Kirsten Lepore | |
---|---|
Nationality | American |
Known for | Animation, stop motion |
Spouse(s) | Daniel Kwan (m. 2016) |
Children | 1 |
Kirsten Lepore is an American animator, best known for her stop motion short films like "Sweet Dreams", "Bottle", and "Move Mountain". From 2014 to 2015, she worked on an episode of the American cartoon series Adventure Time entitled "Bad Jubies", serving as writer, storyboard artist, and director. The episode eventually aired on January 14, 2016 to critical acclaim. [1] [2] [3]
Lepore was raised in South Brunswick, New Jersey. [4] In an interview with The A.V. Club , Lepore explained that, as a child, she was fascinated by the animation techniques used by both Disney and the Jim Henson Company. [5] Lepore attended South Brunswick High School, [4] where she began to earnestly explore art, and as a young adult, she earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts at Maryland Institute College of Art, where she studied "experimental animation". Her undergraduate thesis was the short stop motion film entitled "Sweet Dreams". [5] [6] Following college, she applied to studios and freelanced on the side, but she "never heard back from the studios, and the freelance work kept coming." [6] She returned to her parents' house and began working on ads and small production projects. During this phase in her life, she felt that she did not have enough technical expertise. [5] As a result, she attended CalArts, graduating in 2012 with a Master of Fine Arts in experimental animation. [5] [7] Her graduate thesis, a short film entitled "Move Mountain", caught the attention of Adventure Time showrunner Adam Muto, and Lepore eventually guest-animated the episode "Bad Jubies". [5] [8]
Lepore has won various awards, including a Student Annie Award, a South by Southwest special jury award for animation, and an Annecy + award for best animation. [9]
Lepore has been married to fellow filmmaker and animator Daniel Kwan since 2016, and together they have one son. [10] [11]
Year | Title | Description | Role |
---|---|---|---|
2007 | "Story from North America" | Short film | Director, animator |
2008 | "Sweet Dreams" | Short film, BFA thesis | Writer, director |
2011 | "Bottle" | Short film | Writer, director |
2013 | "Move Mountain" | Short film, MFA thesis | Writer, director |
2014–15 | "Bad Jubies" | Adventure Time episode | Writer, storyboard artist, director |
2016 | "Hi Stranger" | Short film | Writer, director, animator |
2018 | "It's My Party" | Summer Camp Island episode | Writer, storyboard artist |
2021 | Marcel the Shell with Shoes On | Film | Animation director [12] |
2022 | Everything Everywhere All At Once | Film | Visual effects artist [4] |
2022–present | I Am Groot | Short film series | Writer, director, executive producer [13] |
Adventure Time is an American fantasy animated television series created by Pendleton Ward and co-produced by Frederator Studios for Cartoon Network. The series follows the adventures of a boy named Finn and his best friend and adoptive brother Jake —a dog with the power to change size and shape at will. Finn and Jake live in the post-apocalyptic Land of Ooo, where they interact with Princess Bubblegum, the Ice King, Marceline, BMO, and others. The series is based on a 2007 short film that aired on Nicktoons. After the short became a viral hit on the Internet, Nickelodeon's executives passed on its option before Cartoon Network commissioned a full-length series from Fred Seibert and Ward, which was previewed on March 11, 2010. The same year, the series premiered on Cartoon Network on April 5, and it ended its eight-year run on September 3, 2018.
"Fionna and Cake" is the ninth episode of the third season of the American animated television series Adventure Time. The episode was written and storyboarded by Adam Muto and Rebecca Sugar, from a story by Mark Banker, Kent Osborne, Patrick McHale, and series creator Pendleton Ward. It originally aired on Cartoon Network on September 5, 2011.
The fifth season of Adventure Time, an American animated television series created by Pendleton Ward, premiered on Cartoon Network on November 12, 2012 and concluded on March 17, 2014, and was produced by Frederator Studios and Cartoon Network Studios. The season follows the adventures of Finn, a human boy, and his best friend and adoptive brother Jake, a dog with magical powers to change shape and size at will. Finn and Jake live in the post-apocalyptic Land of Ooo, where they interact with the other main characters of the show: Princess Bubblegum, The Ice King, Marceline the Vampire Queen, Lumpy Space Princess, BMO, and Flame Princess.
