Simon Wells

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Simon Wells
Simon Wells in 1987.jpg
Wells on the set for Who Framed Roger Rabbit in 1987
Born (1961-10-19) 19 October 1961 (age 62)
Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England, U.K.
Occupation(s)Animator, director, writer
Years active1988–present
SpouseWendy Wells
Children2
Relatives

Simon Finlay Wells (born 1961) is an English film director of animation and live-action films. He is the great-grandson of author H. G. Wells, [1] and is best known for directing The Prince of Egypt with Brenda Chapman and Steve Hickner. [2] [3]

Contents

Early life and education

Born in Cambridge, he attended The Perse School and De Montfort University where he studied audio-visual design. Upon graduating he found a job at Richard Williams's studio where he animated commercials and other projects. Wells later supervised the animation on Who Framed Roger Rabbit .[ citation needed ]

Career

Wells began his film career by joining Richard Williams Animation, where he served as a supervising animator on Who Framed Roger Rabbit . After the closing of Richard Williams Animation, Wells became a member of Amblimation, a studio owned by Steven Spielberg, where he served as director on their only three films: An American Tail: Fievel Goes West , We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story and Balto . Wells was set to direct a sequel to Casper , but the project was cancelled.

After the closing of Amblimation, Wells joined DreamWorks where he worked as storyboard artist on many animated projects, and also directed The Prince of Egypt which was nominated for an Annie Award.

In 2002, Wells directed his first live-action film, a film adaptation of his great-grandfather's book The Time Machine .

Wells went back to DreamWorks Animation, where he continued as a story artist for films such as Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron (2002), Shrek 2 (2004), Madagascar (2005) and Flushed Away (2006). [4]

In 2011 he co-wrote and directed Mars Needs Moms using motion-capture technology during the filming. [5]

Filmography

Director

Story artist

Additional story artist

Other credits

YearTitleRole
1988 Who Framed Roger Rabbit supervising animator
1989 Back to the Future Part II consultant: Future
1990 Back to the Future Part III assistance/thanks
2001 Shrek special thanks
2004 The Polar Express digital visual concept consultant
2008 Kung Fu Panda action sequence supervisor

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References

  1. "20 years ago, H.G. Wells' great-grandson reimagined a time travel classic". Inverse. 10 May 2022. Retrieved 3 April 2024.
  2. Sciences, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and. "'The Prince of Egypt' Directors Look Back on Their Animated Landmark 25 Years Later (Exclusive)". A.frame. Retrieved 3 April 2024.
  3. "You are being redirected..." www.animationmagazine.net. Retrieved 3 April 2024.
  4. Wells, Simon. "Mars Needs Moms, but Earth needs Director Simon Wells!". animatedviews.com. Josh Armstrong. Retrieved 11 March 2018.
  5. Crislip, Anthony (18 June 2023). "How Disney's Mars Needs Moms Became 2011's Biggest Box Office Flop". SlashFilm. Retrieved 3 April 2024.