Eric Darnell
Encyclopedia
Eric Darnell is an American
director
, writer
, voice actor, songwriter
and animator
. He is best known for co-directing Antz
with Tim Johnson
, as well as co-directing Madagascar
and Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa with Tom McGrath
.
Darnell attended Shawnee Mission East High School
in Prairie Village, Kansas
, where he was a writer for the school newspaper the Harbinger. He studied broadcast journalism at the University of Colorado at Boulder
. After graduating in 1983, he spent four years working on experimental films, which helped him get accepted into the Experimental Animation program study at the California Institute of the Arts
.
He directed the music video
for the 1989 R.E.M.
song "Get Up
".
When Darnell graduated, he joined Pacific Data Images
, where he worked as a character animator on the 1991 Hanna-Barbera
Halloween
special The Last Holloween
. He also directed the short film Gas Planet. In 1998, he made his directorial debut for the movie Antz
for PDI/DreamWorks. He worked on research and development for PDI in The Prince of Egypt
. He then worked as the writer for the song "Welcome to Duloc" on the 2001 film Shrek
, for which he also worked as story artist.
He and Tom McGrath directed Madagascar in 2005 and its sequel, Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa in 2008. He was co-writer for the Christmas TV Special
A Merry Madagascar
.
He is currently directing Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted, which will premiere in the summer of 2012.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
, writer
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
, voice actor, songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
and animator
Animator
An animator is an artist who creates multiple images that give an illusion of movement called animation when displayed in rapid sequence; the images are called frames and key frames. Animators can work in a variety of fields including film, television, video games, and the internet. Usually, an...
. He is best known for co-directing Antz
Antz
Antz is a 1998 American computer animated action adventure film produced by DreamWorks Animation. It features the voices of well-known actors such as Woody Allen, Sharon Stone, Jennifer Lopez, Sylvester Stallone, Dan Aykroyd, Anne Bancroft, Gene Hackman, Christopher Walken, and Danny Glover as...
with Tim Johnson
Tim Johnson (film director)
Tim Johnson is an American animation director specializing in CGI animation. Johnson has directed in many films such as Antz, Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas and Over the Hedge.-Career:...
, as well as co-directing Madagascar
Madagascar (2005 film)
Madagascar is a 2005 computer-animated film produced by DreamWorks Animation, and released in movie theaters on May 27, 2005. The film tells the story of four Central Park Zoo animals who have spent their lives in blissful captivity and are unexpectedly shipped back to Africa, getting shipwrecked...
and Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa with Tom McGrath
Tom McGrath (animator)
Thomas "Tom" McGrath is an American voice actor and animator who co-directed the 2005 feature Madagascar and its sequel, Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa in 2008. He has also worked as a voice actor on other DreamWorks animated features like Flushed Away in 2006 and Shrek the Third in 2007...
.
Darnell attended Shawnee Mission East High School
Shawnee Mission East High School
Shawnee Mission East High School is a public secondary school in Prairie Village, Kansas, USA for grades 9–12. It is one of five schools operated by Unified School District 512....
in Prairie Village, Kansas
Prairie Village, Kansas
Prairie Village is a city in Johnson County, Kansas, United States, and is a suburb of Kansas City, Missouri. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 21,447.- History :...
, where he was a writer for the school newspaper the Harbinger. He studied broadcast journalism at the University of Colorado at Boulder
University of Colorado at Boulder
The University of Colorado Boulder is a public research university located in Boulder, Colorado...
. After graduating in 1983, he spent four years working on experimental films, which helped him get accepted into the Experimental Animation program study at the California Institute of the Arts
California 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...
.
He directed the music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
for the 1989 R.E.M.
R.E.M.
R.E.M. was an American rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by singer Michael Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills and drummer Bill Berry. One of the first popular alternative rock bands, R.E.M. gained early attention due to Buck's ringing, arpeggiated guitar style and Stipe's...
song "Get Up
Get Up (R.E.M. song)
"Get Up" was the fourth and final single to be released by R.E.M. from the band's sixth studio album Green. It was included in the limited edition Singleactiongreen box set released in November 1989. The song was released as a single only in the U.S. but failed to chart on the Billboard Hot...
".
When Darnell graduated, he joined Pacific Data Images
Pacific Data Images
Pacific Data Images is a computer animation production company that was bought by DreamWorks SKG. The company is now known as PDI/DreamWorks and is half of DreamWorks Animation SKG, Inc., the public company formed by merging PDI and the feature animation division of DreamWorks.-History:PDI was...
