David Reynolds | |
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Occupations |
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Years active | 1986–present |
Agent | The Gersh Agency [1] |
Notable work |
David Reynolds is an American screenwriter. He is known for having written animated movies such as Finding Nemo (2003) and The Emperor's New Groove (2000).
In the early 1990s, he became a television writer. [2] He made his writing debut on the late-night television series, Late Night with Conan O'Brien. Afterwards, he started to trend into film with his theatrical debut as additional story material on Mulan . After the success of Mulan, Disney gave Reynolds a 'six-year contract' deal to work for both Walt Disney Feature Animation and Pixar Animation Studios. Some later works with the "Mouse-House" included additional writing on the story for A Bug's Life , writer of the host segments on Fantasia 2000 , and got his official writing debut with The Emperor's New Groove.
He went on to write with other writers on films like on Atlantis: The Lost Empire with Tab Murphy, The Jungle Book 2 with Karl Geurs and Evan Spiliotopoulos, and his most acclaimed work yet, Finding Nemo , with Andrew Stanton and Bob Peterson. He received numerous nominations and awards for Nemo, including an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay, a BAFTA nomination for Best Original Screenplay, a Hugo Award nomination for Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form, and a Nebula Award nomination for Best Script, and won an Annie for Writing in a Feature Production. Reynolds was attached to co-write, alongside Ken Kaufman, the 2006 animated film Curious George. His name was featured in the film’s trailer but was left uncredited in the film. [3]
His last movie credit was for working on Chimpanzee where he was a creative consultant and wrote the short film The Polar Bears in 2012. In 2007, Reynolds was slated to write a film adaptation of the book Nightmare Academy. [4] In 2010, it was reported that he was working at Sony Pictures Animation for a feature titled Futuropolis that would've been co-written and directed by Stephan Franck. [5] As of 2018 [update] , no updates have emerged for Nightmare Academy and Futuropolis. On June 7, 2015, Reynolds and New Groove director Mark Dindal attended a conversation event for the Austin Film Festival where they shared their knowledge, secrets, and strategies.
In 2021, Reynolds was announced as screenwriter for The Garfield Movie , along with the announcement that Chris Pratt would voice the titular character. [6] Writing alongside Paul A. Kaplan and Mark Torgove, [7] the film reunited Reynolds with New Groove director Mark Dindal. The film was released on May 24, 2024, and while it was met with mixed-to-negative reviews, the film was a box-office hit.
Title | Year | Role |
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One More Saturday Night | 1986 | Actor: Russ Cadwell |
Crime Story | Actor: Driver #2 ("The War") | |
Soul Man | Actor: Ernie | |
China Beach | 1988 | Actor: Pilot #1 ("Somewhere Over the Radio") |
Raising Miranda | Unknown ("Black Monday") | |
Late Night with Conan O'Brien | 1993-94 | Writer (230 episodes) |
Dumb and Dumber: The Animated Series | 1996 | Writer:
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Mulan | 1998 | Additional story material |
A Bug's Life | Additional writer: story | |
Saturday Night Live | Writer:
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Tarzan | 1999 | Additional screenplay material |
Toy Story 2 | ||
Fantasia 2000 | Writer: Live-Action segments (along with Don Hahn and Irene Mecchi) | |
TV Funhouse | 2000 | Writer:
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The Emperor's New Groove | Screenplay, voice: Checkers Player | |
Atlantis: The Lost Empire | 2001 | Additional screenplay material |
The Sweatbox | 2002 | Himself |
The Jungle Book 2 | 2003 | Additional written material |
Finding Nemo | Screenplay (along with Andrew Stanton and Bob Peterson) | |
Finding Nemo: Studio Tour of Pixar | Himself | |
Chicken Little | 2005 | Additional dialogue |
Sita Sings the Blues | 2008 | Donor |
Toy Story 3 | 2010 | Additional dialogue |
Chimpanzee | 2012 | Creative consultant |
The Polar Bears | Screenplay | |
Aldabra: Once Upon an Island | 2015 | Creative consultant |
Sprite Fright | 2021 | Short; special thanks |
The Garfield Movie [6] | 2024 | Screenplay (along with Paul A. Kaplan and Mark Torgove), executive producer, lyricist for Lactose Farms Jingle (with Mark Dindal) |
List of awards and nominations | |||||
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Year | Award | Category | Film(s) | Result | Notes |
2001 | Annie Award | Individual Achievement in Writing | The Emperor's New Groove | Nominated | |
2003 | Discover Screenwriting Award | Finding Nemo | Nominated | ||
Washington DC Area Film Critics Association Awards | Best Original Screenplay | Nominated | |||
Utah Film Critics Association Awards | Best Writing, Screenplay - Original/Adapted | Nominated | |||
Seattle Film Critics Awards | Best Screenplay, Original | Nominated | |||
2004 | Nebula Award | Best Script | Nominated | ||
Online Film & Television Association Film Award | Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen | Nominated | |||
Hugo Awards | Feature Film Category | Nominated | |||
31st Annie Awards | Outstanding Writing in an Animated Feature Production | Won | |||
57th British Academy Film Awards | Best Screenplay - Original | Nominated | |||
76th Academy Awards | Best Original Screenplay | Nominated | |||
Mulan is a 1998 American animated musical coming-of-age action-adventure film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation for Walt Disney Pictures. Based on the Chinese legend of Hua Mulan, the film was directed by Barry Cook and Tony Bancroft and produced by Pam Coats, from a screenplay by Rita Hsiao, Chris Sanders, Philip LaZebnik, and the writing team of Raymond Singer and Eugenia Bostwick-Singer, and a story by Robert D. San Souci. Ming-Na Wen, Eddie Murphy, Miguel Ferrer, and BD Wong star in the English version as Mulan, Mushu, Shan Yu, and Captain Li Shang, respectively, while Jackie Chan provided the voice of Li Shang for the Chinese dubs of the film. The film's plot takes place in China during an unspecified Imperial dynasty, where Fa Mulan, daughter of aged warrior Fa Zhou, impersonates a man to take her father's place during a general conscription to counter a Hun invasion.
