David Kirschner | |
|---|---|
 Kirschner at the 2024 WonderCon | |
| Born | May 29, 1955 Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Alma mater | USC School of Cinematic Arts |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1983–present |
David Maxwell Kirschner (born May 29, 1955) is an American film and television producer and screenwriter. His producing credits include Don Bluth's An American Tail (also wrote) and Titan A.E. animated features as well as the Child's Play horror film series.
After studying at the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts, Kirschner began his career designing album cover art for Neil Diamond, most notably Neil Diamond's The Jazz Singer , and illustrating characters for the Muppets and Sesame Street . In 1983, Kirschner created and released children's book series Rose Petal Place , which spawned two Television specials, toys, clothing, and a wide array of licensed consumer products. In 1986, Kirschner created and executive produced An American Tail , which was co-executive produced by Steven Spielberg, and, at its release, was the highest-grossing non-Disney produced animated feature of all time. It was followed by its theatrical sequel An American Tail: Fievel Goes West (1991), the television series Fievel's American Tails , and two direct-to-video sequels. In 1986, David Kirschner signed a deal with United Artists Pictures and MGM/UA Television for development, production and distribution of major motion picture and television projects for a two-year deal. [1] Kirschner was appointed chairman of Hanna-Barbera Productions in 1989, where he wrote / created and executive produced many films, specials and shows, including Wake, Rattle & Roll , Gravedale High and The Pirates of Dark Water .
Kirschner is also creator of the Chucky animatronic doll which is featured in the Chucky series. He has produced all seven films in the original franchise, including the recent Curse of Chucky and Cult of Chucky , direct-to-video films made by Universal 1440 Entertainment. Other notable productions include 1997's Cats Don't Dance , winner of the 25th annual Annie Award for Best Animated Feature, [2] 2006's Curious George , based upon the book series of the same name, Martian Child , and Golden Globe-nominated Miss Potter . His 2010s/2020s work includes executive producer on Curious George , Hocus Pocus 2 (Disney+), Cult of Chucky (for Universal 1440 Entertainment), Random (In Pre-Production for The Weinstein Company) and Garden District (In-Development for Dimension Films). Kirschner is currently head of his own production company, David Kirschner Productions.
| Title | Year(s) | Functioned as | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Producer | Executive producer | Writer | |||
| Rose Petal Place | 1984 | Yes | No | Creator | Television animated short film |
| Rose Petal Place: Real Friends | 1985 | Yes | No | Creator | Television animated short film |
| An American Tail | 1986 | No | Yes | Creator / Story | Theatrical animated film |
| Child's Play | 1988 | Yes | No | No | Theatrical film / Created dolls |
| Poochinski | 1990 | No | Yes | Story | Television unsold pilot |
| Child's Play 2 | 1990 | Yes | No | No | Theatrical film / Created dolls |
| Gravedale High | 1990 | No | Yes | Creator | Television animated series (13 episodes) |
| The Dreamer of Oz: The L. Frank Baum Story | 1990 | No | Yes | Story | Television film |
| Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventures | 1990 | No | Yes | No | Television animated series (13 episodes) |
| Wake, Rattle and Roll | 1990–1991 | No | Yes | Creator | Television live action / animated series (50 episodes) |
| Child's Play 3 | 1991 | No | Yes | No | Theatrical film / Created dolls |
| The Last Halloween | 1991 | No | Yes | No | Television live action / animated special |
| An American Tail: Fievel Goes West | 1991 | No | Yes | Creator | Theatrical animated film |
| The Pirates of Dark Water | 1991–1993 | No | Yes | Creator | Television animated series (21 episodes) |
| Fievel's American Tails | 1992 | No | No | Creator | Television animated series (13 episodes) / Creative consultant |
| Fish Police | 1992 | No | Yes | No | Television animated series (6 episodes) |
| Monster in My Pocket: The Big Scream | 1992 | No | Yes | No | Television animated short film |
| The Addams Family | 1992–1993 | No | Yes | No | Television animated series (21 episodes) |
| Capitol Critters | 1992–1995 | No | Yes | No | Television animated series (13 episodes) |
| Once Upon a Forest | 1993 | Yes | No | No | Theatrical animated film |
| Hocus Pocus | 1993 | Yes | No | Story | Theatrical film |
| The Halloween Tree | 1993 | No | Yes | No | Television animated film |
| The Town Santa Forgot | 1993 | No | Yes | No | Television animated short film |
| The Flintstones | 1994 | No | Yes | No | Theatrcial film |
| The Pagemaster | 1994 | Yes | No | Yes | Theatrcial live action / animated film |
| Cats Don't Dance | 1997 | Yes | No | No | Theatrical animated film |
| Earth: Final Conflict | 1997–1999 | No | Yes | Yes | Television series (49 episodes) / Writer (episode: "Law & Order") |
| Bride of Chucky | 1998 | Yes | No | No | Theatrical film / Created dolls |
| Titan A.E. | 2000 | Yes | No | No | Theatrical animated film |
| Frailty | 2001 | Yes | No | No | Theatrcal film |
| Secondhand Lions | 2003 | Yes | No | No | Theatrical film |
| Five Days to Midnight | 2004 | No | Yes | No | Television mini-series (5 episodes) |
| Seed of Chucky | 2004 | Yes | No | No | Theatrical film / Created dolls |
| Thru the Moebius Strip | 2005 | Yes | No | No | Theatrical animated film |
| Curious George | 2006 | Yes | No | No | Theatrical animated film |
| Miss Potter | 2006 | Yes | No | No | Theatrical film |
| Curious George | 2006–2022 | No | Yes | No | Television animated series (198 episodes + 3 specials) |
| Martian Child | 2007 | Yes | No | No | Theatrical film |
| Curious George 2: Follow That Monkey! | 2009 | No | Yes | No | Direct-to-DVD animated film |
| Curse of Chucky | 2013 | Yes | No | No | Direct-to-DVD film / Created dolls |
| Kristy | 2014 | Yes | No | No | Theatrical film |
| Curious George 3: Back to the Jungle | 2015 | No | Yes | No | Direct-to-DVD animated film |
| Cult of Chucky | 2017 | Yes | No | No | Direct-to-DVD film / Created dolls |
| Curious George: Royal Monkey | 2019 | No | Yes | No | Direct-to-DVD animated film |
| Curious George: Go West, Go Wild | 2020 | No | Yes | No | Direct-to-DVD animated film |
| Curious George: Cape Ahoy | 2021 | No | Yes | No | Direct-to-DVD animated film |
| Chucky | 2021–present | No | Yes | No | Television series; 9 episodes |
| Hocus Pocus 2 | 2022 | No | Yes | Story | Direct-to-streaming film for Disney+ |
| Curious George | TBA | Yes | No | No | Theatrical film |
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Events in 1953 in animation.
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