and Ryan Reynolds. The film is set in the prehistoric era, when a man's position as Leader of the Hunt is threatened by the arrival of a prehistoric genius who comes up with revolutionary new inventions...
.
Life and career
A 1984 graduate of the California Institute of the ArtsCalifornia Institute of the Arts
The California Institute of the Arts, commonly referred to as CalArts, is located in Valencia, in Los Angeles County, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the United States created specifically for students of both the visual and the...
, Sanders began his career as a character designer for Muppet Babies
Muppet Babies
Jim Henson's Muppet Babies is an American animated television series that aired from September 15, 1984 to November 2, 1991 on CBS. The show portrayed childhood versions of the Muppets living together in a large nursery in the care of a human woman called Nanny...
. He also served as a storyboard
Storyboard
Storyboards are graphic organizers in the form of illustrations or images displayed in sequence for the purpose of pre-visualizing a motion picture, animation, motion graphic or interactive media sequence....
artist, artistic director, and character designer on Beauty and the Beast
Beauty and the Beast (1991 film)
Beauty and the Beast is a 1991 American animated fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures. The thirtieth film in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series and the third film of the Disney Renaissance period...
, The Lion King
The Lion King
The Lion King is a 1994 American animated film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It is the 32nd feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series...
, and Mulan
Mulan
Mulan is a 1998 American animated film directed by Tony Bancroft and Barry Cook, with story by Robert D. San Souci and screenplay by Rita Hsiao, Philip LaZebnik, Chris Sanders, Eugenia Bostwick-Singer, and Raymond Singer. It was produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney...
.
On December 16, 2006 several internet animation fan sites, including AnimatedNews.com, reported that Sanders had been removed as the director of the upcoming Disney animated film American Dog by John Lasseter
John Lasseter
John Alan Lasseter is an American animator, director and the chief creative officer at Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios. He is also currently the Principal Creative Advisor for Walt Disney Imagineering....
. AnimatedNews.com and JimHillMedia.com (among others) speculated that Sanders was removed as director of American Dog allegedly because Lasseter thought Sanders's take on the film was "too quirky for its own good." After the departure of Sanders from Disney, directing duties were handed to Chris Williams, a Disney writer, and the film was retitled Bolt.
In March 2007, Variety reported that Chris Sanders had moved to DreamWorks
DreamWorks Animation
DreamWorks Animation SKG, Inc. is an American animation studio based in Glendale, California that creates animated feature films, television program and online virtual worlds...
and had then taken over as director on Crood Awakening, a project previously with Aardman Studios before their departure from DreamWorks. At the time, Chris had this to say about the move:
"I've been so anxious to start working on things, and so I talked to a lot of people...I like the way DreamWorks looks at animation. Animation still has a lot of different places to go, and I don't want to miss out on a chance to try some new things with it."
On September 24, 2008, Steward Street Blog reported that Sanders and Lilo & Stitch co-director and co-writer Dean DeBlois
Dean DeBlois
Dean DeBlois is a Canadian film director, film producer, screenwriter, animator and editor. He is best known for co-writing and co-directing The Oscar-nominated animated films Lilo & Stitch and How to Train Your Dragon , and for directing the acclaimed Sigur Rós documentary/music film...
would be screenwriting and directing How to Train Your Dragon
How to Train Your Dragon (film)
How to Train Your Dragon is a 2010 3D computer-animated action fantasy film by DreamWorks Animation loosely based on the 2003 book of the same name. The film stars the voices of Jay Baruchel, Gerard Butler, Craig Ferguson, America Ferrera, Jonah Hill, T.J. Miller, Kristen Wiig, and Christopher...
for DreamWorks Animation.
Sanders also draws the popular webcomic Kiskaloo, but, since a post from Chris on September 30, 2008 stating "I'll be drawing and posting the new comic in a just a couple of days!", hasn't been drawn since.
Despite his departure from Disney, Sanders reprised his role as Stitch in the English version of the Square Enix
Square Enix
is a Japanese video game and publishing company best known for its console role-playing game franchises, which include the Final Fantasy series, the Dragon Quest series, and the action-RPG Kingdom Hearts series...
/Disney collaboration game Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep.
External links
- Chris Sanders at DeviantArtDeviantArtdeviantART is an online community showcasing various forms of user-made artwork. It was first launched on August 7, 2000 by Scott Jarkoff, Matthew Stephens, Angelo Sotira and others. deviantArt, Inc...
- Official Site
- Twitter page
- Kiskaloo Web Comic