Conrad Vernon | |
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Born | Lubbock, Texas, U.S. | July 11, 1968
Occupations |
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Years active | 1991–present |
Conrad Vernon (born July 11, 1968) [1] is an American voice actor, director, producer, writer, and storyboard artist best known for his work on the DreamWorks animated film series Shrek as well as other films such as Monsters vs. Aliens , Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted , and Penguins of Madagascar . He also co-directed non-DreamWorks animated films such as Sony Pictures' Sausage Party and MGM's The Addams Family .
Vernon, a native of Lubbock, Texas, studied at CalArts and worked as a storyboard artist for animated productions (including Ralph Bakshi's Cool World ); [2] he also directed Morto the Magician (a four-minute animated film written by Steve Martin). [3]
Vernon began his career in 1991. [4] In 1996, he joined DreamWorks, where he worked as a storyboard artist on Antz . [4] After Antz proved a success as the first animated feature film to be produced by DreamWorks Animation, Vernon signed on as a writer for Shrek, where he was responsible for the Gingerbread Man, and eventually voiced that character. He also appeared in Shrek 4-D and Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas .
In June 2004, he made his feature film directorial debut with the Academy Award-nominated Shrek 2 . [4] He voiced Mason the chimpanzee for the DreamWorks Animation films Madagascar , Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa , Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted (for which he is also credited as director) and its spin off Penguins of Madagascar (where he voiced Rico, one of the penguins) and reprised the voice of Mason in the television series.
In 2009, Vernon and Rob Letterman co-directed the 3D animated film Monsters vs. Aliens , which he co-wrote and supplied several voices.
Vernon and Greg Tiernan co-directed the adult animated comedy Sausage Party (2016), from a story by Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, and Jonah Hill, as well as providing some of the voices. Vernon next co-produced and co-directed, again with Tiernan, an animated version of The Addams Family , which was released in October 2019. [2] He supplied voice roles for both Sausage Party and The Addams Family, including Lurch in the latter. He was scheduled to return as director alongside Tiernan for The Addams Family 2 , released in October 2021. [5] In October 2020, it was announced that he would no longer be involved as director, though he ultimately received co-billing with Tiernan. [6]
In 2017, Vernon was hired to direct a live-action feature adaptation of The Jetsons, from a screenplay by Matt Lieberman, which is being made by Warner Bros., under its Warner Animation Group banner. [7] [8]
Year | Title | Director | Producer | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
2001 | Morto the Magician | Yes | No | Short film |
2004 | Shrek 2 | Yes | No | Co-director with Andrew Adamson and Kelly Asbury |
2009 | Monsters vs. Aliens | Yes | No | Co-director with Rob Letterman |
2012 | Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted | Yes | No | Co-director with Eric Darnell and Tom McGrath |
2016 | Sausage Party [9] | Yes | Yes | Co-director with Greg Tiernan |
2019 | The Addams Family [10] | Yes | Yes | |
2021 | The Addams Family 2 [5] | Yes | Yes | |
2026 | Shrek 5 | Yes | No | Co-director with Walt Dohrn |
TBA | The Jetsons [11] [12] [13] | Yes | No | [14] |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1999 | Herd | Pesion | Live-action role |
2001 | Shrek | Gingerbread Man | |
Shrek in the Swamp Karaoke Dance Party | Short film | ||
2003 | Shrek 4-D | ||
Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas | Jed | ||
2004 | Shrek 2 | Gingerbread Man, Cedric, Announcer, Mongo, Muffin Man | |
Far Far Away Idol | Gingerbread Man | Short film | |
