Aaron Springer

Last updated
Aaron Springer
Alma mater California Institute of the Arts
Occupation(s)Writer, director, artist, animator, voice actor
Years active1994–present
Known for Billy Dilley's Super-Duper Subterranean Summer
Korgoth of Barbaria
SpongeBob SquarePants
Mickey Mouse
Website www.funtowne.com

Aaron Paul Springer is an American cartoonist, animator, artist, writer, director, and voice actor. He is the creator of the Disney XD original series Billy Dilley's Super-Duper Subterranean Summer , in which he voices the main character, Billy Dilley. He is best known for his work on the Nickelodeon animated series SpongeBob SquarePants , for which he contributed to as a writer, storyboard artist and storyboard director for eight seasons, as well as co-writing and storyboarding its 2004 film adaptation. He's also known for his work on the 2013-2019 Mickey Mouse cartoon series of shorts, which hearkens back to Mickey & Co.'s original style and aesthetic and slapstick-centric comedic adventures from The Golden Age of Animation in a more contemporary setting, where he wrote, directed, and provided storyboards, animation, and voice work for several episodes.

Contents

Career

A graduate of the California Institute of the Arts, Springer began his career in animation working for Spümcø. He was best known for creating pilots at Cartoon Network Studios that were never picked up as full series, but have developed cult followings. His most recognizable pilot was Korgoth of Barbaria for Adult Swim in 2006, which was originally picked up for a full series, because of its critical and commercial success with garnering high ratings. Later events, including a formal petition to revive the show, [1] would indicate that it was dropped before production began, due to high production costs. Springer also created Periwinkle Around the World back in 2004 for Cartoon Network, that was divided into five separate two-minute shorts, produced and directed by Genndy Tartakovsky. Refusing to pick it up as a full series, Cartoon Network instead was going to release five shorts from the pilot as mobile phone content, but ended up putting them in their Sunday Pants anthology series in 2005. Springer's last pilot for Cartoon Network was Baloobaloob's Fun Park in 2009, which was produced as part of The Cartoonstitute .

Springer gained notoriety through his efforts as a writer and storyboard artist on various movies and television series. His notable efforts include Samurai Jack (2002–2003), Dexter's Laboratory (2003), The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy (2005–2007) and SpongeBob SquarePants (1999–2012). More recently, he has contributed to Gravity Falls (2012–2013), Wander Over Yonder (2014) and the Mickey Mouse (2013–2015) television series.

Springer created Billy Dilley's Super-Duper Subterranean Summer for Disney XD, where he voices the main character, Billy Dilley. The show was first announced in 2014 as a potential pilot. In March 2016, it was confirmed that Disney XD has greenlit the show for a full series, and it officially premiered on June 3, 2017. As of 2019, Springer is currently at Warner Bros. Animation developing a new project.

Springer has collaborated with various animation veterans such as Lynne Naylor, Chris Reccardi, Alex Hirsch, Craig McCracken, Genndy Tartakovsky, Paul Rudish, Rumen Petkov, Dave Wasson, Rob Renzetti, Maxwell Atoms, C. H. Greenblatt, Dan Povenmire, Chris Savino, Stephen Hillenburg, and John Kricfalusi. Besides Billy Dilley, he has created numerous pilots for Cartoon Network and Adult Swim that, although never made into full series, have developed cult followings. Springer's cartoons are unique for their inclusion of extended gags, anthropomorphism and off-model poses. Springer has cited Richard Scarry, Sergio Aragonés, Frank Frazetta, Vaughn Bodē, Akira Toriyama, Hideshi Hino, Shigeru Mizuki and Hugo Pratt amongst his influences.

Filmography

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
1999–2012 SpongeBob SquarePants Real-life drummer ("Pre-Hibernation Week" episode)writer (Seasons 1–8)

director (Season 2) storyboard director (Seasons 1–8) storyboard artist (Season 1)

1999 A Day in the Life of Ranger Smith layout artist
2001 A Kitty Bobo Show animation layout artist
2002 Poochini storyboard artist ("The Dogsitter" & "Butterfly Season")
2002–2003 Samurai Jack writer/storyboard artist
2003 Dexter's Laboratory writer/storyboard artist
2004Periwinkle Around the Worldcreator/director/storyboard artist/layout artist
2005–2007 The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy story/storyboard artist
2005Sunday Pantswriter/storyboard artist/layout artist/executive producer
2006 Korgoth of Barbaria creator/writer/director/storyboard artist/character designer/executive producer
2009 Baloobaloob's Fun Park creator/director/storyboard artist
2012–2013 Gravity Falls director (season 1)
2013–2015 Mickey Mouse variouswriter/director/storyboard artist
2014 Wander Over Yonder additional voicesstory/writer/director/storyboard artist ("The Helper")
2017 Billy Dilley's Super-Duper Subterranean Summer [2] Billy Dilleycreator/executive producer/writer/storyboard artist
2023 Looney Tunes Cartoons writer/storyboard artist/character designer ("Crumb and Get It")
TBAUntitled Warner Bros. Animation conceptTBATBA

Film

YearTitleRoleNotes
1997A Sunday StrollStudent films
Baby's New Formula
Cats Don't Dance intern artist (uncredited)
2001Samurai Jack: The Premiere Moviestoryboard artist (uncredited)
2003 Looney Tunes: Back in Action storyboard artist
2004 The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie Laughing Bubblestoryboard artist/writer/character design
2007 SpongeBob's Atlantis SquarePantis written by live action segments
2020 The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run head of story
2022 Trick or Treat Scooby-Doo! storyboard artist

Music videos and Internet

YearTitleRoleNotes
1997 Björk: I Miss You storyboard/layout/animator [3]
Weekend Pussy Hunt storyboard/layout
What Pee Boners Are Forstoryboard/layout
1997–1998 The Goddamn George Liquor Program storyboard/layout/animator

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References

  1. Bring Back Korgoth of Barbaria on petitionhosting.com
  2. Amid Amidi (July 17, 2014). "Disney TV Inks Deals With Aaron Springer, Jhonen Vasquez, Jesse LeDoux, and Ryan Quincy" . Retrieved June 12, 2018.
  3. "Bjork Scrapbook - Page Six". spumco.com. Archived from the original on 1998-02-12. Retrieved 2019-07-04.