Chris Williams (born December 19, 1968) is an American animator, film director, screenwriter and voice actor who directed the short film ''

Glago's Guest ''Glago's Guest'' is a 2008 Walt Disney Animation Studios computer-animated short film directed by Chris Williams. The film premiered at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival in June 2008. Animated in stereoscopic 3D, the short tells th ...

''; co-directed '' Bolt'', which was nominated for the Oscar for Best Animated Feature; '' Big Hero 6'', which won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature; '' Moana'', which was nominated for two Oscars for Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song; and '' The Sea Beast''.

Early life

Williams was born on December 19, 1968, in

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

and spent the first 25 years of his life in

Waterloo, Ontario Waterloo is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is one of three cities in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo (formerly Waterloo County). Waterloo is situated about west-southwest of Toronto. Due to the close proximity of the ci ...

, Canada, where his father was the director of Counselling Services at the

University of Waterloo The University of Waterloo (UWaterloo, UW, or Waterloo) is a public research university with a main campus in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is on of land adjacent to "Uptown" Waterloo and Waterloo Park. The university also operates ...

. Williams graduated from the University of Waterloo with a degree in Fine Arts and then enrolled in the animation program at

Sheridan College Sheridan College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning (formerly Sheridan College of Applied Arts and Technology) is a public polytechnic institute of technology located in the west- Greater Toronto Area in Ontario, Canada. Founded i ...

, Oakville, Ontario. Upon graduation from Sheridan, he was recruited by Disney and moved to Los Angeles.

Career

Williams previously worked in the story department for '' Mulan'' (1998), ''

The Emperor's New Groove ''The Emperor's New Groove'' is a 2000 American animated slapstick comedy film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The 40th animated film produced by the studio, it was directed by Mark Dindal and p ...

'' (2000) and '' Frozen'' (2013), in which he also voiced the character Oaken. In February 2007, it was announced he would direct ''American Dog'', which was re-titled '' Bolt'' (2008) and was later joined by

Byron Howard Byron P. Howard (born December 26, 1968) is an American animator, character designer, story artist, film director, film producer, and screenwriter. He is best known as the director of the Walt Disney Animation Studios films '' Bolt'' (2008), ' ...

, both of them replaced

Chris Sanders Christopher Michael Sanders (born March 12, 1962) is an American director, screenwriter, producer, illustrator, and voice actor. His credits include '' Lilo & Stitch'' (2002) and '' How to Train Your Dragon'' (2010), both of which he co-wrote an ...

who was the original director. In July 2010, it was reported by various sources that Williams would direct ''King of the Elves'' based on the story by Philip K. Dick. However, in 2012, it was revealed that Williams had joined another Walt Disney Animation film, '' Big Hero 6'', as a co-director inspired by the

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Comics'' in ...

of the same name. In November 2018, it was reported that Williams had left Disney and he would write and direct '' The Sea Beast'' for

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a ...

. ''The Sea Beast'' was released on Netflix on July 8, 2022.

Filmography

Feature films

Short films, TV specials, and featurettes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Chris 1968 births Living people American animated film directors American expatriates in Canada American film directors American male screenwriters American male voice actors Animation screenwriters Animators from Missouri Annie Award winners Directors of Best Animated Feature Academy Award winners Male actors from Missouri People from Waterloo, Ontario Primetime Emmy Award winners Sheridan College animation program alumni University of Waterloo alumni Walt Disney Animation Studios people Writers from Ontario