"A Glitch Is a Glitch" is the fifteenth episode of the fifth season of the American animated television series Adventure Time. It was written, storyboarded, and directed by Irish filmmaker David OReilly. It originally aired on Cartoon Network on April 1, 2013.
The sixth season of Adventure Time, an American animated television series created by Pendleton Ward, premiered on Cartoon Network on April 21, 2014 and concluded on June 5, 2015, and was produced by Frederator Studios and Cartoon Network Studios. The season follows the adventures of Finn, a human boy, and his best friend and adoptive brother Jake, a dog with magical powers to change shape and size at will. Finn and Jake live in the post-apocalyptic Land of Ooo, where they interact with the other main characters of the show: Princess Bubblegum, The Ice King, Marceline the Vampire Queen, Lumpy Space Princess, BMO, and Flame Princess.
"Lady & Peebles" is the nineteenth episode of the fourth season of the American animated television series Adventure Time. The episode was written and storyboarded by Cole Sanchez and Rebecca Sugar, from a story by Patrick McHale, Kent Osborne, and Pendleton Ward. It originally aired on Cartoon Network on August 20, 2012. The episode guest stars George Takei as Ricardio.
"Guardians of Sunshine" is the sixteenth episode of the second season of the American animated television series Adventure Time. The episode was written and storyboarded by Ako Castuera and Tom Herpich, from a story by Mark Banker, Steve Little, Patrick McHale, Kent Osborne, Thurop van Orman, Pendleton Ward, and Merriwether Williams. It originally aired on February 21, 2011.
"Princess Cookie" is the thirteenth episode of the fourth season of the American animated television series Adventure Time. The episode was written and storyboarded by Tom Herpich and Skyler Page, from a story by Patrick McHale, Kent Osborne, and Pendleton Ward. It originally aired on Cartoon Network on June 18, 2012. The episode guest stars Donald Faison as Baby-Snaps.
"James Baxter the Horse" is the nineteenth episode of the fifth season of the American animated television series Adventure Time. The episode was written and storyboarded by series creator Pendleton Ward and Somvilay Xayaphone, from a story by Patrick McHale, Kent Osborne, and Ward. It originally aired on Cartoon Network on May 6, 2013. The episode guest stars animator James Baxter as the titular horse.
The seventh season of Adventure Time, an American animated television series created by Pendleton Ward, premiered on Cartoon Network on November 2, 2015, and concluded on March 19, 2016, and was produced by Frederator Studios and Cartoon Network Studios. It follows the adventures of Finn, a human boy, and his best friend and adoptive brother Jake, a dog with magical powers to change shape and size at will. Finn and Jake live in the post-apocalyptic Land of Ooo, where they interact with the show's other main characters: Princess Bubblegum, The Ice King, Marceline the Vampire Queen, Lumpy Space Princess, BMO, and Flame Princess.
"The Diary" is the thirtieth episode of the sixth season of the American animated television series Adventure Time. In the episode, Jake's son T.V. finds an old diary, which revives a decades-old mystery. It was written by Canadian illustrator Jillian Tamaki, her second episode on the show after "Astral Plane". The episode was broadcast on Cartoon Network on February 26, 2015. Writers of Wired and The A.V. Club praised Tamaki for the way she wrote the episode as well as the visuals overall.
"Astral Plane" is the twenty-fifth episode of sixth season of the American animated television series Adventure Time. It was written by Jesse Moynihan and Canadian artist Jillian Tamaki. In the episode, after a comet causes Finn to project astrally, he follows the exploits of several characters, eventually floating up to Mars, where the same comet is about to collide with the planet. The episode is the first that Tamaki wrote for the show. As a storyboard artist, she praised the unique production of the show, though she described animation as more limited than comics. The episode premiered on Cartoon Network on January 22, 2015.
