Robert Ellis (animator)

Robert Ellis
Born	United States
Occupation	Animator
Known for	VeggieTales

Robert Ellis was an American animator, he known for being one of original animators of VeggieTales by Big Idea.

Career

Robert Ellis attended School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1990 and graduated with Bachelor of Arts in Computer Animation in 1993. ^[1] After he graduated, he eventually hired to work at Big Idea as an animator in September 1993. ^[1] According to Kurt Heinecke, he alongside fellow animator Chris Olsen were the only employees hired by Phil Vischer that having no church experiences. ^[2] In the series’s first episode, Where's God When I'm S-Scared?, he animated a shot of popping eyes as well his first shot on the series in the segment Tales from the Crisper, and animated alongside Chris Olsen on segment Daniel and the Lion's Den based on a bible story with same name. ^[3] He animated numerous projects related to VeggieTales and briefly worked on two episodes of 3-2-1 Penguins!. In the re-release of episode Dave and the Giant Pickle, his caricature was used in its Silly Song segment I Love My Lips. ^[4] He eventually left Big Idea in September 2002, after his last VeggieTales project he was credited as an animator, The Star of Christmas and his final work as an animator in An Easter Carol was uncredited although he was confirmed to animated one of its scenes in its progression reel. ^{[5] [1]} After this, he once worked at SlimboJones, an animation studio founded by former animator of VeggieTales, Joe McFadden, which he was credited for provided countertop animations for two compilation episodes of VeggieTales.

Filmography

TV series

• VeggieTales (1993-2004):
  • Episodes
    • Where’s God When I’m S-Scared? (1993): animator (segment “Tales from the Crisper”, “Daniel and the Lion’s Den”), image handling (segment “Tales from the Crisper”, “Daniel and the Lion’s Den”)
    • God Wants Me to Forgive Them!?! (1994): animator (segment “The Grapes of Wrath”, “The Forgive-O-Matic”, “Larry’s Lagoon”)
    • Are You My Neighbor? (1995): animator (segment “The Story of Flibber-O-Loo”, “The Gourds Must be Crazy”)
    • Rack, Shack and Benny (1995): animator (segment “Rack, Shack and Benny”)
    • Dave and the Giant Pickle (1996): animator (segment “Dave and the Giant Pickle”, “I Love My Lips”)
    • The Toy That Saved Christmas (1996): animator (segment “The Toy That Saved Christmas”), modeler (segment “The Toy That Saved Christmas”)
    • A Very Silly Sing-Along! (1997): animator (segment “A Very Silly Sing-Along!”), modeler (segment “A Very Silly Sing-Along!”, “The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything" (as Robert “Jolly Roger” Ellis))
    • Larry-Boy! And the Fib from Outer Space! (1997): additional modeler, animator
    • Josh and the Big Wall! (1997): character animator (segment “Josh and the Big Wall”, “The Song of the Cebu”)
    • Madame Blueberry (1998): character animator (segment “Madame Blueberry”, “His Cheeseburger”), additional render management (segment “Madame Blueberry”)
    • Silly Sing-Along 2: The End of Silliness (1998): character animator (segment “The Yodeling Veterinarian of the Alps”, “Nighthawks”)
    • Larry-Boy and the Rumor Weed (1999): character animator
    • King George and the Ducky (2000): character animator (segment “King George and the Ducky”)
    • Esther… The Girl Who Became Queen (2000): animator
    • Lyle the Kindly Viking (2001): character animator
    • The Ultimate Silly Song Countdown (2001): animator
    • Jonah Sing-Along Songs and More! (2002): animator
    • The Star of Christmas (2002): modeler, animator
    • An Easter Carol (2004): animator ^[5] (uncredited)
  • Compilation:
    • God Made You Special (2007): animator (SlimboJones : "countertops")
    • Lessons from the Sock Drawer (2008): animator (SlimboJones : "countertops")
  • Specials:
    • VeggieTales Christmas Spectacular! (1998): animator
    • Jonah: An Overboard Adventure! (2001): animator
    • A Very Veggie Family Adventure (2002): animator

• 3-2-1 Penguins! (2001):
  • The Cheating Scales of Bullamanka (2001): additional lighting artist
  • The Amazing Carnival of Complaining (2001): sets and props, animator

Films

• Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie (2002): additional animator

Shorts

• Déjà Grape (2008): animator

Live shows

• VeggieTales Live! (2002): animator (animation sequence)

Bibliography

• Junior’s Colors (1997): 3D Illustrations
• Pa Grape’s Shapes (1997): 3D Illustrations
• Bob and Larry’s ABC’s (1997): 3D Illustrations
• Time for Tom (1997): 3D Illustrations
• How Many Veggies? (1997): 3D Illustrations
• Archibald’s Opposites (1997): 3D Illustrations

References

1. Ellis, Robert. "Robert Ellis's Linkedin Account". Linkedin.
2. What's The Big Idea? - A VeggieTales Podcast (2022-01-03). VeggieTales Where's God When I'm Scared Complete Behind the Scenes . Retrieved 2025-02-22– via YouTube.
3. VeggieTales Music Archive (2019-09-10). VeggieTales: Where's God When I'm S-Scared? (Audio Commentary) . Retrieved 2025-02-22– via YouTube.
4. What's The Big Idea? - A VeggieTales Podcast (2022-01-04). VeggieTales Dave and the Giant Pickle Complete Behind the Scenes . Retrieved 2025-02-22– via YouTube.
5. Classic VeggieTales Fan (2017-04-08). VeggieTales An Easter Carol Progression Reel . Retrieved 2025-03-09– via YouTube.