Pendleton Ward

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Pendleton Ward
Rob Sorcher and Pendleton Ward, May 2015 (cropped).jpg
Ward at the 2015 Peabody Awards
BornWard Taylor Pendleton Johnston
(1982-09-23) September 23, 1982 (age 41)
San Antonio, Texas, U.S.
Pen name
  • Pen Ward
  • buenothebear
Occupation
  • Animator
  • writer
  • producer
  • director
  • voice actor
Education CalArts (BFA)
Genre Science fantasy
Adventure
Comedy drama
Years active2002–present
Notable works Adventure Time
Bravest Warriors
The Midnight Gospel

Ward Taylor Pendleton Johnston (born September 23, 1982), [1] known professionally as Pendleton Ward, is an American animator, screenwriter, producer, director, and voice actor who has worked for Cartoon Network Studios, Frederator Studios, and Netflix Animation. He created the series Adventure Time , [2] the Internet series Bravest Warriors , and the adult animated interview series The Midnight Gospel . [3]

Contents

Early life

Ward grew up in San Antonio, Texas and is the youngest of three brothers. Today he resides in Los Angeles. His mother Bettie (born 1947) is an artist. [4]

Ward became interested in animation at an early age, inspired by his mother, who is an artist and worked with animators. He started drawing flipbooks in first grade. He often worked with his best friend, Alec "The Logdog" Coates, on short comic books. He graduated from North East School of the Arts in San Antonio. [5]

Ward attended CalArts, where he became friends with J. G. Quintel and Alex Hirsch. They later worked on The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack together. Eric Homan, vice president of Frederator Studios, offered Ward a job at the studios after watching one of his films at the annual CalArts animation screenings. [6] Ward is a graduate of the school's Animation Program. [7]

Career

In 2002–2003, Ward published a webcomic titled Bueno the Bear. He later took down the comics because he thought they were "terrible". [8] However, he retains the name "buenothebear" for his website and his handle on sites such as Twitter. Ward created a student film titled Barrista starring Bueno the Bear, released in 2005 on Channel Frederator. [9]

Ward continued to work on short animations for Frederator's Random! Cartoons , which aired on the Nicktoons Network. There he worked with several people who would later join him on the Adventure Time series, including composer Casey James Basichis, Adam Muto and Niki Yang, many of whom had attended the California Institute of the Arts alongside Pen. His two shorts were The Bravest Warriors and the Adventure Time animated short. The Adventure Time short was made in 2006 and went on to become an internet phenomenon in 2007, with over a million views by November of that year. Ward initially pitched Adventure Time to Nickelodeon, but was rejected. It also took some time before Cartoon Network decided to pick it up.[ citation needed ]

In 2007, Ward was hired to work on the first season of Cartoon Network's The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack as a writer and storyboard artist. Created by Thurop Van Orman, Flapjack was a storyboard-driven show which allowed the storyboard artists to write all the dialogue and draw all the action based on an outline assigned to them. The artists each worked in pairs; Ward was partnered up with Mike Roth (who became the supervising producer of Regular Show ) and later Alex Hirsch (who has since gone on to create Gravity Falls and develop Fish Hooks ). Pen credits his experience with Flapjack and working under Orman's "fun factory" philosophy had a significant impact upon his own writing process. [10]

In 2012, Frederator Studios developed Bravest Warriors and turned it into a web series for the relaunch of Cartoon Hangover, however Ward has little involvement in the series. Former Adventure Time lead designer Phil Rynda worked on the redesigns of the characters for the series. The series premiered during the fall of 2012 through Cartoon Hangover's YouTube channel alongside a comic book series of the same name by Boom! Studios.[ citation needed ]

Ward released a short animation in support of LA Game Space that November, a project intending to build a games-focused exhibition space in Los Angeles. [11] [12] Ward announced development of a short game with Bennett Foddy entitled Cheque Please intended to be part of Experimental Game Pack 01, which the organization released in 2013. [13] [14] [15]

