Ash Brannon

Ash Brannon
Born	Columbus, Georgia, U.S.
Occupation(s)	Writer, director, visual artist, animator, producer
Years active	1989–present

Ash Brannon is an American writer, director, visual artist, animator, and producer. He was a story artist and directing animator on Toy Story ^[1] and co-director of Toy Story 2 . ^[2] He also directed and co-wrote the Sony Pictures Animation film Surf's Up . He also served as co-executive producer, story co-creator and writer on the Netflix animated series Arcane .

Early life

Brannon was born and raised in Columbus, Georgia.^{[ citation needed ]}

Career

Brannon studied visual arts at Douglas Anderson School of the Arts in Jacksonville, Florida and went on to attend CalArts in its Character Animation program. He was accepted as a summer trainee at Walt Disney Animation Studios where he worked as an animation inbetweener on Disney's 1989 film The Little Mermaid . From 1990 to 1992,^{[ citation needed ]} Brannon worked at Warner Bros. Animation as a story artist and animator for such projects as Nike's Hare Jordan Super Bowl ad in 1992.

In 1993 Brannon joined Pixar Animation Studios as a story artist on the studio's first two animated feature films Toy Story and A Bug's Life , as well as animation director on the former, before moving on to direct and help develop the storyline for Toy Story 2 . Initially planned as a direct-to-video feature, the film was expanded in scope to become a theatrical feature. Brannon won an Annie Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement for Directing in an Animated Feature Production and Outstanding Individual Achievement for Writing in an Animated Feature Production.^{[ citation needed ]} He was nominated for an Oscar in 2007 on Surf's Up .^{[ citation needed ]}

Brannon joined Riot Games in 2016 to help craft the storyline for its animated series Arcane . Additionally he served as a co-executive producer and writer on Season One. Brannon, along with the show's creative team, won an Emmy for Outstanding Animated Program.^{[ citation needed ]}

Most recently Brannon co-created the NFT animated series Stoner Cats . The six-episode series centers on an elderly woman suffering from Alzheimer's disease, and her five sentient housecats who must take care of her as she declines. The series was produced with partners Mila Kunis and Lisa Sterbakov of Orchard Farm Productions, and features a voice cast including Mila Kunis, Ashton Kutcher, Jane Fonda, Seth MacFarlane, and Chris Rock. ^[3]

Filmography

Films

Year	Film	Director	Writer	Animator	Story Artist	Other	Voice Role	Notes
1989	The Little Mermaid	No	No	No	No	Yes		Animation Trainee
1990	The Rescuers Down Under	No	No	No	No	Yes		Special Thanks
1995	Toy Story	No	No	Directing	Yes	No
1998	A Bug's Life	No	No	No	Yes	No
1999	Toy Story 2	Co-Director	Original Story	Yes	No	Yes		New Character Designs
2006	Over the Hedge	No	No	No	Additional	No
	Open Season	No	No	No	No	Yes		Special Thanks
2007	Surf's Up	Yes	Screenplay	No	No	Yes	Filmmaker #1
2016	Rock Dog	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Ian	[4]
2022	Hotel Transylvania: Transformania	No	No	No	Yes	No
2024	10 Lives	No	Original Story	No	No	No

Television

Year	Film	Director	Writer	Storyboard artist	Notes
1993	2 Stupid Dogs	No	No	Yes	Episode: "Red"
2021–23	Stoner Cats	Yes	Yes	No	7 episodes
2021	Arcane [5]	No	Yes	No	Episode: "The Base Violence Necessary for Change"; Netflix series

Video games

Year	Title	Notes
1995	Toy Story: The Video Game	Pixar: Animator
1996	Toy Story: Animated Storybook	Disco Godfather (as "Ashley Brannon")
1999	Toy Story 2: Buzz Lightyear to the Rescue	Special Thanks
	Toy Story 2 Activity Center

