Kirk Wise

Last updated
Kirk Wise
Born
Occupations
Years active1985–present

Kirk Wise is an American film director, animator and screenwriter best known for his work at Walt Disney Animation Studios. Wise has directed Disney animated films such as Beauty and the Beast , The Hunchback of Notre Dame , and Atlantis: The Lost Empire . He also directed the English-language translation of Hayao Miyazaki's Spirited Away . He frequently works with Gary Trousdale and Don Hahn.

Contents

Career

Wise graduated from Palo Alto High School and went on to study character animation at California Institute of the Arts. Early in his career, Wise worked as an animator on Disney's Sport Goofy in Soccermania (1987), The Great Mouse Detective (1986) and The Brave Little Toaster (1987), as well as Steven Spielberg's Amazing Stories episode "Family Dog".

Returning to Walt Disney Feature Animation, he began work on The Great Mouse Detective (1986) as an assistant animator, but eventually joined the story department, where he was reunited with former CalArts classmate, Gary Trousdale.

After working as storyboard artists on The Rescuers Down Under and The Prince and the Pauper , Wise and Trousdale were responsible for helming the celebrated Beauty and the Beast (1991), the first animated feature to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture.

Wise, a known fan of Hayao Miyazaki, was brought in by Disney to supervise the North America release of Spirited Away along with John Lasseter. [1]

Filmography

TitleYearRole
The Great Mouse Detective 1986Assistant animator
Amazing Stories 1987Principal animator (1 episode)
Sport Goofy in Soccermania Animator
The Brave Little Toaster Animation director (development)
Oliver & Company 1988Writer, animating assistant
Cranium Command 1989Voice of Hypothalamus, opening sequence director
The Rescuers Down Under 1990Storyboard artist
The Prince and the Pauper
Beauty and the Beast 1991Director, creative consultant (uncredited)
Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey 1993Executive producer
The Lion King 1994Additional story material
The Hunchback of Notre Dame 1996Director
Atlantis: The Lost Empire 2001Director, story
Spirited Away 2002Director, ADR Director (U.S. production)
Open Season 2006Special thanks
Oceans 2009Executive Producer: Disneynature
Waking Sleeping Beauty Himself, caricaturist
2012 Disney History Connections: Colonial America2012Director (short)
Chimpanzee Creative consultant
Aldabra: Once Upon an Island2015
Beauty and the Beast 2017
Bobbleheads: The Movie 2020Director
Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank 2022Additional voices

References

  1. Cavallaro, Dani (2006). The animé art of Hayao Miyazaki. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Co. p. 135. ISBN   9780786423699.