Sometime during the fifth season of Adventure Time, Ward abruptly stepped down as showrunner, explaining it was negatively affecting his "quality of life". In the October 2, 2014 edition of the Rolling Stone magazine, Ward stated "I quit because it was driving me nuts". However, he continued to work as one of the show's writers and storyboard artists until the end of season six, and still served as an executive producer up until the series finale. [16] In an interview with IndieWire prior to the debut of season seven, head writer Kent Osborne noted that Ward had stopped writing episode outlines at the beginning of season 7 but still looked over them and provided input. [17]

In 2017, Ward was credited as "Story Consultant" for the current hard-cover adventure for the 5th Edition of Dungeons & Dragons , "Tomb of Annihilation".[ citation needed ]

In 2019, Card of Darkness, an Apple Arcade exclusive game, was released with Ward serving as art director.[ citation needed ]

On March 16, 2020, a trailer was released for the adult animated Netflix original show The Midnight Gospel , [18] co-created by Ward and comedian Duncan Trussell. The plot reads, "Clancy is a space-caster who uses a multiverse simulator to interview beings living in other worlds." [18] Eight episodes of the show were released on Netflix on April 20, 2020.

In 2021, Ward was credited with special thanks in the Double Fine-developed video game Psychonauts 2 . [19] Allegedly, Ward created an animatic that expressed interest in having the opening of the game be about a pregnant Raz; this can be seen in-game in the level "Hollis' Hot Streak", where players are made to shoot a pen at a sign that spells out "Ward". [20]

At the inaugural Children's and Family Emmy Awards ceremony held in 2022, Ward and colleagues received an Emmy for "Outstanding Directing for an Animated Program" (alongside Ako Castuera, Luis Grane, Elizabeth Ito, and Bob Logan) for their work in City of Ghosts . [21]

Filmography

Pendleton Ward television work
YearTitleRole
2008–2009 Random! Cartoons Director, storyboard artist and character designer
Episodes: "Adventure Time", "Bravest Warriors" and "6 Monsters"
2008–2009 The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack Writer and storyboard artist
2010–2018 Adventure Time Creator, writer, storyboard artist, co-producer (Seasons 1–2), executive producer (Seasons 3–10) and showrunner (Seasons 1–5)
2014 Over the Garden Wall Writer and storyboard artist
Episode: "Songs of the Dark Lantern"
2015 Uncle Grandpa Director, writer, storyboard artist and writer
Episode: "Guest Directed Shorts"
2018 Steven Universe Storyboard artist
Episode: "Familiar"
2020 The Midnight Gospel Co-creator, director, writer, storyboard artist and executive producer
2020–2021 Adventure Time: Distant Lands Creator
2021 City of Ghosts Director and writer
Episode: "Bob & Nancy"
2022 Bee and PuppyCat Writer
Episode: "Gentle Touch" and "Funny Lying"
2023 Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake Creator
Pendleton Ward web series work
YearTitleRole
2012–2018 Bravest Warriors Creator
2014, 2016 Bee and PuppyCat Animatic editor, voice director and writer [22]
Episodes: "Food" and "Toast"
Pendleton Ward short film work
YearTitleRole
2007BarristaDirector, writer and animator
2011Pikapew Poop ChuDirector, Story, animatic and soundmixing
Pendleton Ward voice acting
YearTitleRoleNotes
2007BarristaBueno the Bear / SashaShort film
2008 Random! Cartoons Abraham Lincoln / Old ManEpisode: "Adventure Time"
2009 The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack Rower #1 / Sail BossEpisode: "Ben Boozled"
2010–2018 Adventure Time Lumpy Space Princess / Shelby / Abraham Lincoln / Additional voices85 episodes
2011Pikapew Poop ChuAsh / BrockShort film
2012 Bravest Warriors ComputerEpisode: "Emotion Lord"
2014 Broken Age GusVideo Game
2015 Uncle Grandpa Uncle Grandpa / Pizza SteveEpisode: "Guest Directed Shorts"
2016 The Simpsons Couch Gag singerEpisode: "Monty Burns' Fleeing Circus"
2020–2021 Adventure Time: Distant Lands Lumpy Space Princess / Additional voices3 episodes
2023 Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake Ellis P. / Additional Voices5 episodes