Accolades

Award	Date of ceremony	Category	Film	Result	Ref(s)
Academy Awards	February 24, 2008	Best Animated Feature	Surf's Up	Nominated	[6]
Annie Awards	November 11, 2000	Outstanding Individual Achievement for Directing in an Animated Feature Production	Toy Story 2	Won	[7]
		Outstanding Individual Achievement for Writing in an Animated Feature Production	Toy Story 2	Won
	February 8, 2008	Best Animated Feature	Surf's Up	Nominated	[8]
		Outstanding Achievement for Directing in an Animated Feature Production	Surf's Up	Nominated
		Outstanding Achievement for Writing in an Animated Feature Production	Surf's Up	Nominated
Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards	January 24, 2000	Best Animated Film	Toy Story 2	Won	[9]
Golden Rooster Awards	September 16, 2017	Best Animated Feature	Rock Dog	Nominated	[10]
Hugo Awards	September 1–5, 2022	Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form	Arcane(for "The Monster You Created")	Nominated	[11]
My Nick Awards	September 4, 2008	Movie of the Year	Surf's Up	Won	[12]
Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards	September 3–4, 2022	Outstanding Animated Program	Arcane(for "When These Walls Come Tumbling Down")	Won	[13]
Saturn Awards	June 24, 2008	Best Animated Feature	Surf's Up	Nominated	[14]
Shanghai International Film Festival	June 16, 2016	Best Animated Feature Film	Rock Dog	Nominated	[15] [16]

References

1. Price, David A. (5 May 2009). The Pixar Touch. Random House Digital. pp. 175–. ISBN   978-0-307-27829-6 . Retrieved 19 August 2011.
2. Clarke, Frederick S. (2002). Cinefantastique. Vol. 34. F. S. Clarke. p. 15. Retrieved 19 August 2011.
3. Weprin, Alex (2023-09-13). "SEC Files Charges Against NFT Project 'Stoner Cats' Starring Ashton Kutcher, Mila Kunis and More". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved 2024-01-13.
4. Amidi, Amid (3 August 2015). "5 Things You Need To Know About The Chinese/American Feature 'Rock Dog'". Cartoon Brew. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
5. "Arcane: When Will It Happen On Big Screens To Know Click Here!". Premiere Next. 13 January 2021. Archived from the original on 7 November 2021. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
6. "The 80th (2008) Academy Awards". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). Retrieved May 20, 2025.
7. "28th Annual Annie Award Nominees and Winners (2000)". Annie Awards. The International Animated Film Society, ASIFA-Hollywood. Archived from the original on April 24, 2008. Retrieved May 20, 2025.
8. "35th Annie Awards". ASIFA-Hollywood. Archived from the original on 2017-09-03. Retrieved 2025-05-20.
9. "2000 BROADCAST FILM CRITICS ASSOCIATION AWARDS". Hollywood.com . Archived from the original on November 23, 2013. Retrieved May 20, 2025.
10. Tencent VFE Team. "第31届中国电影金鸡奖颁奖典礼_腾讯视频". v.qq.com (in Chinese (China)). Retrieved 2025-05-20.
11. Codega, Linda (April 7, 2022). "The 2022 Hugo Award Nominations Are Here". Gizmodo . Archived from the original on April 8, 2022. Retrieved May 20, 2025.
12. "MPN: Natália Guimarães em premiação infanto-juvenil". Estrelando. Retrieved May 20, 2025.
13. "Arcane". Emmys.com. Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Archived from the original on October 24, 2022. Retrieved May 20, 2025.
14. "The 34th Annual Saturn Awards". Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films. Archived from the original on February 5, 2009. Retrieved May 20, 2025.
15. "《摇滚藏獒》入围金爵最佳动画片 郑钧6年磨一剑--江西频道--人民网". jx.people.com.cn. Retrieved 2025-05-20.^{[ permanent dead link ]}
16. Frater, Patrick (June 2, 2016). "Shanghai Festival Unveils Competition Lineup". Variety. Retrieved May 20, 2025.

External links

• Ash Brannon at IMDb