, where he worked as a character animator on the 1991 Hanna-Barbera
Hanna-Barbera
Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc. was an American animation studio that dominated North American television animation during the second half of the 20th century...
Halloween
Halloween
Hallowe'en , also known as Halloween or All Hallows' Eve, is a yearly holiday observed around the world on October 31, the night before All Saints' Day...
special The Last Holloween
The Last Holloween
The Last Halloween is a 1991 live action/animated Halloween television special produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions. The program received an Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Special Visual Effects...
. He also directed the short film Gas Planet. In 1998, he made his directorial debut for the movie Antz
Antz
Antz is a 1998 American computer animated action adventure film produced by DreamWorks Animation. It features the voices of well-known actors such as Woody Allen, Sharon Stone, Jennifer Lopez, Sylvester Stallone, Dan Aykroyd, Anne Bancroft, Gene Hackman, Christopher Walken, and Danny Glover as...
for PDI/DreamWorks. He worked on research and development for PDI in The Prince of Egypt
The Prince of Egypt
The Prince of Egypt is a 1998 American animated musical drama film and the first traditionally animated film produced and released by DreamWorks Animation. The film is an adaptation of the Book of Exodus and follows the life of Moses from being a prince of Egypt to his ultimate destiny to lead the...
. He then worked as the writer for the song "Welcome to Duloc" on the 2001 film Shrek
Shrek
Shrek is a 2001 American computer-animated fantasy comedy film directed by Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson, featuring the voices of Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, and John Lithgow. Loosely based on William Steig's 1990 fairy tale picture book Shrek!...
, for which he also worked as story artist.
He and Tom McGrath directed Madagascar in 2005 and its sequel, Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa in 2008. He was co-writer for the Christmas TV Special
Christmas Special (TV special)
Christmas Special is the sixth episode and the first holiday special on the part documentary and part rock-mockumentary musical comedy series The Naked Brothers Band, which was created by Polly Draper. The premise of Christmas Special is that Nat has the holiday blues since Rosalina's letters from...
A Merry Madagascar
Merry Madagascar
Merry Madagascar is a Christmas special first broadcast on the NBC network on November 17, 2009, which starred the characters from the Madagascar film series. The story appears to take place sometime between the first and second film...
.
He is currently directing Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted, which will premiere in the summer of 2012.
Filmography
- Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted (2012)
- Merry MadagascarMerry MadagascarMerry Madagascar is a Christmas special first broadcast on the NBC network on November 17, 2009, which starred the characters from the Madagascar film series. The story appears to take place sometime between the first and second film...
(2009) - The Penguins of MadagascarThe Penguins of MadagascarThe Penguins of Madagascar is an American CGI animated television series airing on Nickelodeon. It stars nine characters from the DreamWorks Animation animated film Madagascar: The penguins Skipper , Kowalski , Private , and Rico ; the lemurs King Julien , Maurice , and Mort...
(2009) - Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (2008)
- MadagascarMadagascar (2005 film)Madagascar is a 2005 computer-animated film produced by DreamWorks Animation, and released in movie theaters on May 27, 2005. The film tells the story of four Central Park Zoo animals who have spent their lives in blissful captivity and are unexpectedly shipped back to Africa, getting shipwrecked...
(2005) - AntzAntzAntz is a 1998 American computer animated action adventure film produced by DreamWorks Animation. It features the voices of well-known actors such as Woody Allen, Sharon Stone, Jennifer Lopez, Sylvester Stallone, Dan Aykroyd, Anne Bancroft, Gene Hackman, Christopher Walken, and Danny Glover as...
(1998) - Big Smoke (1993, PDIPacific Data ImagesPacific Data Images is a computer animation production company that was bought by DreamWorks SKG. The company is now known as PDI/DreamWorks and is half of DreamWorks Animation SKG, Inc., the public company formed by merging PDI and the feature animation division of DreamWorks.-History:PDI was...
) - Gas Planet (1992, PDIPacific Data ImagesPacific Data Images is a computer animation production company that was bought by DreamWorks SKG. The company is now known as PDI/DreamWorks and is half of DreamWorks Animation SKG, Inc., the public company formed by merging PDI and the feature animation division of DreamWorks.-History:PDI was...
) - "Get UpGet Up (R.E.M. song)"Get Up" was the fourth and final single to be released by R.E.M. from the band's sixth studio album Green. It was included in the limited edition Singleactiongreen box set released in November 1989. The song was released as a single only in the U.S. but failed to chart on the Billboard Hot...
" music video - Filter Gallery (1991, CalArts)