Dean Wellins

Dean Wellins (born March 24, 1971) is an American film director, storyboard artist, and screenwriter. He is best known for his work at Walt Disney Animation Studios, including directing the short film '' Tick Tock Tale'' (2010), co-directing the feature film ''Raya and the Last Dragon'' (2021), and directing several episodes of the streaming series ''Baymax!'' (2022).

Early life

Dean Wellins was born in Zaragoza, Spain, on March 24, 1971. From 1990 to 1992, he was enrolled at CalArts.

Career

In 1990, he began his career at Turner Feature Animation's internship program as a character breakdown artist for '' The Pagemaster'' (1994). In 1994, he worked at Renegade Animation as a character animator on '' Gargoyles: The Game'' (1995). In 1996, he moved to Warner Bros. Animation where he worked as an animator on ''The Iron Giant'' (1999), which got him nominated at the 27th Annie Awards for " Outstanding Achievement for Character Animation in a Feature Production" and " Outstanding Achievement for Storyboarding in a Feature Production". In 1999, he served as a supervising animator on ''Osmosis Jones'' (2001) and '' Duck Dogers'' (2003).

In August 2000, he moved to Walt Disney Animation Studios where he served as a character animator on ''Treasure Planet'' (2002) and a story artist on '' Chicken Little'' (2005). In 2006, he served as a story artist on '' Bolt'' (2008). In April 2007, he signed on to direct the Disney animated film ''Tangled'' (2010), alongside Glen Keane. However, in October 2008, it was reported that he had left the film as director, but remained as a story artist. By 2009, he directed the short film '' Tick Tock Tale'' (2010) and served as a character animator on ''The Princess and the Frog'' (2009).

During the 2010s, he served as a story artist on several Disney films, including ''Wreck-It Ralph'' (2012), '' Frozen'' (2013), ''Tomorrowland'' (2015), '' Big Hero 6'' (2014), ''Zootopia'' (2016), '' Moana'' (2016), and ''Ralph Breaks the Internet'' (2018). In October 2018, he was set to direct a film titled ''Dragon Empire'', alongside Paul Briggs. In August 2020, Disney announced that Don Hall and Carlos López Estrada replaced Wellins and Briggs as directors on the film, retitled ''Raya and the Last Dragon'' (2021), with Wellins and Briggs demoted to co-directors. In 2022, he made his directorial debut when he directed 3 episodes of the Disney+ streaming series ''Baymax!''. In the same year, he left Disney to join SPA Studios where he worked on an undisclosed feature film. By 2023, he moved to PaperGames where he would direct an upcoming feature film based on the ''Nikki'' video game series.

Filmography

Feature films

Short films

Television

Video games

Accolades

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Wellins, Dean
1971 births
American animated film directors
American storyboard artists
Annie Award winners
Artists from Zaragoza
California Institute of the Arts alumni
Living people
People from Zaragoza
Walt Disney Animation Studios people
Warner Bros. Animation people