Influences

Ward has previously stated that his friends, many of whom he works alongside on Adventure Time, are his biggest drawing and animating influences. [23] In another interview, he explained that he was influenced by shows like The Ren & Stimpy Show , Beavis and Butt-Head , and The Simpsons . [24] He would later go on to be a couch gag singer in the latter show's episode "Monty Burns' Fleeing Circus" in Season 28.

Personal life

He is known for his reclusive nature and has no spouse or children. [25]

Related Research Articles

<i>Adventure Time</i> American animated television series

Adventure Time is an American fantasy animated television series created by Pendleton Ward and co-produced by Frederator Studios for Cartoon Network. The series follows the adventures of a boy named Finn and his best friend and adoptive brother Jake —a dog with the power to change size and shape at will. Finn and Jake live in the post-apocalyptic Land of Ooo, where they interact with Princess Bubblegum, the Ice King, Marceline, BMO, and others. The series is based on a 2007 short film that aired on Nicktoons. After the short became a viral hit on the Internet, Nickelodeon's executives passed on its option before Cartoon Network commissioned a full-length series from Fred Seibert and Ward, which was previewed on March 11, 2010. The same year, the series premiered on Cartoon Network on April 5, and it ended its eight-year run on September 3, 2018.

<i>The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack</i> American animated television series

The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack is an American animated television series created by Thurop Van Orman for Cartoon Network. It premiered in the United States on June 5, 2008. It stars Van Orman as the voice of Flapjack, a naïve young man who was raised by a whale named Bubbie and is mentored by a crusty old pirate named Captain K'nuckles. Together the trio spend their days in Stormalong Harbor, where most of the show takes place, while getting into mishaps on the search for the elusive Candied Island.

Mark "Thurop" Ashton Van Orman is an American cartoonist, animator, writer, producer, director, and voice actor. He is best known for being the creator and executive producer of the Cartoon Network series The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack (2008–2010), in which he voices the title character, as well as directing his directorial debut The Angry Birds Movie 2 (2019).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">J. G. Quintel</span> American animator

James Garland Quintel is an American animator, storyboard artist, director, writer, producer, and voice actor. He is best known as the creator of the Cartoon Network series Regular Show (2010–2017), in which he voiced Mordecai and High Five Ghost, and the HBO Max series Close Enough (2020–2022), in which he voiced Josh.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">It Came from the Nightosphere</span> 1st episode of the 2nd season of Adventure Time

"It Came from the Nightosphere" is the first episode of the second season of the American animated television series Adventure Time. The series follows the adventures of Finn, a human boy, and his best friend and adoptive brother Jake, a dog with magical powers to change shape and grow and shrink at will. In this episode, Finn releases Marceline's dad from the Nightosphere after Marceline sings a song about the relationship between her and her estranged father. However, Finn—who is begrudgingly aided by an enraged Marceline—is forced to stop him from stealing all the souls in Ooo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kent Osborne</span> American screenwriter and actor

Kent Matthew Osborne is an American screenwriter, actor, animator, producer, and director. He has worked for such animated television shows as SpongeBob SquarePants, Camp Lazlo, Phineas and Ferb, The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack, Adventure Time, Regular Show and The Amazing World of Gumball, he has received multiple Emmy Award nominations and has won twice for Adventure Time. He is currently the head writer for the Cartoon Network animated series Summer Camp Island, which premiered in 2018, and is also co-producer and story editor for the Disney Channel animated series Kiff. He has also starred in several mumblecore films, including Hannah Takes the Stairs, Nights and Weekends, All the Light in the Sky and Uncle Kent. His brother is the director Mark Osborne. Osborne had replaced Walt Dohrn as a storyboard director and writer after Dohrn left SpongeBob to work on more DreamWorks films in 2002.