2005 | Madagascar | Mason | |
2005 | The Barnyard (pitch) | ||
2006 | Flushed Away | Take Out | |
2007 | Shrek the Third | Gingerbread Man, Rumpelstiltskin, Headless Horseman | |
Bee Movie | Freddy | ||
2008 | Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa | Mason | |
2009 | Monsters vs. Aliens | Advisor Hawk, Advisor Dither, Minister, Secret Service Man #2, Mama Dietl | |
2010 | Shrek Forever After | Gingerbread Man, Muffin Man | |
2011 | Kung Fu Panda 2 | Boar | |
Puss in Boots | Raoul | ||
2012 | Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted | Mason | |
2014 | Penguins of Madagascar [15] | Rico | |
2016 | Sausage Party [9] | Toilet paper, Sauerkraut, Grape, Catcall sausage, Beer can, Pop bottle | |
2017 | The Boss Baby | Eugene Francis | |
The Emoji Movie | Trojan Horse | ||
2019 | Trouble | Otis | |
The Addams Family | Lurch, Priest, Spirit of the House, Dr. Flambe, Ggerri | ||
2021 | The Addams Family 2 | Lurch, Spirit of the House | |
2022 | Puss in Boots: The Last Wish | Gingerbread Man |
Year | Title | Role |
---|---|---|
1991 | No Neck Joe | Special thanks |
1992 | Cool World | Character designer Effects animator |
1998 | Antz [4] | Storyboard artist |
2000 | The Road to El Dorado | Additional storyboard artist |
2001 | Shrek | Additional dialogue/story artist/writer: "Merry Men" |
2001 | The Human Spinning-Top | Writer of episode XII "The Human Spinning-Top is a dangerous hero" And Additional storyboard artist |
2003 | Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas | Additional storyboard artist |
2004 | Shark Tale | |
Shrek 2 | Additional dialogue | |
2005 | Madagascar | Creative consultant |
The Madagascar Penguins in a Christmas Caper | Creative consultant; Short film | |
2006 | Over the Hedge | Story artist |
2009 | Monsters vs. Aliens | Story writer |
2016 | Trolls | Additional story artist |
2017 | Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie | Special thanks |
The Emoji Movie | Additional sequence director | |
2019 | The Addams Family | Story writer |
Year | Title | Notes |
---|---|---|
1993 | Rocko's Modern Life | Storyboard artist, additional writer |
1993–94 | 2 Stupid Dogs | Storyboard artist |
1993–96 | The Itsy Bitsy Spider | Director |
1996 | Dexter's Laboratory | Storyboard artist, layout artist |
1997 | Nightmare Ned | Storyboard artist |
2012 | The High Fructose Adventures of Annoying Orange | Executive Producer, storyboard artist |
2024–present | Rock Paper Scissors | Executive Producer [16] |
Sausage Party: Foodtopia | Director | |
Year | Title | Role |
---|---|---|
2007 | Shrek the Halls | Gingerbread Man |
2009–12 | The Penguins of Madagascar | Mason |
2009 | Monsters vs. Aliens: Mutant Pumpkins from Outer Space | Man on Cell, Woman |
2010 | Scared Shrekless | Gingerbread Man, Muffin Man |
Kung Fu Panda Holiday Special | Boar | |
2012 | The High Fructose Adventures of Annoying Orange | Various |
Gravity Falls | Tate McGucket |
Shrek 2 is a 2004 American animated fantasy comedy film loosely based on the 1990 children's picture book Shrek! by William Steig. Directed by Andrew Adamson, Kelly Asbury, and Conrad Vernon from a screenplay by Adamson, Joe Stillman, and the writing team of J. David Stem and David N. Weiss, it is the sequel to Shrek (2001) and the second installment in the Shrek film series. The film stars Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, and Cameron Diaz, who reprise their respective voice roles of Shrek, Donkey, and Princess Fiona. They are joined by new characters voiced by Antonio Banderas, Julie Andrews, John Cleese, Rupert Everett, and Jennifer Saunders. Shrek 2 takes place following the events of the first film, with Shrek and Donkey meeting Fiona's parents as the zealous Fairy Godmother, who wants Fiona to marry her son Prince Charming, plots to destroy Shrek and Fiona's marriage. Shrek and Donkey team up with a sword-wielding cat named Puss in Boots to foil her plans.
