Dan Scanlon

Dan Scanlon
Scanlon at the 2013 Annecy International Animated Film Festival
Born (1976-06-21) June 21, 1976 (age 48)[1][2]
Clawson, Michigan, U.S.[3]
Alma materColumbus College of Art and Design
Occupations
  • Film director
  • screenwriter
  • storyboard artist
  • animator
Years active1998–present
EmployerPixar Animation Studios (2001–2024)
SpouseMichele Scanlon

Daniel Scanlon (born June 21, 1976) is an American filmmaker, storyboard artist, and animator. He is best known for directing the Pixar animated films Monsters University (2013) and Onward (2020), with the latter nominating him for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.[4]

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 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 of Monsters, Inc., 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] It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, but lost to another Pixar film Soul.[9]

In February 2021, Scanlon stated that he and Kori Rae would develop another original Pixar feature film.[10] In November 2024, Scanlon stated he was leaving Pixar, but would not be against working with the company in a consultancy role in the future.[11][12][13]

Filmography

Feature films

Year Title Director Writer Executive
Producer 		Story
Artist 		Animator:
Character
Builder 		Additional
Voices 		Other Notes
2000 The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea No No No Yes No No No Direct-to-video
Joseph: King of Dreams No No No No Yes No No
2003 101 Dalmatians II: Patch's London Adventure No No No Yes No No No
2006 Cars No No No Yes No Yes Yes Additional Screenplay Material
2007 Ratatouille No No No No No No Yes Pixar Productions
2010 Toy Story 3 No No No Yes No No No
2011 Cars 2 No No No No No No Yes Pixar Senior Creative Team
2012 Brave No No No No No No Yes
2013 Monsters University Yes Yes No No No Yes Yes
2015 Inside Out No No No No No No Yes
The Good Dinosaur No No No No No No Yes
2016 Finding Dory No No No No No No Yes
2017 Cars 3 No No No No No No Yes
Coco No No No No No No Yes
2018 Incredibles 2 No No No No No No Yes
2019 Toy Story 4 No No No No No No Yes
2020 Onward Yes Yes No No No Yes Yes
Soul No No Yes No No No Yes
2021 Luca No No No No No No Yes
2022 Turning Red No No Yes No No No Yes
Lightyear No No No No No No Yes
2023 Elemental No No No No No No Yes
2024 Inside Out 2 No No Yes No No No Yes
2025 Elio No No No No No No Yes

Independent Films

Year Title Director Writer Producer Film Editor Cinematographer Puppeteer Sound Mixer Animator Other Role Notes
2009 Tracy[14] Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Dan Sullivan Extras, Artwork, Song Lyricist

Short films and series

Year Title Director Writer Animator Executive
Producer 		Notes
2000 The Indescribable Nth No No Yes No
2006 Mater and the Ghostlight Co-Director Original Story No No
2013 Party Central No No No Yes
2022 Cars on the Road No No No Yes Pixar Senior Creative Team (“Gettin’ Hitched”), Disney+ Original short films
2024 Dream Productions No No No Yes Disney+ Original long-form limited series

Other Credits

Year Title Notes
2008 Cars Toons: Mater's Tall Tales Special Thanks
2017 Lou
2019 Purl
Float
2020 Out

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. ^ a b c d Kirkland, Bruce (November 5, 2006). "Life as an animator at Pixar". Canoe. Archived from the original on January 20, 2013. 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. ^ a b Bell, Crystal (June 7, 2017). "Pixar's New 'Suburban Fantasy' Sounds Like A Real Tearjerker". MTV. Archived from the original on July 18, 2017. 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.
  9. ^ "93rd Academy Awards Nominees". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on March 15, 2021. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
  10. ^ Grobar, Matt (February 15, 2021). "Onward Director Dan Scanlon Subverts Fantasy Tropes, Channels Pain Into Art With His "Love Letter To Siblings"". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved January 3, 2024. Kori Rae and I are in development at Pixar, working on ideas for a new movie. We'll pitch those, and there's stuff we're very excited about.
  11. ^ Dan Scanlon [@MrDanScanlon] (November 15, 2024). ""Pixar" 1 of 5" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  12. ^ Dan Scanlon [@MrDanScanlon] (November 16, 2024). "LOVE Pixar, but want to move on from full-time writing/directing family entertainment" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  13. ^ Dan Scanlon [@MrDanScanlon] (November 16, 2024). "I LOVE story consulting on animated films and I'm available to help out part-time at any studio that will have me. Would LOVE to help out at Pixar again :)" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  14. ^ Cavna, Michael (June 14, 2013). "For Dan Scanlon, directing Pixar's 'Monsters University' marks a big career leap". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 9, 2020.