David Z. Horvath (May 28, 1971) is an American illustrator, comics artist, toy designer and author best known for creating the popular
Uglydoll
Uglydoll is a brand and series of plush toys created by Sun-Min Kim, based on an idea by Kim and her husband David Horvath. The Uglydoll line was launched on February 14, 2001, and was awarded the ''Specialty Toy of the Year'' award by the T ...
characters as well as the world they inhabit, The Uglyverse, with his wife, Sun-Min Kim. The toy line began in 2001 with a single plush toy called Wage, hand sewn by his sweetheart and creative partner, Sun-Min Kim for David as a gift, and grew into the brand.
Kim and Horvath were later married. Today they live in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
and have two kids: a daughter and a son.
Along with a plush Uglydoll line, he is also the author and illustrator of 12 ''Uglydoll'' books, including the four "Ugly Guides" and a series of comic books, and the Bossy Bear series of children’s books. His books have been reprinted in
Korean
Korean may refer to:
People and culture
* Koreans, people from the Korean peninsula or of Korean descent
* Korean culture
* Korean language
**Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Korean
**Korean dialects
**See also: North–South differences in t ...
,
Japanese
Japanese may refer to:
* Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia
* Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan
* Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture
** Japanese diaspor ...
, and
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas
**Spanish cuisine
**Spanish history
**Spanish culture
...
.
Education
Horvath attended Parsons: The New School For Design.
Characters
David Horvath and Sun-Min Kim are the creators of multiple characters and toy lines including:
* Uglydolls
* Bossy Bear, Bissy Bear, and Turtle
* Crocadoca
* Noupa
* Littlebony
* Choco and Minty
* Roller the Reindeer
* Dunnys with Kidrobot
* Kaiju including:
:Mothman
:Flatwoods
:Chupacabra
:Uma
:Wage
:Ice-Bat
* Super Puncher
* Power Mister
* Pounda and Chu Chu
* My Friend Dave
Noupa is a heroic garbage man who organizes a small underground movement against the evils of Super 7.5 robots in a struggle of nature VS commerce. The Noupa world includes 21 characters. In the early 2000s, Flying Cat produced these 21 characters as vinyl figures which were distributed by Critterbox. Five of the figures were limited releases exclusive to toy shows. Collectors refer to the entire series of characters as "Noupa."
Adaptations
An ''
UglyDolls
''UglyDolls'' is a 2019 animated musical adventure-comedy film directed by Kelly Asbury and written by Alison Peck, from a story by Robert Rodriguez, who also produced. It is based on the plush toys of the same name by David Horvath and Sun- ...
'' animated film was released by
STX Entertainment
STX Entertainment is an American independent entertainment and media company. Founded in March 2014 by film producer Robert Simonds and TPG Growth managing partner Bill McGlashan, the studio produces film, television, and digital media projec ...
on May 3, 2019 to negative reviews.
A Bossy Bear animated series was announced in March 2022 for
Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon (nicknamed Nick) is an American pay television channel and the flagship property of the Nickelodeon Group, a sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on April 1, 1979, as the first ca ...
. Aimed at preschoolers, the series premiered in 2023 with an initial 30 episode order.
Awards
* Toy Of The Year Award by Toy Industry Association
* Oppenheim Best Toy Award
* Parent's Choice Approved Award
Publications
* How to Draw Ugly (2006)
* Bossy Bear (2007)
* The UglyDoll Ugly Guide #1: To the Uglyverse (2008)
* The UglyDoll Ugly Guide #2: To Things That Go and Things That Should Go But Don't (2008)
* The UglyDoll Ugly Guide #3: To Being Alive and Staying That Way (2009)
* Just Like Bossy Bear (2009)
* Chilly Chilly Ice-Bat (2009)
* 1 2 3 4 U (2009)
* ABC U Later (2009)
* The UglyDoll Ugly Guide #4: To Eating Out and Keeping It Down (2010)
* Ugly Colors (2010)
* Babo's Cookie Problem (2011)
* What Dat? (2011)
* Uglydoll: SHHHHHHH (2013) Comic Book
* Uglydoll: Eat Dat! (2013) Comic Book
*Uglydoll: Goin' Places (2013) Comic Book
References
Sources
Wall Street Journal InterviewVinyl Creep
External links
Official Uglydoll Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Horvath, David
American comics artists
American toy industry businesspeople
1971 births
American illustrators
American children's writers
Living people