James Baxter is a British character animator. He was first known for his work on several

Walt Disney Animation Studios Walt Disney Animation Studios (WDAS), sometimes shortened to Disney Animation, is an American animation studio that produces animated feature films and short films for the Walt Disney Company. The studio's current production logo features a s ...

films, including various characters in ''

Who Framed Roger Rabbit ''Who Framed Roger Rabbit'' is a 1988 American fantasy comedy film directed by Robert Zemeckis from a screenplay written by Jeffrey Price and Peter S. Seaman. It is loosely based on the 1981 novel ''Who Censored Roger Rabbit?'' by Gary K. Wol ...

'', Belle in ''

Beauty and the Beast "Beauty and the Beast" is a fairy tale written by the French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and published in 1740 in (''The Young American and Marine Tales''). Villeneuve's lengthy version was abridged, rewritten, and publish ...

'',

Rafiki Rafiki may refer to: * '' Cheeki Rafiki'', English sailing yacht * Rafiki, a mandrill in ''The Lion King'' * ''Rafiki'' (film), 2018 Kenyan film * Rafiki Saïd (born 2000), Comorian footballer {{disambiguation ...

in ''

The Lion King ''The Lion King'' is a 1994 American animated musical coming-of-age drama film directed by Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff, produced by Don Hahn, and written by Irene Mecchi, Jonathan Roberts, and Linda Woolverton. Produced by Walt Disney ...

'', and

Quasimodo Quasimodo (from Quasimodo Sunday) is the titular protagonist of the French novel '' The Hunchback of Notre-Dame'' (1831) by Victor Hugo. Born with numerous deformities, most notably a hunched back, Quasimodo serves as the bell-ringer for Notre ...

in '' The Hunchback of Notre Dame''. After ''The Hunchback of Notre Dame'', Baxter moved over to

DreamWorks Animation DreamWorks Animation LLC (DWA, also known as DreamWorks Animation Studios or simply DreamWorks) is an American animation studio, owned by Comcast's NBCUniversal as part of Universal Pictures, a division of Universal Studios, Inc, Universal Stud ...

working on films such as ''

The Prince of Egypt ''The Prince of Egypt'' is a 1998 American animated musical drama film directed by Brenda Chapman, Steve Hickner, and Simon Wells, and written by Philip LaZebnik, from a story by Kelly Asbury and Lorna Cook. Produced by DreamWorks Pictur ...

'', ''

The Road to El Dorado ''The Road to El Dorado'' is a 2000 American animated musical adventure comedy film directed by Eric "Bibo" Bergeron and Don Paul, from a screenplay by Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio, as well as additional sequences directed by Will Finn and ...

'', '' Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron'', ''

Shrek 2 ''Shrek 2'' is a 2004 American animated fantasy comedy film loosely based on the 1990 children's picture book '' Shrek!'' by William Steig. Directed by Andrew Adamson, Kelly Asbury, and Conrad Vernon from a screenplay by Adamson, Joe Sti ...

'', and ''

Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...

''. Early in 2005, Baxter left DreamWorks and set out on his own as an independent animator. He became the head of his own studio, James Baxter Animation in

Pasadena, California Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commerci ...

where he has directed the animation for the 2007 film '' Enchanted'' and the opening credits to DreamWorks' ''

Kung Fu Panda ''Kung Fu Panda'' is an American martial arts comedy media franchise that started in 2008 with the release of the animated film '' Kung Fu Panda'' produced by DreamWorks Animation. Following the adventures of the titular Po Ping (primarily v ...

.'' In 2008, Baxter closed his studio and returned to DreamWorks as a supervising animator. While at DreamWorks, Baxter worked on films including ''

Monsters vs. Aliens ''Monsters vs. Aliens'' is a 2009 American animated science fiction comedy film produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by Paramount Pictures. The film was directed by Conrad Vernon and Rob Letterman from a screenplay written by Let ...

'', ''

How to Train Your Dragon ''How to Train Your Dragon'' is a media franchise from DreamWorks Animation and loosely based on the book series How to Train Your Dragon (novel series), of the same name by British author Cressida Cowell. It consists of three feature films: '' ...

'', and ''

The Croods ''The Croods'' (also known as ''Crood Awakening'') is a 2013 American animated adventure comedy film produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by 20th Century Fox. The film was directed by Chris Sanders and Kirk DeMicco, both of whom a ...

''. In 2017, Baxter left DreamWorks once again and went to work for

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

Filmography

Awards and honors

In 2018, Baxter, along with fellow animators Stephen Hillenburg (months before his death), Amanda Forbis, and Wendy Tilby won the

Winsor McCay Award The Winsor McCay Award is given to individuals in recognition of lifetime or career contributions to the art of animation in producing, directing, animating, design, writing, voice acting, sound and sound effects, technical work, music, professio ...

at the 2018

Annie Award The Annie Awards are accolades which the Los Angeles branch of the International Animated Film Association, ASIFA-Hollywood, has presented each year since 1972 to recognize excellence in animation shown in American cinema and television. Origina ...

s. He also received an

for working on ''Kung Fu Panda.''

In popular culture

In May 2013, Baxter was a guest animator for an episode of the 5th season of ''

Adventure Time ''Adventure Time'' is an American fantasy animated television series created by Pendleton Ward and co-produced by Frederator Studios for Cartoon Network. The series follows the adventures of a boy named Finn the Human, Finn (Jeremy Shada) and ...

'' entitled " James Baxter the Horse". The episode's story focused on the lead characters trying to emulate a horse who can cheer everyone up by neighing his name (James Baxter) and balancing on a beach ball. Both the horse's animation and voice were provided by Baxter. The episode's title card features a drawing of the horse drawing a horse on a beach ball, while sitting at an animation table. A second episode focusing on the character's origins, "Horse and Ball", aired during the show's eighth season with Baxter once again animating and voicing the character.

References

External links

James Baxter reveals the secrets of enchanting character animation
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Baxter, James Alumni of Middlesex University Annie Award winners Cartoon Network Studios people DreamWorks Animation people English animators Film people from Bristol Living people Netflix people Netflix Animation people People educated at Bishop's Stortford College Walt Disney Animation Studios people Year of birth missing (living people)