Tim McCanlies is a film 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:...

 and screenwriter

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:...

. He has attracted attention for his work writing and directing Secondhand Lions

Secondhand Lions

Secondhand Lions is a 2003 American dramedy film written and directed by Tim McCanlies. It tells the story of an introverted young boy who is sent to live with his eccentric uncles on a farm in the U.S...

, and wrote the screenplays for The Iron Giant

The Iron Giant

The Iron Giant is a 1999 animated film produced by Warner Bros. Animation, based on the 1968 novel The Iron Man by Ted Hughes. Brad Bird directed the film, which stars a voice cast of Jennifer Aniston, Harry Connick, Jr., Vin Diesel, Eli Marienthal, Christopher McDonald and John Mahoney...

and Dennis the Menace Strikes Again

Dennis the Menace Strikes Again

Dennis the Menace Strikes Again is a 1998 direct-to-video sequel to the 1993 theatrical feature Dennis the Menace. It was produced by Outlaw Productions and released by Warner Bros...

.

McCanlies attended high school in Bryan, Texas

Bryan, Texas

Bryan is a city in Brazos County, Texas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 76,201. It is the county seat of Brazos County and is located in the heart of the Brazos Valley . It shares its border with the city of College Station, which lies to its south...

 and took some college level courses at nearby Texas A&M University

Texas A&M University

Texas A&M University is a coeducational public research university located in College Station, Texas . It is the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System. The sixth-largest university in the United States, A&M's enrollment for Fall 2011 was over 50,000 for the first time in school...

. In 1971, he moved to Austin

Austin, Texas

Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...

 and enrolled at the University of Texas

University of Texas at Austin

The University of Texas at Austin is a state research university located in Austin, Texas, USA, and is the flagship institution of the The University of Texas System. Founded in 1883, its campus is located approximately from the Texas State Capitol in Austin...

 majoring in Radio-Television-Film

University of Texas at Austin Department of Radio-Television-Film

The Department of Radio-Television-Film at the University of Texas at Austin located in Austin, Texas, is one of the five departments comprising the College of Communication...

. After a couple of years, McCanlies transferred back to Texas A & M. In 1975, he moved to Dallas

Dallas, Texas

Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...

 where he worked as a police officer and took graduate film classes at Southern Methodist University

Southern Methodist University

Southern Methodist University is a private university in Dallas, Texas, United States. Founded in 1911 by the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, SMU operates campuses in Dallas, Plano, and Taos, New Mexico. SMU is owned by the South Central Jurisdiction of the United Methodist Church...

.

McCanlies worked for Walt Disney Studios

Walt Disney Pictures

Walt Disney Pictures is an American film studio owned by The Walt Disney Company. Walt Disney Pictures and Television, a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Studios and the main production company for live-action feature films within the Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group, based at the Walt Disney...

 in the 1980s since The Fox and the Hound as a story artist and wrote for all the major motion picture studios at one time or another. McCanlies made his directorial debut in his own independently produced feature Dancer, Texas Pop. 81

Dancer, Texas Pop. 81

Dancer, Texas Pop. 81 is a 1998 comedy film about four friends in the small, fictional American town of Dancer, located in Brewster County, Texas. As the title implies, only 81 people live in this town. Following their high school graduation, the four young men wrestle with their decisions to...

(1998).

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