Daniel Chong

For the San Diego student detained in a DEA holding room, see Incarceration of Daniel Chong.
Daniel Chong
Born (1978-11-19) November 19, 1978 (age 46)
Fargo, North Dakota, U.S.
Occupations
  • Animator
  • storyboard artist
  • writer
  • director
  • producer
Years active2008–present
Known forWe Bare Bears

Daniel Chong (born November 19, 1978) is an American animator, storyboard artist, writer, director, and producer. He is best known as the creator of Cartoon Network's television series We Bare Bears (2015–2019). He also directed, wrote and executive produced We Bare Bears: The Movie (2020). He is also writing and directing the upcoming Pixar film Hoppers (2026).[1]

Early life

Chong was born in Fargo, North Dakota, to Singaporean Chinese immigrants. He grew up in Fountain Valley, California, and attended California Institute of the Arts. He currently resides in Los Angeles, California.

Career

Chong began his career as a storyboard artist for numerous animation giants, such as Blue Sky Studios, Walt Disney Animation Studios, Illumination Entertainment, and Pixar Animation Studios.[2] He worked as a storyboard artist on the animated films Bolt (2008), Cars 2 (2011), Dr. Seuss' The Lorax (2012), Free Birds (2013), and Inside Out (2015).

While working at Pixar, Chong worked on the television specials Toy Story of Terror! (2013) and Toy Story That Time Forgot (2014), the former of which won him an Annie Award.[3]

Chong went on to create the animated series We Bare Bears, which premiered on Cartoon Network in 2015. The initial idea for We Bare Bears came from a webcomic that he had created in 2010 called The Three Bare Bears. The webcomic ended almost a year later, but he carried the idea with him.[2] Chong has cited Seinfeld, Broad City, Peanuts, Aardman Animations and Wes Anderson as inspirations for the style and tone of the show.[4] Chong directed, wrote, and executive produced a film adaptation of the series, We Bare Bears: The Movie, which was released in June 2020, thus ending the series.[5]

In December 2020, Chong revealed on Twitter that he had returned to Pixar and was working on a project there.[6] The film was officially revealed as Hoppers in August 2024 to be released on March 6, 2026.[1][7]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Director Writer Executive
Producer 		Story
Artist 		Pixar Senior
Creative Team
2008 Bolt[2] No No No Yes No
2011 Cars 2[2] No No No Yes No
2012 Dr. Seuss' The Lorax[2] No No No Yes No
2013 Free Birds[2] No No No Additional No
2015 Inside Out[2] No No No Yes No
2020 We Bare Bears: The Movie[5] Yes Yes Yes Yes No
2022 Turning Red No No No No Yes
Lightyear No No No No Yes
2023 Elemental No No No No Yes
2024 Inside Out 2 No No No No Yes
2025 Elio No No No No Yes
2026 Hoppers[1] Yes Yes No No Yes
Toy Story 5 No No No No Yes
TBA Incredibles 3 No No No No Yes

Television

Year Title Creator Writer Executive
Producer 		Story
Artist 		Notes
2010–2011 Cars Toon: Mater's Tall Tales No Story No No Episodes: "Moon Mater", "Mater Private Eye", "Air Mater"
2013 Toy Story of Terror![3] No No No Yes TV specials
2014 Toy Story That Time Forgot No No No Yes
2015–2019 We Bare Bears[2] Yes Yes Yes Yes 141 episodes
2022–present We Baby Bears No No Yes No

Awards and nominations

Year Association Category Work Result
2014 Annie Awards Outstanding Achievement in Storyboarding in an Animated TV/Broadcast Production Toy Story of Terror Won
2016 BAFTA Children's Awards Best International We Bare Bears Won
2018 Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Short Form Animated Program Nominated

References

  1. ^ a b c Taylor, Drew (August 10, 2024). "Pixar Reveals New Original Film Hoppers Featuring Jon Hamm and Robotic Beavers". thewrap.com. The Wrap. Retrieved 10 August 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h "Interview with Daniel Chong, creator of We Bare Bears". Animac Magazine. Archived from the original on March 9, 2021. Retrieved September 8, 2016.
  3. ^ a b "49th Annual Annie Awards".
  4. ^ DeVoe, Elise (July 23, 2015). "A Q&A with We Bare Bears Creator Daniel Chong". Time Warner.
  5. ^ a b @cartoonnetwork (5 June 2020). "We Bare Bears The Movie will now be available starting Tuesday 6/30... Available on Apple, Google Play, Amazon! (USA and CA only)" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  6. ^ Daniel Chong [@threebarebears] (10 December 2020). "WELP guess there's no hiding it now- Happy to be back and developing something @Pixar!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  7. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (August 13, 2024). "Frozen 3 Gets Official Thanksgiving 2027 Release; Pixar's Hoppers Sets Spring 2026". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on August 13, 2024. Retrieved August 13, 2024.
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