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Kirk Wise (born August 24, 1963) 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.
Kirk Wise | |
|---|---|
| Born | August 24, 1963 |
| Occupation(s) | Film director, animator, screenwriter, producer |
| Years active | 1985–present |
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.
| Title | Year | Role |
|---|---|---|
| The Great Mouse Detective | 1986 | Assistant animator |
| Amazing Stories | 1987 | Principal animator (1 episode) |
| Sport Goofy in Soccermania | Animator | |
| The Brave Little Toaster | Animation director (development) | |
| Oliver & Company | 1988 | Writer, animating assistant |
| Cranium Command | 1989 | Voice of Hypothalamus, opening sequence director |
| The Rescuers Down Under | 1990 | Storyboard artist |
| The Prince and the Pauper | ||
| Beauty and the Beast | 1991 | Director, creative consultant (uncredited) |
| Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey | 1993 | Executive producer |
| The Lion King | 1994 | Additional story material |
| The Hunchback of Notre Dame | 1996 | Director |
| Atlantis: The Lost Empire | 2001 | Director, story |
| Spirited Away | 2002 | Director, ADR Director (U.S. production) |
| Open Season | 2006 | Special thanks |
| Oceans | 2009 | Executive Producer: Disneynature |
| Waking Sleeping Beauty | Himself, caricaturist | |
| 2012 Disney History Connections: Colonial America | 2012 | Director (short) |
| Chimpanzee | Creative consultant | |
| Aldabra: Once Upon an Island | 2015 | |
| Beauty and the Beast | 2017 | |
| Bobbleheads: The Movie | 2020 | Director |
| Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank | 2022 | Additional voices |
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