Kelly Adam Asbury was an American film director, writer, voice actor, and illustrator. He was best known for directing the animated films Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron (2002), Gnomeo & Juliet (2011), Smurfs: The Lost Village (2017), and UglyDolls (2019).
Shrek is an American media franchise of DreamWorks Animation. Loosely based on William Steig's 1990 picture book Shrek!, the series primarily focuses on Shrek, a bad-tempered but good-hearted ogre, who begrudgingly accepts a quest to rescue a princess, resulting in him finding friends and going on many subsequent adventures in a fairy tale world. It includes four animated films: Shrek (2001), Shrek 2 (2004), Shrek the Third (2007), and Shrek Forever After (2010), with a fifth film, Shrek 5, currently in production for a 2026 release. A short 4-D film, Shrek 4-D, which originally was a theme park ride, was released in 2003. Two television specials, the Christmas television special Shrek the Halls (2007) and the Halloween television special Scared Shrekless (2010), have also been produced. Two spin-off films were made centered around the character Puss in Boots: 2011's Puss in Boots and its sequel, 2022's The Last Wish. Additionally, a stage musical adaptation was made and premiered at Broadway for more than a year (2008–2010).
Cody William Cameron is an American voice actor, film director and storyboard artist best known for directing Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2. He voiced many animated characters, including Pinocchio and the Three Little Pigs in the Shrek series and Mr. Weenie in the Open Season franchise.
Eric Darnell is an American animator, storyboard artist, director, screenwriter, songwriter and occasional voice actor best known for co-directing Antz with Tim Johnson, as well as co-directing and co-writing Madagascar, Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa and Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted with Tom McGrath, as well as the spin off Penguins of Madagascar (2014) with Simon J. Smith.
Peter A. Ramsey is an American illustrator, storyboard artist, and filmmaker. He is best known for directing DreamWorks Animation's Rise of the Guardians (2012), becoming the first African American to direct a major American animated film, and co-directing Sony Pictures Animation's Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018). For Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, he became the first African American to be nominated for and win an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.
Raman Hui Shing-Ngai is a Hong Kong animator, film director, and film producer. He is best known for directing the films Monster Hunt and Monster Hunt 2.
Thomas McGrath is an American voice actor, animator and filmmaker. He is known for the DreamWorks animated film Madagascar, which he co-wrote and directed with Eric Darnell while voicing the character of Skipper the Penguin. The film spawned two direct sequels, along with a spin-off animated series and film based on the penguins in which McGrath reprised his role as Skipper. McGrath also directed the DreamWorks animated films Megamind (2010) and The Boss Baby (2017), the latter of which received an Academy Award and Golden Globe Award nomination. McGrath returned as director for its 2021 sequel.
Shrek is a 2001 American animated fantasy comedy film loosely based on the 1990 children's picture book Shrek! by William Steig. Directed by Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson, and written by Ted Elliott, Terry Rossio, Joe Stillman, and Roger S. H. Schulman, it is the first installment in the Shrek film series. The film stars Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, and John Lithgow. In the film, an embittered ogre named Shrek (Myers) finds his home in the swamp overrun by fairy tale creatures banished by the obsessive ruler Lord Farquaad (Lithgow). With the help of Donkey (Murphy), Shrek makes a pact with Farquaad to rescue Princess Fiona (Diaz) in exchange for regaining control of his swamp.
Serguei Kouchnerov is a Belarusian-Ukrainian artist, animator, director, story artist and screenwriter. He started his career as an animator and director in Kiev, Ukraine. In 1992, he was hired by Walt Disney Feature Animation as a character animator and came to the United States of America, where he currently lives and works at Illumination Entertainment.
Madagascar is an American media franchise owned and produced by DreamWorks Animation. The voices of Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer and Jada Pinkett Smith are featured in the films. It began with the 2005 film Madagascar, the 2008 sequel Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa and the third film Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted in 2012. A spin-off film featuring the penguins, titled Penguins of Madagascar, was released in 2014. A fourth main film, Madagascar 4, was announced for 2018, but has since been removed from its schedule indefinitely due to the studio's restructuring.