The Emperor's New Groove is a 2000 American animated fantasy comedy film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It was directed by Mark Dindal and produced by Randy Fullmer, from a screenplay written by David Reynolds, and based on a story conceived by Dindal and Chris Williams. The voice cast features David Spade, John Goodman, Eartha Kitt, Patrick Warburton, and Wendie Malick. Inspired by ancient Peruvian culture and set in an Incan empire, The Emperor's New Groove follows young and self-centered Emperor Kuzco, who is accidentally transformed into a llama by his ex-advisor, Yzma (Kitt), and her dim-witted but affable henchman, Kronk (Warburton). For the emperor to change back into a human, he entrusts a village leader, Pacha (Goodman), to escort him back to the palace before Yzma can track them down and finish him off.
Garfield: The Movie is a 2004 American comedy film based on Jim Davis' comic strip Garfield. Directed by Peter Hewitt and written by Joel Cohen and Alec Sokolow, it stars Breckin Meyer as Jon Arbuckle, Jennifer Love Hewitt as Dr. Liz Wilson and features Bill Murray as the voice of Garfield, who was created with computer-generated imagery.
Chicken Little is a 2005 American animated science fiction comedy film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It was directed by Mark Dindal from a screenplay by Steve Bencich, Ron J. Friedman, and Ron Anderson, based on a story by Dindal and Mark Kennedy, loosely inspired on the European folk tale "Henny Penny", known in the United States as "Chicken Little". In this version, the title character is ridiculed by his town for causing a panic, thinking that the sky was "falling". A year later he attempts to fix his reputation, followed by an unexpected truth regarding his past being revealed. The film is dedicated to Disney artist and writer Joe Grant, who died before the film's release. This also marked the final film appearance of Don Knotts during his lifetime, as his next and final film, Air Buddies, would be released posthumously.
The Computer Animation Production System (CAPS) was a proprietary collection of software, scanning camera systems, servers, networked computer workstations, and custom desks developed by The Walt Disney Company and Pixar in the late 1980s. Although outmoded by the mid-2000s, it succeeded in reducing labor costs for ink and paint and post-production processes of traditionally animated feature films produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios (WDAS). It also provided an entirely new palette of digital tools to the animation filmmakers.
Mark Dindal is an American filmmaker, animator and voice actor. Best known for his work at Disney, he directed the company's 2000 animated film The Emperor's New Groove (2000), as well as their 2005 film Chicken Little. Prior, he was credited with animation work on the Disney Renaissance films The Little Mermaid (1989) and Aladdin (1992), as well as Tom and Jerry: The Movie (1992). In 1997, he briefly moved to Warner Bros. Animation and made his directorial debut with the film Cats Don't Dance, which won an Annie Award for Best Animated Film. Dindal directed the 2024 animated film The Garfield Movie for Sony Pictures and Alcon Entertainment, which was met with commercial success despite negative reviews.
Randall Wyn Fullmer was an American businessman and executive for The Walt Disney Company. After a career at Walt Disney Feature Animation, Fullmer launched his own business, Wyn Guitars.
Andrew Ayers Stanton is an American filmmaker and voice actor based at Pixar, which he joined in 1990. His film work includes co-writing and co-directing Pixar's A Bug's Life (1998), directing Finding Nemo (2003) and its sequel Finding Dory (2016), WALL-E (2008), and the live-action film, Disney's John Carter (2012), and co-writing all five and directing the upcoming latter in Toy Story films (1995–2026) and Monsters, Inc. (2001).