"Food Chain" is the seventh episode of the sixth season of the American animated television series Adventure Time. The episode was written, storyboarded, and directed by Japanese anime director Masaaki Yuasa in cooperation with creative director Eunyoung Choi, and guest stars Regular Show storyboard artist Minty Lewis as Erin the caterpillar.
"Jake the Brick" is the twentieth episode of the sixth season of the American animated television series Adventure Time. The episode was written, storyboarded, and directed by head writer Kent Osborne, from an outline by Adam Muto, Osborne, and series creator Pendleton Ward. "Jake the Brick" debuted on November 26, 2014, on Cartoon Network as the third episode to be aired as part of the "Corn-Ooo-copia"—a week of all-new Adventure Time premieres.
"Walnuts & Rain" is the thirty-first episode of the sixth season of the American animated television series Adventure Time. The episode was written and storyboarded by Tom Herpich, from an outline by Herpich, Adam Muto, Kent Osborne, Jack Pendarvis, and Pendleton Ward. The episode debuted on March 5, 2015 on Cartoon Network, and guest stars Chris Isaak as a bear named Seven and Matt L. Jones as King Huge.
"Bad Jubies" is the twentieth episode of the seventh season of the American animated television series Adventure Time. The episode was written, storyboarded, and directed by Kirsten Lepore, and filmed entirely via stop motion. It originally aired on Cartoon Network on January 14, 2016. The episode guest stars Kevin Michael Richardson as both a sentient storm and an automated weather alert system.
"Islands" is an American animated miniseries comprising eight episodes from the television show Adventure Time, created by Pendleton Ward. It aired as part of the show's eighth season on Cartoon Network from January 30, 2017, to February 2, 2017. Adventure Time follows the adventures of Finn, a human boy, and his best friend and adoptive brother Jake, a dog with magical powers to change shape, grow and shrink at will. In this limited event series, Finn, Jake, BMO and Susan Strong leave Ooo and voyage across the ocean to learn about Finn's origin. During their trip, they encounter various creatures, new friends, and several interesting islands. The trip culminates with a visit to Founder's Island, where Finn meets his biological mother, Minerva Campbell, and discovers what happened to the remainder of the human race.
"Ketchup" is the name of the eleventh episode of the ninth season of the American animated television series Adventure Time. The episode was written and storyboarded by Seo Kim and Somvilay Xayaphone, from a story by lead writer Kent Osborne, Jack Pendarvis, Julia Pott, Patrick McHale, Ashly Burch, and series showrunner Adam Muto. It originally aired on Cartoon Network on July 18, 2017 and guest stars J. G. Quintel as a blue jay.
I Am Groot is an American series of animated shorts created by Kirsten Lepore for the streaming service Disney+, based on the Marvel Comics featuring the character Groot. It features characters from the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), following Baby Groot on various adventures that get him into trouble between the events of Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) and one of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2's (2017) mid-credits scenes. The series is produced by Marvel Studios Animation, with Lepore serving as head writer and director.
Marcel the Shell with Shoes On is a 2021 American independent live-action/stop-motion animated mockumentary comedy-drama film directed by Dean Fleischer Camp, with a screenplay by Fleischer Camp, Jenny Slate and Nick Paley from a story by Fleischer Camp, Slate, Paley and Elisabeth Holm. It is based on and serves both as a direct stand-alone sequel and prequel to the series of shorts of the same name written by Slate and Fleischer Camp. Slate reprises her voice role as Marcel, an anthropomorphic seashell. Fleischer Camp, Rosa Salazar, Thomas Mann, Lesley Stahl, and Isabella Rossellini also star. The film follows Marcel, a shell who lives with his grandmother, Connie, after posting a short film online bringing Marcel millions of passionate fans and a new hope of reuniting with his long-lost family.
Lepore, a writer, director and animator who grew up in South Brunswick, also had a hand in A24′s biggest grossing movie to date—the kaleidoscopic adventure Everything Everywhere All At Once, which opened wide in April. ... In 2009, the alum of South Brunswick High School, who grew up drawing, making small sculptures and filming her sisters in experiments with the family camcorder, moved to the West Coast.