Walter Dohrn is an American writer, director, animator, musician, and actor. He performed the voice of Rumpelstiltskin in Shrek Forever After (2010), as well as various characters in Shrek the Third (2007). He co-directed the film Trolls (2016) and directed its sequels, and voiced various characters in the franchise. He is directing Shrek 5, set for release in 2026. Dohrn has also worked as writer, director, and storyboard director in Season 2 of SpongeBob SquarePants, and he also worked on 2 episodes from Season 3. In 2020, Dohrn signed a deal with DreamWorks Animation.
Simon James Smith is a British animator, film director, and voice actor. He is best known for his work at DreamWorks Animation. Smith came to PDI/DreamWorks in 1997 as head of layout for the company's feature film division. A CG animation veteran with nearly 35 years of experience, Smith supervised the layout department on PDI/DreamWorks' first animated feature Antz (1998), serving as the head of layout in Shrek (2001). He then directed the Universal Studios Theatre experience Shrek 4-D, followed by the short Far Far Away Idol. His first feature film as a director was in 2007, with Bee Movie. He then directed another DVD short, Megamind: The Button of Doom, before co-directing, with Eric Darnell, the comedy/spy action spin-off from the Madagascar series, Penguins of Madagascar, the mini series Baymax Dreams for Disney, and is executive producer on Batwheels for Warner Bros.
David Soren is a Canadian director, writer, voice actor, and storyboard artist at DreamWorks Animation. His most notable work are TV specials based on the Madagascar film franchise: Merry Madagascar and Madly Madagascar. He directed the 2013 animated feature film Turbo, which is based on his own original concept, as well as the 2017 animated film Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie based on Dav Pilkey's Captain Underpants book series.
Gregory Tiernan is an Irish-born Canadian-based animator, director and voice artist. Along with his wife Nicole Stinn, he founded Nitrogen Studios Canada, Inc. in 2003, through which he introduced CGI to the Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends franchise. Prior to this, Tiernan collaborated on various projects with filmmaker Don Bluth, Walt Disney Animation Studios and Klasky Csupo, Inc. Nitrogen Studios was purchased by Cinesite and he now works for them.
Sausage Party is a 2016 adult animated comedy film directed by Conrad Vernon and Greg Tiernan, written by Kyle Hunter, Ariel Shaffir, Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, and based on a story by Rogen, Goldberg and Jonah Hill. The film stars the voices of Rogen, Kristen Wiig, Hill, Bill Hader, Michael Cera, James Franco, Danny McBride, Craig Robinson, Paul Rudd, Nick Kroll, David Krumholtz, Edward Norton, and Salma Hayek. A parody of Disney and Pixar films, the film follows an anthropomorphic sausage (Frankfurter) who lives in a supermarket and goes on a journey with his friends to escape their fate as groceries while also facing a malicious douche (Douche) out for revenge on him.
The Addams Family is a 2019 animated supernatural black comedy film based on the characters from the cartoon created by cartoonist Charles Addams. It was directed by Conrad Vernon and Greg Tiernan, with a screenplay by Matt Lieberman and a story by Lieberman, Erica Rivinoja, and Vernon. The film stars the voices of Oscar Isaac, Charlize Theron, Chloë Grace Moretz, Finn Wolfhard, Nick Kroll, Snoop Dogg, Bette Midler, and Allison Janney.
The Addams Family 2 is a 2021 animated supernatural black comedy film based on the characters created by Charles Addams and the sequel to The Addams Family (2019). It was directed by Greg Tiernan and Conrad Vernon and co-directed by Laura Brousseau and Kevin Pavlovic, from a screenplay by Dan Hernandez, Benji Samit, Ben Queen, and Susanna Fogel, and a story by Hernandez and Samit. The film stars the voices of Oscar Isaac, Charlize Theron, Chloë Grace Moretz, Nick Kroll, Javon Walton, Wallace Shawn, Snoop Dogg, Bette Midler, and Bill Hader. It tells the story of the Addams family as they go on a road trip.