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<i>Adventure Time</i> season 1 Season of television series

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References

  1. ↑ "Ward Taylor Pendleto Johnston, Texas Birth Index". familysearch.org.
  2. ↑ Weisman, Jon (August 14, 2013). "Emmy Wins Come Early for 'Adventure Time,' 'Portlandia,' 'Simpsons'". Variety . Penske Business Media . Retrieved August 14, 2013.
  3. ↑ Sims, Chris. "'Adventure Time' Creator Pendleton Ward's Next Project, 'Bravest Warriors,' Looks Awesome Archived 2012-05-14 at the Wayback Machine and Flapjack". Comics Alliance. February 8, 2012.
  4. ↑ "Bettie-Ward-Biography". www.anartegallery09.com. Archived from the original on June 23, 2016.
  5. ↑ "San Antonio native created one of Cartoon Network's best shows". November 10, 2022.
  6. ↑ Farago, Andrew. "Random Thoughts from Frederator Cartoonists Archived 2012-06-26 at the Wayback Machine ". Animation World Network . Thursday January 29, 2009. Retrieved on July 28, 2011.
  7. ↑ "Pendleton Ward Bio". Turner. Retrieved August 16, 2012.
  8. ↑ Xerexes, Xaviar (June 17, 2008). "Catching Up With Pendleton Ward". Comix Talk. Retrieved February 1, 2023.
  9. ↑ Baisley, Sarah (October 31, 2005). "Frederator Studios Launches Channel Frederator for Cartoon Podcasts". Animation World Network. Retrieved February 1, 2023.
  10. ↑ Lange, Ariane (September 15, 2014). "Inside The Marvelous Mind Of Thurop Van Orman". BuzzFeed. Retrieved June 26, 2023.
  11. ↑ "Support LA Game Space — Pendleton Ward, creator of Adventure Time".
  12. ↑ ""Adventure Time" Creator Needs Your Help with Games". Complex Networks .
  13. ↑ "LA Game Space Kickstarter games now available for non-backers". Polygon . September 18, 2013.
  14. ↑ "LA Game Space: Experimental Game Pack 01 - Windows".
  15. ↑ "Archived copy". gamepacks.net. Archived from the original on July 21, 2018. Retrieved January 12, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  16. ↑ Strauss, Neil (October 2, 2014). "'Adventure Time': The Trippiest Show on Television". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on October 4, 2014. Retrieved June 22, 2015.
  17. ↑ Kohn, Eric (June 18, 2015). "Kent Osborne Explains the Crazy Logic Behind 'Uncle Kent 2' and the 'Adventure Time' Connection". Indiewire . Snagfilms . Retrieved June 22, 2015.
  18. 1 2 "YouTube". www.youtube.com. Archived from the original on December 15, 2021. Retrieved March 27, 2020.
  19. ↑ "Psychonauts 2 Full Cast And Crew". IMDb .
  20. ↑ "Psychonauts 2 Hides An Mpreg Secret By The Creator of Adventure Time". September 8, 2021.
  21. ↑ Tinoco, Armando (December 11, 2022). "Children's & Family Emmys Complete Winners List: 'Heartstopper' Leads & 'The Baby-Sitters Club' Gets Recognition After Cancellation". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved December 15, 2022.
  22. ↑ "Bee and PuppyCat (TV Series 2013– )". IMDb.com. Retrieved October 21, 2017.
  23. ↑ Ewalt, David. "It's Adventure Time! Pendleton Ward Talks About His Hit Cartoon". Forbes . Retrieved August 16, 2012.
  24. ↑ DeMott, Rick. "Time for Some Adventure with Pendleton Ward." Animation World Network . Sunday April 25, 2010. Retrieved on November 20, 2010.
  25. ↑ Owens, Richard (August 15, 2019). "Who is Pendleton Ward Dating Now - Girlfriends & Biography (2023)". DatingCelebs. Retrieved December 23, 2023.
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