Walt Disney Feature Animation Florida was a division of Walt Disney Feature Animation that operated from 1989 to 2004. Its offices were backlot of the Disney MGM Studios theme park and visitors were allowed to tour the studio in The Magic of Disney Animation attraction to observe animators at work from behind glass-paneled overhead breezeways. The division had primarily animated Mulan, Lilo & Stitch and Brother Bear.
The Emperor's New School is an American animated television series created by Mark Dindal that aired on Disney Channel for two seasons between January 2006 and November 2008. It is the second sequel to the 2000 film The Emperor's New Groove, following the direct-to-video release of the film Kronk's New Groove in 2005. The series centers on Kuzco, who must graduate from Kuzco Academy to become emperor of the Inca Empire. Yzma, his former advisor, schemes to sabotage him so she can be empress instead. She is aided by her henchman Kronk, while Kuzco is aided by the villager Pacha and fellow student Malina. The series combines physical comedy with a self-aware tone, illustrated by Kuzco frequently addressing the viewer directly.
Roger Allers is an American film director, screenwriter, animator, storyboard artist, and playwright. He is best known for co-directing Disney's The Lion King (1994), the highest-grossing traditionally animated film of all time, and for writing the Broadway adaptation of the same name. He also directed Sony Pictures Animation's first feature-length animated film, Open Season (2006) and the animated adaptation of The Prophet.
Mulan II is a 2004 American animated direct-to-video musical adventure film produced by Walt Disney Pictures and DisneyToon Studios and distributed by Buena Vista Home Entertainment. The film was directed by Darrell Rooney and Lynne Southerland and produced by Jennifer Blohm, from a screenplay written by Michael Lucker, Chris Parker, and Roger S. H. Schulman.
Henry Alan Gilroy is an American film and television screenwriter and producer. He is best known for co-writing the animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars.
The Disney Renaissance was a period from 1989 to 1999 during which Walt Disney Feature Animation returned to producing critically and commercially successful animated films. The ten feature films associated with this period are The Little Mermaid (1989), The Rescuers Down Under (1990), Beauty and the Beast (1991), Aladdin (1992), The Lion King (1994), Pocahontas (1995), The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996), Hercules (1997), Mulan (1998), and Tarzan (1999).
Mark Alan Henn is an American animator and film director. His work includes animated characters for Walt Disney Animation Studios films, most notably leading or titular characters and heroines. He served as the lead animator for Ariel in The Little Mermaid (1989), Belle in Beauty and the Beast (1991), Jasmine in Aladdin (1992), Young Simba in The Lion King (1994), the title character in Mulan (1998), and Tiana in The Princess and the Frog (2009). Since all these characters except Simba became Disney Princesses, he came to be known as the "princess guy" around the studio. He directed the short films John Henry (2000) and D.I.Y. Duck (2024). Henn spent a total of 43 years at Walt Disney Animation Studios, from 1980 until his retirement in 2023.
The Sweatbox is a 2002 American documentary film produced and directed by Trudie Styler, which documents the production of the Walt Disney Pictures film The Emperor's New Groove. Utilizing behind-the-scenes footage and interviews, it illustrates the slow and painful transformation of the original version of the film to the finished product, with a focus on Sting's work on the soundtrack. The documentary's major theme is creative-executive conflicts.
Creative Capers Entertainment is an American animation studio founded by Terry and Sue Shakespeare with David Molina in 1989. Based in Altadena, California, it specializes in Flash and hand-drawn animation in various feature films, television series, commercials, CD-ROMs and video games.
The Emperor's New Groove is a Disney media franchise that started in 2000 with the release of the animated feature film of the same name, produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures.
The Garfield Movie is a 2024 American animated comedy film based on the comic strip Garfield created by Jim Davis. Directed by Mark Dindal from a screenplay by Paul A. Kaplan, Mark Torgove, and David Reynolds, the film stars Chris Pratt as the voice of the titular character, alongside the voices of Samuel L. Jackson, Hannah Waddingham, Ving Rhames, Nicholas Hoult, Cecily Strong, Harvey Guillén, Brett Goldstein, Bowen Yang, and Snoop Dogg. In the film, Garfield is reunited with his long-lost father, a street cat named Vic, before being forced into joining him on a high-stakes adventure. It is the sixth Garfield film adaptation since Garfield's Pet Force, which was released fifteen years prior.
Wonderful World of Animation is a nighttime show at Disney's Hollywood Studios. The show is a celebration of all Disney animation, beginning with Mickey Mouse. It premiered on May 1, 2019, as part of the park's 30th anniversary celebration, replacing Disney Movie Magic.